"You're kidding..." he mumbles as he looks down at the water in front of us.

Yes, my solution to his boredom was swimming. I went down to the hotel shop and got us both bathing suits before bringing him down here. He looks wildly unimpressed by my idea but I'm rather excited.

"Come on! This is fun! Don't you like to swim?"

"I used to have a pool at my house but... I don't remember it being that fun."

I back up and then I run past him, leaping into the water. I'm swallowed by the pool, feeling the shock of the cool water surrounding my body as I rise up to the surface.

I push my hair back and look up at him.

"It's nice! Jump in!"

He still looks down at me with a disinterested look.

"Maybe I'll just watch..." he turns to walk off.

"No!" I yell, grabbing onto the edge of the pool.

We're the only two in the pool so luckily, me yelling isn't an issue.

"Excuse me?" He turns back and glares at me.

"Come on! You want to take your mind off of things. This is a good way to do it!"

"I'm quite alright, thanks." He mumbles. "Just because this is your idea of fun, doesn't mean I'll enjoy it all the same."

Defeated, I slink away from the edge of the pool and float on my back. I enjoy the nice cool pool in the humid room. With my ears just below the waterline, everything falls quiet and when I close my eyes, I feel alone.

There's nothing more peaceful than being in water. There is nothing I've ever found better than swimming. Being under the water places you in another dimension inside our world. Things are slower, more calm. In the ocean, the fish have nothing to do but float around and survive. I've always thought of myself much like a fish. I've been living my life as a fish — doing what I need to survive without much direction.

I come out of my relaxed floating position and begin to tread again as I look over to Hanes. His eyes are locked on me as he glares, watching me as if I'm his prey.

"Sure you don't want to join in on the fun?"

"Doesn't look like much fun to me."

I slip down into the water, opening my eyes while they sting a bit from the chlorine. I look around to see the blue empty pool surrounding me. Its clear waters stretch further than it looks from the outside. I swim deeper down, feeling the water let my limbs flow free around me. I move slowly but purposefully.

As I move further into the pool, I feel a disturbance in the water and turn around to see Hanes rushing towards me. He grabs onto me and he pulls me up to the surface.

"What the hell?!" I push him off of me.

"What the hell?! What the hell?! I was yelling to you and you didn't respond! I thought you were drowning!" He snaps.

He jumped in to save me? If I was actually drowning, a part of me wouldn't be shocked if he left and got a staff member to come help me instead.

"Well, thank you for your concern but I wasn't. I was enjoying my swim."

He seems thoroughly unimpressed with me but at least he's in the water now.

"At least you're in now." I grin at him, although that fact seems to irritate him.

"How is this any fun to you? You're literally soaking in chemical-filled water."

"It's relaxing. It's like going into another world when you're under the water!"

"I don't like to swim. I'm not very good at it and I find it tiring." He says deadpan.

"Well, if you feel tired, I can help you float!" I go to swim around behind him but he turns with me.

"And how will you do that?" He cocks his brow at me.

"Here." I turn him back around. "You have to trust me."

"I barely know you." He turns towards me again.

"And yet you sleep beside me at night so how about you give me a little faith."

He turns back around, silently giving me his trust.

"I'm going to loosely wrap my arm around your neck and hold your back up." I begin by doing as I say I am. "This is the recovery position for people who are panicking and struggling to stay afloat."

He struggles, not fully trusting me at first. Once he relaxes though, I'm able to let up a bit on my hold.

"Arch your back a bit." I tell him, making it easier for him to float a bit on his own too.

He gives in and begins to float while I hold him up. I take my arm away from his neck and just hold him up by his back since he's calm and floating partially already.

"Where did you learn this?" He questions.

"I used to swim a lot when I was younger. My parents used to take me to the beach every day. When I was old enough, I moved into a van and lived on the coast."

"Really? That's quite interesting." He sounds genuinely interested.

"You think so? I guess it was. At the time, I thought it was really cool."

"Where are your parents now?" He asks.

He doesn't know the weight of that question. I begin to think back to them. My mom's warm smile next to my dad's kind eyes. They were my favourite people.

"They died not long after I moved out."

I start to replay the accident in my head. I wasn't there — but my mind has imagined up the image of it. They were driving along a cliff. The roads were icy. An incoming car was in their lane and when my dad swerved to avoid it, they skidded off the edge.

I try not to think about it but the harder I try to suppress the idea the more it digs at my mind. The image just keeps replaying over and over.

They were found in the car — or what was left of it — in the ravine below.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

I nod. I never know how to respond to condolences. There is nothing to say.

I let go of him and he recovers and treads.

"Come and try to swim under the water. Just come and look for a moment at least. I promise I won't let you drown!" I hold out my hand for him to take.

He looks at me with caution but then he takes my hand and follows me.

"On 'three' you duck under, okay?"

He nods.

"One. Two. Three." I duck under, ready to let go of his hand but he holds on tight.

I open my eyes to the familiar sting to see Hanes still holding his nose closed and his eyes still shut. He rushes back up to the surface. I do the same.

"You didn't open your eyes." I complain.

"That's enough for me." He says, turning away.

"Don't you want to see what makes me happy?" I pout.

"I'm sure there are plenty of other things that make you happy. I'm done for today." He says getting out of the water.

"So you'll try tomorrow?" I get excited.

"I never said that either."

I sigh.

"Come on," he wraps his towel around his waist. "Let's go to dinner. We might be meeting someone tonight."