Chapter 10 Drowning
Melissa’s POV
The penthouse was empty when I got home. Mom had left a note on the kitchen counter in her looping handwriting: Out running errands. Back by dinner. Love you! - Mom
I crumpled the note and tossed it in the trash walking back to my room.
The silence pressed against my ears. After the chaos of campus…I found myself enjoying the silence.
I dropped my bag by the door and kicked off my shoes. My coffee-stained sweater hit the floor next. The pink earmuffs still hung around my neck like some ridiculous trophy. I pulled them off and set them on the counter.
My phone buzzed.
Aria: You survived! I’m so proud of you babe
Aria: Also I’ve decided Ethan Cross is your new love interest
Aria: Forget the hot stepdaddy. This is your rom-com moment
I stared at the messages but didn’t respond. Instead, I wandered through the penthouse, my footsteps echoing on the marble floors. Everything here was so clean, and expensive. The floor-to-ceiling windows drew me closer. The city stretched out below, glittering in the afternoon sun.
From up here, everything looked small and manageable.
But inside, I felt like I was breaking apart.
I made my way toward the back of the penthouse where I’d discovered the pool yesterday. The pool room was its own separate space…walls of glass on three sides, a sleek infinity pool that seemed to pour right into the sky. The water was impossibly blue, and perfectly still.
I’d seen it when Mom gave me the tour, but I hadn’t actually been in here. Now, standing at the edge, I felt drawn to it.
The water looked so calm. So quiet.
I stripped down to my bra and underwear without thinking about it. The black cotton set wasn’t meant for swimming, but I didn’t care. I just needed to feel something other than this weight pressing down on my chest.
The water was cold when I slipped in. It stole my breath, making my skin prickle with goosebumps. But I pushed forward, letting myself sink beneath the surface.
Underwater, everything went silent.
I opened my eyes. The world above looked rippled and distorted. Light danced across the surface of the water my hair floated around my face like seaweed. For a moment, I just existed in this in-between space where nothing could touch me.
Then the memories came flooding back.
Troy’s hands on Tasha. His mouth on hers. The way he’d looked at me through that screen… looking guilty, but not sorry enough.
Anger flared hot in my chest, burning through the cold water.
“Babe, it isn’t what it looks like!”
I wanted to scream. Underwater, I opened my mouth and let out a soundless cry. Bubbles rushed past my face.
How could he? How could he humiliate me like that in front of everyone? Make me wear that stupid dress, parade me around like some prize, then throw me away the moment I wasn’t looking?
My lungs started to burn, but I stayed under. The anger felt good. Better than the hurt. Better than the humiliation that had crawled under my skin and made a home there.
Tasha’s voice: “It’s not my fault he thinks I’m better than you.”
I kicked hard, pushing myself deeper. The pressure built in my ears. My chest tightened.
Better than me? That disease-ridden snake was better than me?
The rage pulsed through my veins like poison. I’d given Troy two years. Two years of my life, my time, my body. I’d supported his stupid biker lifestyle, attended his parties when I had exams to study for, listened to his problems, believed his promises.
And for what?
To be made a joke. To become “Wine Girl”…a viral humiliation everyone could laugh at.
My lungs screamed for air, but I stayed down. Just a little longer. The anger was easier to handle than the pain underneath it. The pain that whispered I wasn’t enough. That I’d never been enough.
Maybe if you’d been more fun. Maybe if you’d dressed like that all the time. Maybe if you’d been better in bed.
The thoughts circled like sharks.
I closed my eyes. The burning in my lungs intensified, spreading through my chest like wildfire. Black spots appeared behind my eyelids.
Suddenly, the anger drained away, leaving only exhaustion. Heavy, crushing exhaustion that made my limbs feel like lead.
What was the point of any of it?
My body started to sink deeper. I should kick toward the surface. I knew I should. But I couldn’t remember why it mattered.
The black spots grew bigger, merging together. My thoughts started to scatter and fade like smoke. Everything felt distant, and unimportant.
This is stupid, some small part of my brain whispered. Melissa, swim up. Now.
But my arms wouldn’t move. My legs wouldn’t kick. The water pressed in from all sides, cold and heavy and almost comforting in its weight.
The world started to go dark.
Then something crashed into the water beside me. The peaceful silence shattered. I felt strong hands grab me, fingers digging into my waist with bruising force. I was yanked upward so fast my head spun.
I broke the surface, gasping and coughing. Water poured from my nose and mouth, burning my throat. Someone was holding me, an arm locked around my waist like a steel band, keeping my head above water.
“Breathe.” The command was sharp, leaving no room for argument.
Gavin.