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An evil little smirk takes over those full lips. “Oh, this is war.”

Cold water hits the back of my head.

“What the—”

I turn and find Chiara sitting there looking way too fucking pleased with herself as she high-fives Nora.

Wrong move.

I don’t think before I act. One second Nora is laughing, and the next I’ve got an arm around her waist.

“Jude!”

I lift her off the seat.

“Don’t you fucking dare!”

I jump, and her scream echoes through the entire cave before the water swallows us.

It’s fucking freezing.

We break the surface together, and Nora comes up sputtering, wet hair plastered across her face.

“You bastard!”

She’s laughing, and so am I. Not a chuckle or one of those half-assed laughs I usually give people. I’m laughing out loud.

I look back at the boat and find Dex staring at me, and his expression makes me laugh even harder.

Then Lexy shoves him in.

“What the fuck, Lex?”

She jumps in after him, and Chiara lasts another ten seconds before Nora and Lexy gang up on her and drag her over the side.

That’s pretty much how we spend the next hour, splashing each other, diving beneath the surface and swimming after the little schools of fish that scatter every time we get close.

Eventually, even Dex runs out of energy, and we end up floating on our backs beneath the cave ceiling.

Nobody talks.

Water laps softly against the rock around us. Above, the ceiling rises in uneven folds of stone, worn smooth in places and jagged in others. Blue reflections move across it in slow waves, making the rock seem like it’s breathing, while every drop of water that falls somewhere in the darkness echoes around us.

For once, the silence isn’t mine. All five of us are in it.

I turn my head toward Nora, floating a few feet away with her eyes closed and her face turned toward the light. Blue shadows play over her face, making her look like a siren, and there’s a small smile on her lips.

Something tightens in my chest.

Don’t know if you can see this, D, but I hope you can.

I watch her smile grow when a tiny fish brushes against her foot.

Because she’s smiling again.

My throat gets tight.

Our girl is smiling again.