“I’m sorry,” I whisper and reach out, putting my hand on his chest. “I was an idiot. A moron. I don’t deserve you.”
Sebastian looks confused. “I thought you’d still be mad at me.”
I let out a sob and throw myself at him. “How can I be mad at you? I love you.”
I can feel his shock and pleasure through the bond. But more than that, I can feel how much he loves me, too. He hugs me back, and it feels so right.
“We don’t know each other well yet, but we’ll figure it out,” Katsu says gently. “Fights and disagreements are bound to happen, it’s how we make up from them that counts.”
“Come on, get moving,” Harry says, bustling around in a massive black coat. He looks like he’s dressed for a Siberian winter. “We’re all freezing tonight, and the sooner you beat your fears, the sooner we can all get home.”
“Oops, sorry,” I say, smiling widely at the old man.
“Shoo!”
Seb pulls out his phone and looks at Cordelia. His expression is grim.
She huffs. “It’s the freaking pool, isn’t it?”
“Afraid so.”
“Don’t let me drown.”
We go to the rec center and enter, finding two teens that Cordie introduces us to as Moses and Johnny, who are lifeguards in training.
She stares at the water.
“I remember that feeling of being dragged under the waves, staring up at the white water, unable to punch through. The tumble of my body, not knowing which way is up and which is down. My lungs aching. The panic. Finally breaking through and catching my breath, only to have my feet swept out from under me again.”
Her voice trails off. She’s white and shaking, and I want more than anything to take it away from her.
“And then I remember Sebastian and his panic, the fear in his eyes as he cursed me out. We never talked about the way he cried when I came back or how tightly he held me when the paramedics tried to get him to let go.”
“You can do this, Cordie,” Sebastian says gently. “We will be here, but if you don’t want to, I will fight them all.”
“What does she have to do?” I ask Moses.
“You have to get in, swim to the deep end, dunk your head under, and then it’s over.”
“I don’t have swim gear,” Cordie says hesitantly.
Moses points to a bag. She curses out her family and this whole town, snatches it up, and walks to the change rooms. In minutes, she has reappeared in a crimson bikini and is staring at the pool like it’s the ghost of something terrible.
“Avert your eyes boys,” Sebastian says gruffly.
Sebastian pulls off his clothes.Oh, that is good. Yep.I yank my clothes off, making sure they are in the dry section. Katsu does the same. We ignore our nakedness as they wait for her to approach.
She grips Katsu’s forearm and holds on tight enough that I’m sure he’s going to be bleeding.
“We’re right here,” I remind her.
“You get in and swim to the deep end. Submerge your head and come back!” Johnny says. “You can do this, Cordie!”
“This is ridiculous. You aren’t certified therapists!” I snarl and glower, then decide to make this as easy for her as possible. I wade into the pool. “Look only at me.”
It’s easy when she can focus on us. She does it quickly. I am so proud of every jerky move she makes.
When it comes to dunking her head, I do it with her. Holding her gaze underwater. She bursts out again. Sebastian catches her and, with a powerful kick off the wall, sends them back to the shallow end before I can think.
