The single sentence burst from her lips in a single breath. It was almost like she was nervous to say it. No, scratch that. She was definitely being awkward. Cheeks ruddy and eyes averted, she refused to look in my general direction. “Actually, just forget–”
“I was under the impression that I did.” I turned my face toward her to show off my worst bruises and scrapes before realizing how petty that was. It was a small blessing she hadn’t seen. “The fight I got into wasn’t for fun.”
She frowned. “That wasn’t for yourself, though. You were standing up for me.”
Our float drifted on by the stairs, and I briefly considered breaking the rules and abandoning the float altogether. Swimming away and leaving this conversation behind altogether was becoming more and more appealing. The problem was that I had also agreed to try and be more honest. Be more open with both them and myself.
“I’m not like you. I can’t just stare people down and make them back down. All that’s going to happen if I fight back is them making my life more miserable.” I sighed, pinching at the bridge of my nose. “The status quo is better.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“I do.”
Aubrey whipped her head upward, her eyes hardened and narrowed dangerously. “I hate that.”
I shrugged my shoulders helplessly. I didn’t like it either, but it wasn’t like there was any changing it; everyone had their own shit to deal with in life and mine wasn’t bad comparatively. Most of the crap I’d been getting had only started recently, and I was sure it would die down given time.
“I have a request for you as a member of the Volunteers Club. Will you take it?”
I chuckled lightly. “You’re cornering me a lot today.”
She smiled. “There’s no other way to get through to somebody like you.”
“Let’s hear it.”
“The next time somebody says some stupid crap to you, push back. I’ll be right there with you, so don’t let them get away with it. Show them how cool you can be.”
I jabbed at the inside of the float with my big toe, my legs having pins and needles from being cramped for so long. There was no chance I would win under her expectant gaze, and I was only stalling my answer. It would be easy enough to agree and move on, but I didn’t want false promises between us. I wasn’t sure what she expected from me, really. I wasn’t cool like she mistakenly believed. There was no way this would work out.
Her pale blue eyes sought mine out, and my fate was sealed.
“I’ll give it a shot.”
“Good.” She smiled, satisfied, and stretched her hands over her head, interlacing her fingers. Water rolled from her hair and shoulders as she settled back into the float, completely at ease with the promise she'd just extracted from me. “So I suppose now it’s your turn to ask me something.”
“Is that how this works?”
“That way we’ll be even.”
It was a straightforward way of looking at things, and, annoyingly, I couldn't find much fault with it. The problem was that I didn't actually have much I wanted to pry into. Most of what I'd seen of her had been this completely different side of her. I bet none of the people gossiping about her had ever seen her warm smiles, how she’d watch over Serena like an older sister, or realized how witty she was. All they cared about were the rumors surrounding her and Luke.
“Fine.” My eyes drifted across the pool before returning to her, stalling while I figured out how to ask about that.
“Then why do you feed into the rumors at school? Why not just leave Luke alone?”
Her smile faltered. “That’s a heavy one.”
“And yours wasn’t?”
“Fair enough.” She leaned back further, flattening the plastic tube against her back. I almost chimed in and told her she was going to fall in at that rate before she started talking.
“He’s dating Emma. I understand that. I think I can accept it.”
“Not sure you have much of a choice,” I muttered, falling silent as I mulled over how callous that sounded.
“You’re right. It’s not that I have an issue with her. She’s a great girl. It’s just…” Her fingers curled slightly around the edge of the float. “The way he treated me, Serena, and even Nicole at the end. It was wrong.”
That wasn't the answer I'd expected. If she was still chasing Luke because she thought she could somehow get him away from Emma, then this should have been the easy part. But she wasn't angry at Emma. She wasn't even pretending Luke was secretly going to choose her.
She just kept circling back to what had happened.
“So what? You're angry at him?” I clarified.
“Sometimes.”
“Then why keep trying to see him? You're walking into the same mess over and over.”
Her expression tightened. “I don't know.”
The screaming tantrum of a kid in the float ahead of us paused our conversation, or maybe it had already come to its natural, awkward end. It was difficult to tell, but Aubrey had clammed up, and I didn’t feel much need to press her any further.
