Prologue: Into the Water
It was a cold September night, the kind that drove most people indoors, but not me. Wandering the streets at 2 A.M., aimless, felt strangely fitting. The weather was brutal, almost suicidal—a match for my thoughts. Why couldn’t I be like the people who slipped through life unnoticed, content in their bubbles? They weren’t out here, grappling with the questions that kept me awake. No, they were probably curled up, safe, their worlds small and unbothered. I envied their simplicity. All I wanted was to figure out who I was—whatever that meant.
The walls of my house had closed in long ago, leaving me suffocated. Mom would be passed out by now, drunk again after another fight with whichever boyfriend she’d picked up this time. They blurred together—Larry, Barry, Jerry, Tom, Ted. None of them stayed, none of them mattered. So I went to the park, seeking peace in the one place that hadn’t failed me yet. The ducks. They just lived, unbothered and oblivious.
Sitting on a bench, I let my mind wander, drawn to the thought of how easy it would be to walk into the pond and never come out. The idea teased the edges of my mind, a smile almost forming on my lips. I rose without really deciding, wading into the water as the cold gripped me. The darkness began to close in, like a quiet, welcoming void. Finally, I thought, some peace. Goodbye, world.
“Hey! Come on, don’t do this! Stay with me!” The voice, eerily familiar, broke through the haze, dragging me back when I didn’t want to return. I opened my eyes, barely registering the guy standing over me, his coat thrown over my shoulders. “You’re okay now,” he was saying, though his words were fuzzy in my head. My body shivered violently, my teeth chattering as I closed my eyes again. But something ignited in me—anger.
“Are you insane?!” I shoved his jacket back at him and stormed off, dripping wet and furious. The guy blinked, confused but quick to follow.
“Hey! Wait, what’s your deal?” he asked, jogging after me.
“What’s my deal?” I stopped, turning to face him. “Can I help you with something?”
He stared at me like I had lost my mind. “You almost drowned! Let me take you to the hospital,” he said, still trying to stay calm.
“No thanks,” I shot back, already walking away.
“You were practically dead! I saved your life!” His voice rose, frustration cracking through.
I stopped again, spinning around to face him. “You’re right. You saved my life. Congratulations,” I said, my voice biting. “But I didn’t ask you to.”
With that, I turned and left him standing there, my wet clothes clinging to my body, chilled to the bone. I didn’t look back even though I knew this wasn't over, not when my unwanted rescuer was my classmate. Ugh!
---
Trent stood frozen for a moment, watching as she disappeared into the night. His evening jog had turned into something surreal, a rescue he hadn’t expected. He had seen Claire sitting there on the bench, seeming as though she was searching for something in the murky depths of the pond. But when she walked into the pond, and didn’t come back up, his instincts took over.
CPR had brought her back, but her anger—the fury in those baby blue eyes when she came to—had knocked the breath out of him all over again. He thought she would be relieved, maybe even grateful. Instead, she had been furious. And he didn’t get it.
With a sigh, he glanced at the empty park. He wasn’t sure what kind of pain had driven Claire to do something like this, but he did know that something — something deeper than just a bad night had led to this near disaster. He had saved her life, but she didn’t seem to want it.
Exhausted from the day, he let her go, not wanting to push. They barely knew each other, after all, despite sharing a few classes. She was alive—that was enough.
For now.
