Chapter 1
The smell of water and pine trees invaded her senses as Georgina crossed the border into her hometown.
She had been driving for nearly two hours, and exhaustion was settling into her shoulders, but the moment she saw the familiar winding roads leading into town, relief washed over her.
As the wooded highway opened up, Lake Abeze finally came into view.
The enormous lake stretched through the center of town like a sheet of glass beneath the late morning sun, its waters reflecting the mountains that rose in every direction around it. Thick forests blanketed the rolling slopes for miles, wrapping around the town in layers of deep green. A faint blue haze hung over the distant ridges, softening their edges and making the entire place feel almost unreal.
Her chest tightened slightly at the sight of it all.
She still had mixed feelings about coming back. Part of her wanted to turn around before anyone knew she was there, but another part of her knew she couldn’t keep running forever. She was stronger now. Strong enough to sort through the feelings she had spent the last two years avoiding.
She would see the people she wanted to see and avoid everyone else until she couldn’t anymore.
She turned onto Main Street and immediately noticed how much the town had changed. Several new shops that weren’t there when she was here a year ago, lined the streets, tucked between the older brick storefronts she remembered from childhood. Small boutiques, cafes, ice cream parlors, souvenir shops, and restaurants crowded the sidewalks, their patios already filled with tourists enjoying the warm weather.
It was late spring, almost summer, which meant Lake Abeze was waking up for tourist season. Families wandered along the sidewalks, carrying shopping bags and cameras, while couples strolled hand in hand near the waterfront. Boats drifted lazily across the lake, and the distant sound of live music floated through the open air from one of the restaurants near the marina.
The town felt alive.
Lake Abeze had always been more than just a small town. It was a mountain resort town built around the lake itself, a place people traveled to for hiking, boating, festivals, swimming, and the quiet beauty of the surrounding mountains. During the summer, the population practically doubled with tourists.
She stopped at a red light and took a moment to glance around.
Thankfully, she didn’t recognize anyone.
Relief settled over her at that realization, though seeing families laughing together and tourists admiring the town also stirred something bittersweet deep inside her chest.
Everything looked so normal.
Meanwhile, it felt like her own life had completely fallen apart.
The light turned green, and Georgina continued driving toward her destination, the Mountainside Hotel.
It would be her home for the next week while she adjusted to being back in town before letting anyone know she had returned.
She pulled into the parking lot, parked her car, and retrieved two of her suitcases before heading inside to check in.
Her room was on the fifth floor, the highest floor in the hotel, with a balcony overlooking the lake.
The moment she stepped inside, she dropped her bags near the bed and immediately walked toward the balcony doors. She slid them open and stepped outside.
The warm mountain air brushed against her skin as she closed her eyes briefly and inhaled slowly.
When she opened her eyes again, her gaze immediately found the lake below.
Something inside her softened almost instantly.
Her heart ached at the sight of it. She missed swimming there, missed sitting along the shoreline for hours, as she indulged in a good book or simply admired the scenery. Missed the strange sense of peace the water always gave her.
The longer she stared at it, the more she wanted to go.
Georgina stepped back inside and walked over to her suitcase, digging through it until she found her swimsuit, flip-flops, and a pair of shorts. She tossed them into a spare tote bag without hesitation.
She was going to the lake.
********
Georgina arrived at Bethel Park within minutes.
The park had been her sanctuary for years.
No matter what was happening in her life, she had always come here when she needed to think, cry, breathe, or simply be alone. And now, after everything that had happened, she was finally back.
She parked and quickly climbed out of the car and paused for a second to look around. The wind was stronger closer to the lake than it had been in town. It caused the tall trees that lined the walking trails to sway a bit as their shadows danced across the pavement.
Georgina grabbed her tote bag and headed toward the changing stations near the beach area.
Within minutes, she had changed into her swimsuit and stepped back outside.
She speed-walked toward the shoreline, excitement bubbling inside her chest, but as she got closer, she slowly came to a stop.
The water was rough.
Really rough.
The usually calm lake had turned restless beneath the wind, waves rolling aggressively toward the shore in uneven patterns. Several caution signs had been placed near the beach entrance, warning visitors about dangerous swimming conditions. But despite the warnings, there were still some boaters on the water, while some daredevils still attempted to swim.
Georgina frowned slightly.
