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She took another step and the ground dropped about a foot and a half; the water sluicing against the top of her thighs. “Oh, god,” she cried out.
Grabbing onto her forearms, I squeezed. “I’ve got you.”
She nodded more emphatically this time.
“You’re doing great.” Looking at the ground behind me, I knew there would be another significant drop. “The next one will probably sink you to above your waist. Are you ready for that?”
“Sink me?”
I’m so stupid.
“Okay, poor choice of words. I mean, it will reach your waist. I’ll be right here. I won’t let you fall.”
Looking back behind her shoulder, I wondered if Grace was determining if she could make a run back to shore without falling. “Grace, I’m here for you. Let me help you.”
She turned her face back to look at me. Her eyes watered and her face contorted. I wasn’t sure what sort of emotions were playing out in her head right now, but I knew I had to be patient. I stepped closer to her, pressing my body next to hers. She gasped and so did I. But I wasn’t the one afraid of drowning.
I wrapped my hands around her waist and waited. I held her for what felt like an eternity, as I held my breath, not wanting to rush her with an impatient sigh. Finally, she placed her hands on my arms and stepped forward, pushing me further into the water. I caught her when the ground dropped and pulled her tighter against me. Her whole body trembled, and so did mine.
She looked down at the water sloshing below her breasts, and she smiled. “I did it.”
It was like when the sun came out after the rain. I smiled. “You did it.”
She laughed this time. A full and joyful laugh that shook her whole body and mine. She rocked me to my core. Looking down at her smiling face, I remembered all the things I had once loved about her.
“Grace,” I whispered as I lowered my head. She closed her eyes and my heart pounded like a jackhammer against my chest.
“Luke! Hey! Luke!” I snapped my head up and watched a figure approach from the driveway out front. As he came closer, my stomach sank and I lost my grip on Grace. She held me tighter as she turned around. “Oh, my god!” she said on an exhale. “Is that Jared Michaels?”
“I’ll get rid of him.” I bent down and picked Grace up to carry her back to shore.
“What are you doing?” she shouted and pushed her body away from me.
“I thought this would be faster.” It only took five steps to reach the sandy shore and I gently put Grace down. She straightened the pale blue shirt, but it still clung to her in all the right places.
“Looks like Meany Sweeney just got a little sweeter,” said Jared with a wink.
“Oh my god,” said Grace, once again. “I’ve got to get out of here.”
“Grace, wait!” I called, but she was already halfway to the house.
My footsteps ate the ground as I walked toward Jared. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, I got your message pretty late. You didn’t give me much notice to call my tow truck driver, so I came up, anyway.”
“Well, you wasted your time, Jared. Now go home.”
“What’s gotten into you, man?”
“Did you spray paint Meany Sweeney on Grace’s artwork?”
“What?” he asked, looking around as though he would find the answer behind a tree.
“Was that you? You said back then you didn’t know who did, but Grace said she heard you admit it. So, tell me the truth.”
“It was just a joke, Luke.”
I shook my head at his words and how they disgusted me. I disgusted myself. “Get out, Jared.”
