‘We’re going to take it really slow, and stay where we can stand for a bit.’ Jack’s tone was stern. Sofia considered they were decent words to live by, but she was always eager to swim right into the deep end of things.
After some time paddling around, Sofia was itching to go further out. She signalled for them to go up. As they broke the surface she removed her goggles. ‘I can literally only see sand, Jack, surely we can go a little deeper?’
He was hesitant. ‘Usually people do about five days of prep before going out into the sea.’
‘Well I’m pretty sure Milly didn’t, and anyway, I’m a quick learner.’ She was determined to actually see something.
‘OK, fine, if you’re going to keep nagging, but stay close.’ Jack seemed to know he was destined to lose this battle.
Sofia beamed, pulled her goggles on and dived down. Under the water she turned her head to see Jack gliding along beside her. He gave her a thumbs up and she followed suit. Below her a school of tiny silver fish darted around erratically. As they approached the base of the cliff face she spotted a starfish, and then, to her mild horror, an eel.
She kept bashing Jack in the arm and pointing frantically at every new creature she saw.
At a certain point she began to feel like she had to drag a little harder on the octo. In the distance she could see what looked like a ray, and she was determined to reach it. She swam harder, and huffed harder. As she drew nearer, it occurred to her in a flash of panic, that she was probably running out of air.
Suddenly the peacefulness of the silent underwater world she had been enjoying morphed into something suffocating. Her mind went blank. She couldn’t remember any of the signals. Then it came to her, chin rub. She turned herself around and gestured as she had been shown. Jack didn’t react – maybe he hadn’t seen her. She tried again, but the energy of it was using up more oxygen. Her brain was telling her to go up, to get air, but now she couldn’t seem to remember which way that was, or move her limbs in the right way to get there.
Her vision blurred, and a strange weightlessness spread over her. Everything was getting darker.
Chapter Forty-Three
She came to with Italian all around her, but the sound of concern was the same in any language. She opened her eyes and, as her surroundings came into focus, she saw Jack’s face, etched with a deep frown, leaning over her.
‘Christ, Harlow, you had me worried,’ he said, his voice dripping with relief. Sofia tried to sit up and spluttered sea water. She realised, with growing mortification, that almost everyone on the beach was crowded around her in a big circle.
‘What happened?’ she leant in to whisper to Jack, trying to hide her face from the prying audience around them.
‘You passed out in the water.’ Jack spoke softly. ‘I think you ran out of air.’ Sofia’s head was spinning. She tried to piece together the last of what she could remember, but it was mostly starfish and silver scales. She felt exhausted.
‘I want to go, Jack.’ Her eyes were wide and brimming with fear.
‘Of course,’ he said, ‘do you think you can stand?’ He sounded distressed, and he kept running his hand through his hair. Sofia felt the need to soothe him.
‘It’s OK, Jack. I’m just a little disorientated – maybe some water would help?’
He immediately turned to the crowd. ‘Acqua, qualcuno ha dell’acqua?’ he called, his voice raspy.
A young woman stepped forward with a bottle of water and Sofia guzzled it gratefully. ‘Grazie,’ she said feebly, and the woman smiled and then said something to Jack in Italian.
‘What did she say?’ Sofia asked as the woman stepped back into the crowd.
Jack seemed embarrassed. ‘You don’t want to know,’ he muttered.
‘Go on,’ Sofia was reassured that she was feeling energised enough to be nosy again.
‘She said that a beautiful girl like you is lucky to have a brave man like me to save her.’ His tone was flat as if he was reading from a teleprompter.
Sofia laughed, and then spluttered, and then coughed. Jack handed her another bottle of water. She took a sip.
‘Well it’s good to see you’ve maintained your sense of humour,’ Jack said dryly.
‘I told you I’d give you your shot at being my knight in shining armour.’ Sofia was teasing, but then she thought about the fact that he had probably saved her life. Before she could stop herself, she reached for his cheek, turning his face to hers.
‘Thank you,’ she breathed. They were so close, she could feel the heat radiating off him. She stared into his eyes, noticing the flecks of amber amidst the green. His lips were tantalisingly close. Their breathing slowed and his gaze darted down to her mouth.
‘Baciarla!’ a call from the crowd brought them back down to earth. They both turned away, remembering that they were far from alone.
‘There’s an ambulance on the way’ Jack said sheepishly, looking away and busying himself with gathering up the scuba kit sprawled around them. She must have looked panicked because he added quickly ‘it’s only a precaution’ and then almost as if to himself ‘it’s a miracle you’re already up and talking to be honest’.