She had been so excited about getting into the water that she hadn’t even noticed how strong the wind actually was. It whipped through her long dark curls violently, sending strands of hair across her face as the trees overhead swayed loudly.
Swimming was probably out of the question right now.
Still, she slipped off her flip-flops and walked toward the shoreline anyway. She wasn’t planning to go deep into the water, just deep enough where it came to her calves. She just wanted to feel the water again.
“Miss, please be careful.”
The deep voice behind her made her turn around.
A lifeguard stood several feet away, watching her closely.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, and tanned, with long black hair pulled loosely into a bun. Something about him immediately caught her attention, though she couldn’t fully explain why. Maybe it was how calm he looked despite the rough water, or maybe it was the strange intensity in his eyes.
For the briefest moment, something unreadable flickered across his face before disappearing just as quickly.
“I’m not going in,” Georgina assured him. “I just want to put my feet in the water.”
The lifeguard studied her for another second before finally nodding once.
Georgina turned back toward the lake and slowly walked closer to the shoreline.
She stepped forward carefully until cold water washed over her feet.
The feeling hit instantly.
Her shoulders relaxed. The tightness that had been sitting in her chest since she crossed back into town loosened just enough for her to finally breathe normally again.
God, she had missed this place.
For a moment, Georgina simply stood there, listening to the water, the wind, and the distant creaking of trees swaying overhead.
Then she crouched slightly and let her fingers drift across the surface of the lake, and paused.
Something felt… off.
Her brows furrowed as she stared at the water. Hadn't the waves been rougher a moment ago?
The choppy water around her had settled into gentler ripples.
Farther out, the lake was still rough, waves rolling aggressively beneath the wind, but around her the movement had become strangely gentle, the water smoothing into smaller ripples that barely touched the shore.
Georgina slowly straightened.
That didn’t make sense.
The wind hadn’t stopped. She could still feel it against her skin, still hear it moving through the trees behind her.
Maybe the shoreline altered the current's flow in that location.
Or maybe she was just exhausted from the drive.
She stared at the water for another second before glancing back toward the beach.
The lifeguard was still watching her.
Not casually either.
His expression had changed completely. The calm look he wore earlier was gone now, replaced by something sharper. Focused. Like he had seen the shift too.
A strange feeling crept into her stomach.
Suddenly self-conscious, Georgina pulled her hand from the water and stood fully upright.
For a second, neither of them looked away.
Then another wave crashed farther out across the lake, breaking the moment completely.
Georgina forced herself to look away first.
It was probably nothing.
It had to be.
*****
Georgina got into her car and rolled down all the windows before leaning back into the driver’s seat.
For a moment, she simply sat there, listening to the wind.
Her mind kept replaying what had happened over and over again.
She glanced back toward the lake. The water appeared calmer now, though the wind still pushed steadily through the park.
Maybe that was it, she thought to herself.
Maybe the water had already been calming down gradually, and she had only seen the change near the shore first. That made sense, didn’t it? Water closest to land would probably settle before the middle of the lake.
The more she thought about it, the more reasonable the explanation sounded.
Still, another memory quietly surfaced in the back of her mind.
All the stories and urban legends surrounding the lake and whatever supposedly lived beneath its depths crept back into Georgina’s mind. She had never truly believed any of them, but her cousin Leilah had always been fascinated by those kinds of stories.
A few years ago, Leilah and her friend Erika had convinced Georgina to sneak down to the lake late one night so Erika could perform what Leilah called a reading using charms and runes. Georgina had tagged along mostly out of curiosity. She didn’t believe in any of it, but she found the whole thing interesting enough to watch.
The three of them had taken off their shoes and sat at the edge of the dock with their legs hanging into the water to establish what Erika called a “connection” to the lake. Then Erika had started the reading, claiming she was trying to reach out to the “monster beneath the lakebed.”
At first, everything had seemed harmless.
Then the wind suddenly picked up.
The calm lake had turned violent within seconds, waves crashing hard enough against the dock to nearly pull Erika into the water. Georgina still remembered the panic on all their faces as they grabbed Erika and pulled her back before she slipped in completely.
They had left immediately afterward.
The entire experience had unsettled Georgina enough that she never tagged along again whenever Leilah started getting involved in things like that.
Georgina shook her head lightly and pushed the memory away before glancing down at the time on her phone.
Her last therapy session was in three hours.
She decided it was time to head back to the hotel and start getting ready.
Before starting the car, her eyes drifted back toward the lake one last time.