Aubrey began to paddle our float over to where the stairs were, and I did my best to do the same in tandem. I grabbed the cold railing, anchoring us, and allowing her to drop into the water first. Dodging away from a sporadic kick of hers, I took a similar plunge. The water lapped at my chest as I dragged the float up the stairs. It was light enough for me to carry by myself, but Aubrey slung her arm through the opening in the back. We took a detour around the edge of the pool, forced to skirt around the long queue that had already reformed for the attraction. A few regarded us with wary gazes until they realized we were simply returning the float and not trying to skip them. I released my end of the float, and Aubrey dropped it atop a few other ones designated for duo riders.
“You want to see if we can make it over to the tipping bucket before it dumps over?”
I dodged two kids barreling across the floor who refused to abide by the ‘no running’ rule or the lifeguard if the constant piercing wail of their whistle was any indication. “Should we wait for Serena?”
A quick shake of her head was my answer. “We won’t make it. Besides, I thought your plan was to go to the hot tub? We might as well do this first, and then I’ll check back with her after.”
“If you’re sure.”
From our current position, it was difficult to tell how full the bucket currently was. It was upright and steady, but that only meant it could have been anywhere from nearly empty to more than three-fourths of the way full. Aubrey seemed to believe it was the latter, having picked up the pace and heading straight toward the ankle-high kiddy pool that composed the area before the massive bucket. I took a brief moment to revel in a pair of women dangling from the ropes at the lily pad crossing. Their feet were unable to find a suitable grip, and they tumbled into the water when their arms had succumbed to their tiredness. The stilted cries of despair were the icing on the cake.
“Quit gawking at them and hurry up!”
I wanted to defend my honor and explain to her how I was more interested in their timely demise than whatever she was thinking. The more logical part of me decided that would do more harm than good, so I remained quiet. It wasn’t like I could begrudge her for her excitement either. She had mentioned from the beginning how she wanted to go by this.
I waded through the low water, the limestone cool underneath my feet. Aubrey had pulled ahead and was waiting on the usual tiles underneath it. A little stream trickled over, forewarning of what was to come. The kids swarmed over, intent on being the one underneath it, and not worried about slipping and falling in the process. Behind us, a middle-aged couple holding hands chuckled at their antics.
When the massive bucket began swaying, everyone turned their attention upward. There was no warning–in water parks I had been to in the past, there would be a bell that would ring–before all the water was dumped. It flooded to the floor in a thick sheet, a weighted blanket that was almost impossible to see through.
It must have been pure coincidence then that I managed to make out Aubrey falling. Her descent seemed to happen in slow motion, legs hovering at an impossible angle to hold midair. She may have let out a shriek, or she may have not made a sound. I couldn’t tell with the downpour and joyous laughter surrounding us. My hand found purchase on her back and yanked her into my side. Shoulder pressed into my stomach, she leaned into me while struggling to find her footing. As the makeshift waterfall subsided, Aubrey pulled back slowly. Her hair was matted across her cheeks and hung limply over her chest.
“Grant?”
My heart thundered in my ears, pounding so hard in my chest that I thought it might implode. All the blood in my face had drained, replaced with a sheen of sweat.
“I…”
That was all I managed to do before turning and hurrying away. The sights and sounds were a blur, and I carried on without a clear destination. My legs shook violently, and my hands were no better. I wiped them on my swimming trunks a few times for good measure, which failed to calm my nerves. I settled on curling them into fists to make it less noticeable and had to ignore the fingernails digging into my palms.
The scorching water soothed me.
Whether it was by design or not, I found myself in the hot tub. My back was pressed against the railing of the ladder, and I sunk down lower. Once I was submerged up to my shoulders, I took some deep breaths. Unclenching my fists, the water swept across the indents and cuts no doubt covering my palms. Somehow I couldn’t find it in me to complain; the pain was making everything more lucid. Steam crowded my vision as a lull came over me. What had been nothing but blurred shapes formed other people, and their conversations became coherent to me.
Among all the noise, though, a familiar voice stood out to me. “You guys need to learn to take a hint.”