Out of Breath (Breathing, #3)(88)

My legs carried me away from that girl, desperate to leave her behind. My stride picked up, and the tears streamed with the water and sweat. I cried for the little girl who lost her father but never had a mother. I cried for the girl who only wanted to be accepted, but was never enough. I cried for the girl who suffered unfathomable pain at the hands of hate. I cried for the girl who deserved to be loved but didn’t know how.

In time, my legs just carried me along the water’s edge, my breath evened out and the pain subsided. The tightness in my chest loosened, and the fear and sadness drifted away.

I released a part of me with each step, not knowing who would be left when I stopped running. So I kept going, afraid to find out, though my muscles screamed for rest. After stretches of sand and rocks, my lungs burned and my vision wavered. My tongue felt pasty in my mouth, and I could barely lift my feet.

I needed to stop. I looked ahead to where the surfers bobbed in the water, sitting on their boards. I drew a line. That’s where it would end, and I could stop running – and just be.

I faltered the last few steps over the line and fell upon my knees. My entire body trembled, and a wave of heat floated from my skin. I sat back, but ended up tumbling over onto my back, staring up at the bright blue sky. A face peered over me. I squinted, having a hard time focusing.

‘Emma?’ I heard the girl say.

I squinted harder, and blonde hair and big brown eyes came into view. ‘Nika?’

‘What are you doing out here? Where’d you come from?’ she asked, offering me her hand to pull me up.

I stared up at her, unable to move.

‘Cole’s,’ I murmured, my head hazy.

‘Did she say Cole’s?’ a voiced asked. ‘She must be delusional, because that’s frickin’ far.’

‘Drink this,’ another girl said, kneeling next to me and placing a cold bottle in my hand.

Cool water soaked into my tongue, and I wanted to sigh in relief. My hand shook as I tipped it back, unable to take more than a sip at a time.

‘Can we drive you back to Cole’s?’ Nika offered.

I shook my head, my words failing me.

‘Where can we drop you?’ the brunette beside me asked.

‘Nate’s,’ I blurted, still trying to get my bearings as everything swirled around me.

I knocked on the door, and no one answered. I didn’t hesitate to see if it was locked, and when the door opened I kept going. There was something off, and I knew it. I hadn’t been able to shake the feeling since last night. And the fact that Nate said no one had answered when he stopped by –

I wished he had just walked in.

I rushed from room to room, but no one was around. When I entered the master bedroom, I hesitated. Cole’s stuff was gone. Only Emma’s things were here. He’d left.

‘Shit,’ I murmured, returning to the living room. The glass door was open. I stepped out on the deck and scanned the blankets and towels spread upon the beach. I was about to walk down the steps when my phone vibrated.

‘Evan, are you back?’

‘Yeah, Nate. I’m at Cole’s, looking for Emma.’ I continued to search for her on the beach.

‘She’s here, with us,’ he told me. ‘But, umm … she’s a bit dehydrated.’

His careful choice of words made me stop moving. ‘What do you mean, “a bit dehydrated”? Where are you? And why is she dehydrated?’

‘We’re at the house. Nika found her on some beach a ways from here and dropped her off,’ he explained. ‘Turn up the air conditioning, and make sure she doesn’t lie down,’ he instructed someone in the room.

‘What’s wrong with her, Nate?’ I demanded, anxiety building. I left the house and started running towards Nate’s, the phone still to my ear.

‘She’s not throwing up,’ he told me, which confused me more. ‘Evan, she’s just really dehydrated and overheated.’

‘You’re freaking me out here,’ I said loudly. ‘Is she okay? Does she need to go to the hospital?’

‘Shit, did you see her feet?’ TJ bellowed from somewhere.

‘What?!’ I yelled. ‘What the f*ck, Nate?! Does she need to go to the hospital?!’

‘He wants to know if we should take her to the hospital?’ Nate called away from the phone.

‘No hospital!’ I heard Emma yell.

‘She doesn’t want to go to the hospital,’ Nate repeated.

‘I heard that,’ I said with a sigh, not surprised. ‘I’ll be right there.’

When I arrived at the house, I thrust the door open and found Emma sitting on the couch. Her skin was shiny and red, and her hair was plastered with dried sweat. She slouched against the cushions like she’d used up every ounce of energy.

‘Hey,’ I greeted gently, sitting next to her.

She squinted. ‘Evan?’

‘Yeah, I’m here,’ I assured her.

‘You left.’ She tilted her head back clumsily and tried to focus on me

‘I did.’

‘You left,’ she repeated in a pained whisper.

‘But I’m back,’ I assured her, disturbed by her reaction. ‘And I have your phone.’

‘Oh. You came back to give me my phone.’