She looked around for the lifeguard again, but he was nowhere to be found.
A strange feeling of disappointment settled in her chest.
She had wanted to speak to him again. Mostly so he didn’t think she was crazy.
The look on his face after the water calmed genuinely unsettled him.
Or at least, it seemed that way.
Georgina frowned faintly before finally starting the car and pulling away from the lake.
*****
Georgina had been in therapy for nearly an hour, and she was anxious for it to be over. Time seemed to crawl because of the incessant ticking of Diane Schultz's antique clock. Its steady rhythm filled the room, blending with the soft taps of Diane's fingers against her keyboard. The more Georgina focused on it, the more aware she became of every passing second, making the session feel far longer than it actually was.
Ten more minutes, Georgina thought quietly as she sat back in her chair.
Before today, the antique clock hanging behind Diane had only existed in the background of video calls. During those sessions it was silent and easy to ignore. But today, the sound of it had become impossible to escape.
“Georgina.”
Her attention shifted away from the clock and back toward Diane, who was watching her carefully from the other side of the room. Pale, composed, with short ash-blond hair framing her face and observant light brown eyes, Diane carried herself with a calmness Georgina once found comforting through a computer screen. In person, though, it felt harder to hide from her.
“Yeah?” Georgina responded quietly.
“Before we finish today, is there anything else you’d like to discuss?”
The question lingered between them.
What else was there to discuss?
Over the past year, Georgina had told this woman practically everything. Memories she wished she could forget, mistakes she wished she could rewrite, and feelings she wished she didn’t still have.
And honestly, the sessions had helped.
But there was a difference between unpacking her grief from the safety of her dorm room and sitting here in her office surrounded by memories she had spent two years trying to avoid.
Being back in town reopened things she thought she had already buried.
At this point, she just wanted to move forward.
Georgina shook her head slightly and offered Diane a faint smile.
“I think I’ve said everything I needed to say,” she admitted softly. “I still cry sometimes, but not every day anymore. I still miss them and I think about them constantly.”
Her throat tightened, but she pushed through it.
“But Mom and Sebby would want me to keep living my life and at least try to be happy.”
She glanced down briefly at her hands.
“Right now, I just want to focus on school and working with my dad.”
Diane smiled faintly, though Georgina immediately caught the subtle skepticism behind it.
“It sounds like you’re motivated to move forward,” Diane said carefully. “But healing from this kind of trauma can’t be rushed. Healthy grieving takes time, sometimes years. And last time you tried to move on too quickly, you lost control. What would you do if you found yourself slipping back into that same place again?”
Georgina’s smile faded.
Diane had a point, but Georgina was tired of revisiting the same pain over and over again. Talking about the past gave perspective, but it didn’t change what happened.
“Don’t you think a whole year is enough time?” she asked quietly. “I haven’t missed a single session this entire time. I’m not really sure what more there is left to talk about.”
Diane straightened slightly in her chair.
“A year is a meaningful investment,” she replied calmly. “We spent a lot of time discussing your past because that’s what you needed in order to begin healing. But moving forward, our sessions could simply focus on helping you emotionally navigate everyday life.”
Georgina frowned slightly.
Moving forward?
“I received a call asking if I had any openings to schedule additional sessions with you.”
There it was.
“Why does my father think I need more time with you?” Georgina asked directly.
“He believes you may need someone to talk to while readjusting to life back here,” Diane explained gently. “But I made it clear that I would only continue scheduling sessions if you were comfortable with it.”
“I don’t want any more sessions,” Georgina said simply.
Diane’s expression remained unreadable, though Georgina could tell she wasn’t planning to push the issue further.
“It’s been over a year since they died,” Georgina continued quietly. “And two years since everything else. I know what happened was drastic, but this past year gave me time to sort through my feelings.”
She paused briefly.
“I know some of my triggers now, so I’ll be careful. But I’m ready to move forward.”
Diane nodded slowly before resuming her typing. The room fell silent again, except for the sound of keys tapping softly against the keyboard.
After a few seconds, Diane looked back up.
“I would like for us to continue, but ultimately the decision is yours,” she said. “I’ll have to inform your father because of the medical disclosure agreement that was signed, but that’s all I’ll tell him.”
Georgina stayed quiet.
“And if you ever decide to continue,” Diane added, “our conversations will remain confidential as long as you aren’t a danger to yourself or others. But I’m not going to pressure you. If you decide to stop, that’s your decision.”
