“Get out of there,” I said, reaching a hand out. He swam away from me. “You’ve gotta see this!” he said. “Come into the water, Jax! She wants you to come into the water!”
Then he took a deep breath and dove back under.
“Ted!” I yelled. Only bubbles surfaced.
“We’ve got to help him,” Diane said, moving to the edge, ready to jump in. “He’s out of his mind! He’ll drown!”
I kicked off my shoes. “I’ll get him. You wait here.”
I dove in.
The water was as painfully cold as ever. Stung every inch of my skin and made my muscles feel frozen and slow. Moving was difficult.
Open your eyes, Jax.
What had Lexie seen her last time in the water? Who had brought her out to the pool?
Eliza?
Rita?
Martha?
Or was it simply the promise that maybe she’d get her wish? That I’d return to her, return to this place.
I’m here, I thought, water numbing me, washing everything else away.Lexie, I’m here.
I struggled to see anything in the dark water.
Just like that I was ten years old again. My fingers grew numb. My heart pounded.
I swam deeper down, reaching, and touched something, an arm or leg—Ted, please God, let it be Ted.I grabbed hold and struggled to get back up to the surface. Please let this not be little Rita, face pale and bloated.
“Your sister’s down there,” Ted said once our heads were above the water. “I saw her!”
There’s nothing in that water but what we bring with us.
I dragged Ted to the edge; he was choking.
“Out of the pool,” I ordered. He scrambled at the slippery edge. I pushed him as I treaded water. Diane took his hand and, together, we hoisted my father out of the pool. Once out, he crouched along the edge, shivering and coughing.
“Itwasher,” he said. “I saw her face!”
I put my hands on the edge, but it was so slick, I couldn’t get a good grip.
Something brushed against my leg and I screamed.
Frantic, heart pounding, I got my forearms over the edge, planted my hands, and began to push myself up. Then I felt fingers wrap aroundmy legs like tentacles. I thought of Declan’s drawing, had this absurd sense that I’d slipped inside it.
“Ted!” I called, reaching for him, but it was too late. I slid backward into the water, sucking in a deep breath of air before going under.
I was being pulled down to the other side of the world.
My sister looked back at me. Not some imaginary version. Not a re-creation born of denial. My sister.
Somehow, despite the darkness of the water, I could see her clearly and perfectly. I knew my sister’s body better than my own. There was her appendectomy scar. Her muscular swimmer’s torso. Her long eyelashes, looking longer still when wet. She let go of my leg, reached for my hand. I felt her fingers entwine through my own and suddenly, we were kids again, floating, playing the Dead Game. Gram was in the house watching her programs, and Lex and I were holding our breaths as long as we could.
Open your eyes. The dead have nothing to fear.
