Chapter 74
Clara's POV
“Clara!" I heard a faint whisper.
I felt numb. For the first time, I felt nothing. All my emotions had drowned along with me.
That was until my lungs were brought back to life. I was gasping for air, followed by water that was emptying my stomach and my airways. The burning sensation in my lungs returned as my eyes began opening slowly.
I still couldn't see clearly; my vision was blurred, and so was my hearing, but I could sense panic all around me.
"Thank God you are okay," I heard Derek's voice.
The sunlight was blinding. I lay on my side, trying to return to my normal breathing.
I felt hands in my hair, slowly calming me down.
"She'll be fine," another voice said.
I felt a towel wrapped around me. My eyes began to open, and I saw Derek sitting right beside me. His clothes were completely drenched, and his hair was wet, too.
Did he save me? I suddenly had a lot of questions. How long ago did he get here? How long have I passed out?
"What kind of idiot doesn't know how to swim?" I heard a whisper behind me.
I didn't care about much right now. I just wanted to rest. My eyes closed again, and I fell into my floating sleep bubble.
I felt arms around me, lifting me off the ground.
***
"She will be alright. Her pulse and breathing are back to normal." I heard a muffled voice.
There were a few sounds soon after, followed by the door closing.
I was feeling a lot better than I had earlier as I began regaining consciousness.
"You are awake," Derek said, his voice alarmed.
He began pacing up and down, looking over at me in panic.
"What happened back there?" He asked as he continued pacing.
He barely gave me time to respond, and he was already on his next point. "You should have been more careful. Your mother would have killed me if you had died."
"I'm alright," I answered as I sat up straight.
He paused, staring at me in disbelief. "Your face had turned blue. I thought you were going to die." He reasoned.
"I had a panic attack." I finally answered.
He sighed, his body relaxing a bit. He then approached me before settling himself right next to me.
"Do you want to talk about it?" He offered.
I was silent for a while, fidgeting with my fingers, thinking about where to begin. "I nearly drowned once, and I was seven." I finally answered. "I loved swimming as a child. It was around when I had just learned to swim, and I couldn't get enough of it. It was summer, and my mother's boss then offered her a house-sit. She could bring us along. I was playing around, and I hurt my knee badly. I tripped and fell into the pool, and I couldn't push myself up. I couldn't swim." I paused. "My stepfather was there, and he did nothing." I paused. "He was just standing there and too drunk to even notice. I felt like I was reliving that moment all over again. I would have died if my mother hadn't gotten there on time."
I hadn't realised I was crying. Turns out, trying to hold everything together made me fall apart even further.
"I feel like a failure at everything. I can't do anything right, even something that's so simple. I don't even know how my sister is. I'm losing my mind, and this whole thing is just stupid. I'm just so sick of all the lies." I rumbled.
"Shh, come here," He whispered as he hugged me. "You are safe with me." He assured me.
I hated that he had to be such a kind person. Why couldn't he be the worst person in the world or try to poison me? That way, I'd at least feel like we were even.
He held me even tighter in his arms.
"Your sister is alright. I spoke to her earlier." He added assumingly. "We'll get through this together." He said.
It made me cry even more. I wish I had gotten to know him without all the lies.
We stayed like that for a long time, just me in his arms, lying in his arms and listening to his heartbeat.
"I didn't tell your sister about the drowning incident, but I'm sure she'll be available if you call her now." He said. He pulled away from the hug, wiping my checks.
He kissed me on the cheek before pulling away.
"I'll leave you to speak to her," he said. He gave me a small smile.
He jumped off the bed and then walked out of the room, closing the door on his way out.
I picked up my phone from the drawer beside me.
It hadn't fallen into the water with me, and it seemed to be working perfectly well.
I quickly dialled Katy's number and waited for it to ring. I had a few missed calls from Mom, too, but right now, she was the least of my concerns.
"Hello," she answered.
"Katy?" I answered in a panic.
"Your voice sounds dumber than usual. What happened to you?" She asked casually.
"Why weren't you answering your phone? Another missed call, and I was about to call the police." I answered in a panic.
"I had such a long day. I did some shopping. I was so tired after that, so I decided to go shopping again." She answered. "By the way, you must tell Mom you won the lottery since I'm not old enough to play." She added.
I was going to kill her once I got back.
"Don't tell me you brought the whole store. You will have to work the rest of your life to pay back every cent," I argued. I would have to give Derek a long apology for his bank balance. What was he thinking when he gave a teenager his credit card? Card?
"Don't worry, not all of it came from his card. Your mother-in-law offered. I only brought half the store." She answered.
What was I thinking when I allowed Derek to take me on that jet? This child could not be trusted on her own.
“Clara," she said, drawing me out of my thoughts.
"Yes," I answered with a sigh.
"I love you. I couldn't have asked for a better sister," she said. "I'd also love you a lot more if you could find me a European boyfriend while you are there," she added.
"Do you only love me when you need something?" I asked.
"Of course not. I will hang up now because I'm hoping you'll make me an aunt by the end of your trip." She said,
I sighed again.
"Okay, bye. You are supposed to be in class." I reminded her.
"I was too depressed today. I'll decide if I want to tomorrow." She answered.
I was starting to regret leaving her alone.
She hung up the phone after having our final goodbyes.
