It happens quicker than I expected and I’m not able to brace myself for my crash-landing into the water. The paddleboard is flipped over from the force of the water that crashes around us. The wind is knocked out of me instantly and as I sink below the surface, my mouth opens, attempting to suck in some oxygen before I’m completely submerged.
My body reacts far too late and I end up inhaling a mouthful of water, pulling the liquid deep into my lungs. My body screams in protest and it burns worse than anything I have ever experienced before in my life. I’ve inhaled water before, but never like this.
This is it. This is the end for me. I’m going to drown in this goddamn lake and even Vaughn won’t be able to save me. A million different thoughts cloud my brain as I shift into panic mode. I regret fighting with him just before this. I kick my feet harder, fighting to break through the surface.
It feels like my body is being weighed down, like I’m being dragged to the bottom of the lake with no way to ever survive this. My eyelids fly open and I attempt to look through the murky water, but it’s far too dark for me to visualize anything.
The weight grows heavier on my chest and there’s a part inside of me that is telling me to stop kicking, stop pushing with my arms. There’s no way for me to make it to the surface… Hell, I don’t even know how deep I am.
I refuse to listen to that voice, though, and kick with my feet with as much energy as I can muster. My body is growing tired and weaker by the second. And then I feel a pair of arms snake themselves around my torso. I’m being lifted up higher and suddenly, my head is breaking through the top surface of the water.
Choking and coughing, I expel the water from my lungs while simultaneously sucking in as much air as I can. I look over my shoulder, tears blurring my vision as my gaze collides with Vaughn’s. He jumped in to save me. He’s the one who brought me through the surface. A sob tears through my body and a wave of relief and sadness pass through Vaughn’s blue irises.
“Why are you so fucking stubborn?” he murmurs as a ghost of a smile plays on his lips. “Why couldn’t you have just listened to me from the start?”
He swims both of us over to his Jet Ski and helps me on before climbing on himself. We’re both soaking wet from the lake and the rain continues to pound down from the stormy sky above. I’m thankful for him being here and pulling me out of the water, but I don’t know how to express my gratitude. So much has happened between us, I’m struggling to separate my emotions.
“We’re closer to the island than our houses,” he informs me as he starts the engine of his Jet Ski. “We’ll go there until things calm down and I can get you back home.”
“Please, just take me home,” I practically beg him. I just want to go home and put on some warm, dry clothes. I don’t want to be stuck on that island with him right now. Not after everything that went down tonight. There’s a part of me that is embarrassed and ashamed, but I won’t admit it out loud.
Vaughn turns around to look at me from where he’s sitting on the Jet Ski. “London, are you insane? It’s too dangerous and we’re already risking enough by being out here. It’s a much safer option to just go to the island. We will go there and ride out the storm and then I will take you home.”
“I just want to go home, Vaughn,” I almost sob. “I don’t want to go to the island. I just want to go fucking home.”
His lips purse and he shakes his head. “Sorry, baby. I’m not risking your life any more than you already did today. I’m taking you to the island. End of discussion.”
I fight the urge to argue with him. His mind is already made up and he isn’t going to budge. It would just be a waste of my breath if I tried to stress the fact that I need to be home. I can’t be out here with him right now. My mind is already a clusterfuck of thoughts and emotions. All he does is cloud it even more.
Wrapping my arms around his waist, I feel his warmth as I press the front of my body against his back. He begins to drive the Jet Ski in the direction of the island, just as he said he would do.
The rain stings my skin as we pick up speed, only slowing down when we get near the dock before Vaughn cuts the engine off. I have no idea where my paddleboard went and my parents aren’t going to be thrilled about it. Vaughn climbs off the Jet Ski and pulls the rope around one of the posts. His eyes meet mine and he holds his hand out to me.
“Come on. We need to find somewhere dry.” Thunderclaps rumble at the end of his sentence, as if the universe wants to drive Vaughn’s point home. Lightning flashes across the sky and a shiver slides down my spine.
Shaking my head, I cross my arms over my chest in defiance. “I want to go home.”
“Too fucking bad,” Vaughn snaps at me, cutting his eyes my way. “You should have thought about that before you decided to go out on your paddleboard in the middle of a goddamn storm.”
“I didn’t ask you to follow me,” I remind him with my tone flat.
“Well, it’s a good thing that I did or else you’d be sinking to the bottom of the lake right now.”
I want to yell at him and tell him to take it back. Fuck, I want him to take it all back. Coming into my life and making me develop feelings for him… for what? So he could show me that he never actually wanted anything better in his life? So he could teach me the lesson of having to let someone go?
“I don’t want to be around you right now, Vaughn.”
He tilts his head to the side and his eyes darken. “That’s a funny way of thanking someone for saving your life.”
He’s right, I’m the one being a bitch now. I don’t know why I’m letting my emotions get the best of me. He can’t help what happened between us any more than I can. I should be thanking him and grateful that he decided to follow me.
“I’m sorry,” I tell him with nothing but honesty. The Jet Ski shifts underneath me from the water. “Thank you for following me and saving me so I didn’t drown.”
“Yeah, you’re welcome,” he says in a rush as he moves his hand closer to me. “Now, can you get off that fucking thing so we can maybe get somewhere safer?”
Grabbing his hand, I let him help me onto the dock. He doesn’t release my hand and I notice his limp is much more exaggerated as we head toward the island. I slow my pace, staying by his side as we walk together. “How are we going to find anywhere here? It’s too dark to see anything…”
Vaughn glances down at me. “Do you trust me, London?”
My breath catches in my throat. “Yes.” It’s the truth. After everything that has happened, I do.
I’ve always trusted Vaughn Carter and I always will. If there is one person that I know would keep me safe—even if he were a threat to my heart—it’s him. It would always be him.
“Come with me,” he urges. I follow him blindly into the darkness, letting him lead me wherever he desires.
It’s hard to see any of our surroundings but Vaughn knows this slice of land like the back of his hand. I do too, but after the night I’ve had, I don’t think my survival instincts will kick in enough to let me find my way through the dark. Vaughn leads me through the clearing of trees and they block some of the rain fall, although droplets still manage to get through the leaves.
Neither of us have our phones on us or any source of light. With how black the sky is, there’s no light from the moon or the stars to help guide us through the darkness. Vaughn limps along the trail, taking me deeper into the woods, and I’m not sure where exactly he’s taking me. There aren’t any houses or means of shelter that were ever built on the island.
And then it dawns on me, just as he leads me up to the structure. No actual houses were built here, except for this one that our parents had built when we were just young kids. Our own little secret place that we would spend hours in, just passing the time together.
The tree house…
