Breath Like Water by Anna Jarzab

Breath Like Water by Anna Jarzab

Author:Anna Jarzab
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Published: 2020-03-19T17:43:00+00:00


* * *

“Susannah,” a voice says. Someone is shaking me by my bad shoulder. It’s the pain that wakes me. “Susannah, come on, you need to get up now.”

I wrench my eyes open. They feel scratchy and dry from the sand and the salt air. Beneath me, Harry stirs. His arm tightens around me as he sits up in alarm.

Beth is kneeling in the sand. In the dark, it’s hard to see the expression on her face, but if I had to guess, she’s pissed. I fumble in my pockets for my phone.

“It’s almost eleven,” Beth tells me. “You missed curfew. We didn’t know where you were.”

“Shit,” I say. My hands start to shake. I’m in so much trouble.

“We didn’t mean to,” Harry says, rubbing his eyes. “We sat down and we were so tired we fell asleep. If you think about it, this is your and Dave’s fault for working us so hard today.”

“Now is not the time for jokes, Harry,” Beth says.

I jab him in the ribs with my elbow. He squeezes my arm in solidarity. He knows how upset I am to have broken the rules.

“What the hell is going on here!” Dave bellows, stalking toward us. It takes him a while because his shoes keep sinking into the sand, so it’s more like he’s running in slow motion. I would find it funny if I weren’t so terrified. My heart is like a hummingbird’s, pounding at a thousand beats per minute.

When he reaches us, Dave points at Harry and shouts, “You get away from her right now! Get up! I’m not going to tell you twice, Matthews.”

Harry glances at me, eyes wide. He doesn’t want to leave me, but we both know Dave won’t stop until he gets what he wants. Harry scrambles to his feet. I feel like he’s been torn away from me, like something is irreparably broken.

Dave keeps going after Harry. “Susannah is a good kid!” he yells, jabbing his finger at Harry. “She always followed the rules, and then you come along, and suddenly she’s rolling her eyes and talking back and breaking curfew—”

“It was an accident,” I insist. “It’s not Harry’s fault.”

“You mean standing up for herself and living her life and doing what she wants rather than what you want for a change?” Harry yells back. “Yeah, I’m terrible influence, Dave. She’s not a rag doll you can throw around.”

“Stop!” I cry. I grab Harry and drag him backward.

He shrugs me off. “He can’t talk about you like this.”

“Everybody calm down,” Beth says. “Let’s go back to the hotel and talk about this like adults.”

“They’re not adults!” Dave says, throwing his hands up. “They’re kids. Stupid, immature kids.”

He rounds on Harry and me. “You two want to grope on a beach in the dark, do it on your own time. Not on a training trip that I brought you on so you could maybe have the smallest shot at being competitive in the most important meet of the year. This is my time.



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