‘It’sfreezing,’ she screeched, as the salty waves broke against her thighs.
‘You can’t think about it. You just have to jump in.’
Jacob let go of her hand and dived into the water, emerging moments later like a baby seal, his hair and skin shining wet. ‘Trust me! Just go for it.’
Olivia clenched her fists and tightened her jaw.
One …
‘The longer you stand there, the colder you’re going to get.’
Two …
‘Come on, Olivia! You can do this.’
Thr—
With a deafening scream, she lowered herself under the water. Her entire body went rigid as the cold engulfed her, the strength of the current sweeping her feet from the sand and tossing her upside down like a piece of paper on the wind.
‘Oh my god!’ she cried, finally breaking through the surface.
‘Are you OK?’ Jacob swam closer to her. His face was speckled with drops of the ocean, glittering in the sun.
There was water up her nose and in her ears, the salt stung her eyes, and her hair was splayed all over her face, yet Olivia couldn’t do anything but smile.
‘I’m great.’ She beamed, flinging her arms up in the air. ‘In fact, I’ve never felt better!’
Olivia
It was gone seven by the time they decided to admit defeat and head for home. Olivia had insisted she was fine to stay longer, but when her teeth started chattering and her body shivering, Jacob demanded that they leave.
‘Hey!’ she called, trying to keep her head low and out of the biting wind. ‘How much further is it?’ It felt as though they’d been driving for hours, the darkness an impenetrable tunnel that swallowed up everything beyond the road two feet ahead of them.
The bike veered slightly to the left.
‘Jacob.’ She leant in closer. ‘I’m freezing back here. Do you know how far we’ve got to go?’
‘Notlongbetheresoon,’ came the jumbled response.
‘You said that last time!’ She squeezed him hard in frustration.
The bike jerked violently to the right, sending a jolt of fear up her spine.
‘OK, I’m sorry,’ she joked. ‘I get grumpy when I’m cold.’
The bike continued to veer to the right, pulling them to the centre of the road.
‘Jacob, that’s not funny.’
Olivia tightened her grip around his waist as the handlebars spun off to the left erratically.
‘Jacob.’
But there was no response. The bike was now drifting dangerously close to the edge of the road.
In fact, it was heading dangerously close to a very large and very solid tree.
‘Jacob, stop it now!’