For the first time since arriving, Georgina felt herself relax slightly.
Finally, it felt like her autonomy was being respected.
“So,” Diane said after a moment, “what are your plans now that you’re back?”
Georgina perked up a little. “I’ll start working at my dad’s cafe’ in a week as a cashier. I’ll probably do other things too since I worked there from time to time before I left town. I also applied to the M.A. program for Business Management a few months ago and I recently found out that I got accepted. So this fall, I’ll be starting classes at the university.”
Even as she spoke, an uneasy feeling settled in her chest. She still wasn’t completely sure coming back had been the right decision with so many things in her life still unresolved.
Diane studied her expression carefully. “I think coming back to town was a good decision. You’re stronger now and seem to be handling things much better.”
Diane’s words should have reassured her, but instead they made her feel even more anxious. Georgina looked down at her hands and instinctively began picking at her nails.
Diane noticed immediately. “Don’t second-guess yourself, staying here will also help you heal. And being close to your father will be good for both of you.”
Georgina nodded, her throat tightening slightly. Her father still didn’t know she was back in town. She planned on telling him within the next few days, but for now, she needed time to process everything.
She wanted to revisit the familiar places she had only thought about for the past two years and confront memories she had spent so long trying to bury. Seeing everyone else would have to come later. She wasn’t ready to face her cousin yet, or even her ex-boyfriend, David, whom she had completely ghosted after leaving town.
Part of her wondered if he still wanted answers after all this time or if he had already moved on, leaving both her and the memories of their years-long relationship behind.
She wasn’t ready to find out.
And as for Leilah, Georgina could only imagine how hurt she must have felt.
Her eyes drifted toward the clock. There were only a few minutes left.
Diane followed her gaze.
“Well,” she said softly, “since this is our final session, I want to wish you the best. It’s been a pleasure getting to know you. Ending our sessions face-to-face matters.”
The implication went unsaid: because avoiding this place forever isn’t healing.
The alarm chimed.
Georgina stood, stretching her arms before grabbing her purse. “Thank you for everything, Diane.” She meant it—but she was ready to leave.
****
She drove back to her hotel room. When she stepped into her room, she threw down her purse and flopped onto the bed. She was so happy she didn’t have to go back there or even call to schedule another session.
She rolled onto her stomach and pulled out her phone. She wanted to do something. She still had no intention of letting anyone know she was back in town, but she still wanted to get out.
She searched and found that there were a few things going on. She went to click on the detail when her phone rang.
Her stomach tightened the moment she saw the caller ID.
It was her father.
She picked up the phone.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Hi, honey.” His voice came with the familiar clink of dishes and the low hum of the shop in the background. “How did it go today?”
“It was fine,” she said quickly. “Really.”
“That’s good.”
A pause followed.
“I know you don’t want more sessions. I support you, but… I’m still worried.”
Georgina closed her eyes briefly. He always was.
“Dad,” she said gently, “I’m better. Another year with Dr. Schultz won’t change anything.”
For a moment, he stayed silent, and she could practically hear him wrestling with himself on the other end of the call. Part of him still wanted to protect her as if she were a child.
“I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you too,” he finally whispered.
The words landed heavily in her chest.
“I know,” she replied softly. “It won’t happen again.”
“I do. You were in a lot of pain. Losing your mom and Sebastian was hard. And to come back here and see them at the funeral and then have to process that alone, miles away from home had to be tough. So, while I don’t like what you did, I understand that you were in pain. I just want to make sure you are dealing with that pain the right way now.”
Georgina sniffled.
Silence followed, longer this time.
“I’m making dinner tonight,” he finally said. “Why don’t you come over?”
A wave of uneasiness crept into her chest. “Tonight?”
She rolled her eyes. Diane must’ve told him the session had been in person. Technically, it wasn’t a confidentiality breach since it related to the circumstances surrounding why she started therapy in the first place, but it still bothered her. She didn’t feel it had been Diane’s place to let her father know she was back in town.
But she also hadn’t told Diane that her father didn’t know she was back in town yet.
She sighed quietly.
“Sure,” she said after a moment. “I’m in my hotel room right now, but I can be there in a few hours.”
“All right,” he said, relief threading through his voice. “I’ll see you later.”
She ended the call and took a slow breath before exhaling heavily.
“Fuck.”
