WATER
He was gone. Love, life, meaning…over.
My life was torn apart just seconds after he tried convincing me that he was not the right one for me. His word felt like a hole that was punched right through my chest. My vampire boyfriend, Edward Cullen had left me. It all happened so quickly remembered the night before, the Cullens were celebrating my birthday, when one of the Cullen family’s most feared incident of happening happened to me, occurred. Jasper, Edward’s brother, almost killed me when he smelt the drop of blood that oozed out of a paper cut I received when I was opening a gift. And now, they were gone. He was gone. They had left me. Alone.
Little did they know that they had left me, unprotected, from the red-haired vampire, Victoria, who was out to get me.
It was months until I realized that the love of my life was gone…forever. My best friend, Jacob Black, was there for me when I was alone or whenever I felt very down. Soon the hole I had in my chest felt as if it was healing. It was very comforting to have Jacob around. We did so many activities together that made me keep my mind off Edward.
Then, one day, when I was doing something reckless, I heard a voice. A familiar, beautiful voice, soft like velvet even though it was irate. It was his voice. Edward’s. My muscles locked in place, froze me where I stood. Was I hallucinating? Soon I found out that whenever I did anything reckless, Edward appeared in every situation.
Jacob promised that he would take me cliff diving one day. The day arrived, but Jacob had to cancel it because he had work to do. I was furious because I was anticipating to hear Edward’s voice. I knew that I would be able to hear his voice because cliff diving was a very dangerous activity. Jacob had warned me not to go alone.
I ignored his warning. Without letting Jacob know, I dove down to the La Push beach and hunted for the path that would take me to the ledge. When I found it, I stepped out to the edge, drew in a deep breath and held it…waiting.
“Bella.”
I smiled and exhaled. He sounded so real, so close.
“Don’t do this, please. Go back to Jacob, Bella.”
It was too late then. I was rolled up onto the balls of my feet, arms straight out, and was in a crouch to get more spring.
And I flung myself off the cliff.
“No Bella!”, the velvety voice trailed off. It was full of anger, yet so lovely.
I screamed as I dropped though the open air, like a meteor, but it was a scream of exhilaration. I sliced right through the surface of the water. It was icy, colder than I had feared. I plunged deeper into the freezing black water. I had not a moment of terror, just pure adrenaline. The fall was not scary at all. Where was the challenge?
That was when the current caught me.
It felt like the waves were fighting over me, jerking me back and forth between them as if determined to share by pulling me into halves. I knew the right way to avoid a riptide, that is to swim parallel to the beach than struggling for the shore.
I could not even tell where was the surface now. The angry black water was in every direction. Gravity was all-powerful when it competed with air, but had nothing on the waves. I could not even feel a downward sinking pull, just battering of the ferocious current that flung me round and round like a rag doll.
I was drowning then.
“Keep swimming!”, I heard Edward say.
‘Where?’ was all I could think of. There was nothing but darkness. There was no place to swim to. The cold of the water was numbing my arms and legs. I did not feel the buffeting so much as before. It was more of just a dizziness now, a helpless spinning in the water.
My eyes and ears were flooded with the freezing water. My lungs burned for more air and my legs cramped in the icy cold, freezing black water.
The current won at that moment, shoving me abruptly against something hard . a rock invisible I n the gloom. It hit me solidly across the chest, slamming into me like an iron bar, and the breathe whooshed out of my lungs, escaping a thick cloud of silver bubbles. Water flooded down my throat, chocking and burning. The current would not let up. It was slamming me against more rocks; they beat against the centre of my back sharply, pushing the water out of my lungs. It gushed out in amazing volume, absolute torrents pouring from my mouth and nose.
The salt burned my lungs and my throat was too full of water to catch a breath. Somehow, I stayed in one place, though the waves still heaved around me. I could not see anything but water everywhere, reaching for my face.
“Breathe!”, a vice called out.
I could not obey as the waterfall pouring from my mouth did not stop long enough for me to catch a breath. The black, icy water filled my chest. More water seemed to choke out of my lungs.
“Breathe, Bella. C’mon.”, Jacob begged.
I knew at that moment that I was already on the beach as the ocean felt so far away. The sound of the crashing waves faded and became quiet. Even the whoosh of the waves could not be heard.
The contents of my head swished and rolled sickeningly, like they had joined the rough water…
“Jake”, I managed to croak out.
“Oh Bella, I’m glad you’re ok!” Jacob said as he slid his arms under me to help me stand.
As soon as I was up, I glanced back to the ocean. As I stared wearily, a spark of colour caught my unfocused eyes. A small flash of fire was dancing on the black water, far out in the bay…
The colour looked familiar. The one Victoria’s hair shade was. Flame-red. I recalled Edward saying that vampires had an advantage in the water, that they could easily swim to get to their ‘prey’. I shuddered at that thought.
Could it really be Victoria out there?