6 Chapter 6: Heroes aren’t Real

Chapter 6: Heroes aren’t Real

Ethan

Prunh! Prunh! Prunh!

The sound of a horn echoed around the pool and all six of us dove in the cold water with a loud splash. I closed my eyes as water wrapped around me and it felt like reuniting with a good old friend.

“Come on, Ethan. Move, move, move!”

I smiled hearing her muffled voice under the water and followed her commands. I kicked my legs faster and stretched my arms as far as I could.

Kick. Push. Swim. Faster. Kick. Push. Swim. Harder.

The rippling and thrashing of water surrounded me every time I moved my body farther and farther. I could see Liam surpassing me with more speed and more agility than me and anger boiled in my veins. It turned into adrenaline and I pushed my body harder, trying to beat him in this round.

“Hey, would you mind if I joined you?” I stopped kicking my legs in the water and looked up at the blurry blond-haired boy with superman tee and pink cheeks.

I removed my swimming goggles and wiped the water from my face. I didn’t know who this guy was, but I remembered Rio telling me he was great at Geometry and Mixed Operations.

I looked around for Kiara so that she could help me. I fumbled with my thumbs and found her sitting on the bleachers. She was holding the fountain pen her mom had gifted her when she was four and furiously jotted down something in her diary. The white lily was resting over her ear, her nose scrunched as she scratched off something in the paper. I smiled. She was looking pretty in her purple sundress and the pigtails, so I had decided to give her a small flower.

“Uh . . . do you—do you know her?” the boy said as he looked between me and Kiara.

I didn’t like that. I narrowed my eyes at him and nodded.

His cheeks turned red as he gazed at her, his hands in his pocket. “She is cute, isn’t she?”

“She’s my best friend,” I said, wanting him to stop looking at her. I bit my bottom lip.

Who is he?

“Oh,” he said and looked back at me, a smile curling his lips. “I am Liam and I am seven years old. Also, I love Superman! Especially when he kills the villain with his laser eyes, don’t you think?”

Personally, I think my moms are better than any superheroes.

I shrugged my shoulders and looked at Kiara, hoping she would look up and save me from talking to this kid. Didn’t his mom teach him to stay away from strangers?

“Whoa! You have two different colored eyes. That’s so cool!” he exclaimed in my face and I had to move back when his gray eyes blinked at me. He had freckles.

I said, “Glad you noticed.”

He grinned when he looked from one eye to the other.

Can’t he get a hint that I don’t want to talk to him?

“Awesome! Can you teach me how to swim? My dad told me that Superman knows how to swim, so I think I should learn to swim too. So that when I grow up, I can save people,” he said proudly.

I didn’t know how to tell him superheroes weren’t real.

But I did anyway.

“Superheroes aren’t real, Liam,” I said. He gasped, his gray eyes wide with shock. I pointed to the trainer. “There’s the coach you would like to meet. She will teach you how to swim. Now, if you’re done, I’d like to go back to my practice.”

Ignoring him, I turned back and continued doing my reps.

I pushed my body harder and ignored the gaping hole in my heart. Where was that Liam now? The one who’d beat me at every round because he believed in Superman? The one who played video games with me? The one who forced me to watch every Superman movie with him last summer just for the sake? The one who cared for me? The one I considered as my own brother? Where the fuck is he?

Touching the cold wall with my feet, I rolled and swam faster. I took a deep breath every time I came up for air and pushed harder, ignoring the resistance and exhaustion from my tired limbs and body.

Why did he lie to me and sleep with Ariana? What did I do wrong?

I stopped swimming when my right palm touched the wall. I took a gasping breath and calmed my pounding heartbeat, adrenaline still buzzing in my veins as I removed my glasses and cap. With narrowed eyes, I watched Liam grin when he walked out of the pool, his friends and coach congratulating him for scoring first.

He won. Again.

I used to be proud of Liam that he was the fastest swimmer in our team, but now I loathed it. I wanted to beat his record. I wanted to beat him in the race. Next time, I would beat him.

Feeling my gaze on him, he turned around. His dark gray eyes bored at me and his grin dropped. For a moment, I could sense the guilt and regret in his eyes, but I looked away before I could walk up to him, hug him, forgive him, and congratulate on his victory.

“Hey, big guy! You did great out there.”

I faced Kiara, who was grinning down at me, her brown eyes twinkling. All the worries and hatred for Liam vanished into thin air as soon as I saw her.

After the night at the Farmhouse, I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Or the way she looked naked, swimming and laughing. Or the way she had felt pressing against my body and asking me to kiss her with her hooded eyes. But I controlled myself. What I had felt with her was more than I could have ever felt when I was with Ariana. We were best friends and we had seen each other naked. I didn’t regret what happened. And by the way she looked at me, I didn’t think she regretted it either.

But I have to remind myself that she is my best friend and the only girl I had considered as my little sister when we were kids. She has been with me through my good days and bad days. Heck, she even gave me rakhis on Rakshabandhan. I shook my head. She had stopped doing that and I definitely didn’t consider her as my sister anymore. We had already crossed that line since the day we saw each other naked at the farmhouse.

“I tried my best,” I said, getting out of the pool, and she took the cap and goggles from my hand.

Her warm hand held my forearm and I looked down at her golden-brown eyes. “Are you all right, Ethan?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said glancing at Liam. I was surprised when I found him looking in our direction, especially at Kiara’s hand on my forearm.

I missed her touch when she removed her hand. I frowned when he glared at her, a look of disappointment flashing through his gray eyes, and he turned, walking away.

I asked, “What was that about?”

I could feel there was something wrong between them. And I didn’t want Liam looking at Kiara. Just like the day we met for the first time.

Kiara smiled at me, shaking her head. “Nothing important. It’s just that he’s—”

“You did great out there, man.” Rio clapped me on my back and nodded at Kiara.

“Thanks. But why didn’t you join us?”

“I was tired after all the reps. I wanted to ask you about—”

“I’ll be right back. Hold this,” Kiara interrupted, handing me my cap and swim goggles, and walked toward Liam with a furious look on her face. Uh-oh.

“What’s happening?” I heard Rio ask worriedly.

I was worried too. They were talking to each other, throwing hands in the air. I couldn’t hear anything they were saying because they were standing at the other end of the pool with no one around.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” I said, furrowing my brows when they whispered harshly to each other.

She said something that made Liam shut up. I looked at Kiara, watching her whisper something when she stepped closer to him, her face devoid of emotions except anger. She poked his chest, taunting him, and for a moment I was shocked to see so much anger and pain etched on her face.

What the fuck is happening?

Then I saw her face crumble. I tried not to gape as she stared numbly at Liam, a feeling of void enveloping her. I wanted to go there and hug her, but I couldn’t move. My legs had turned to lead. And for the first time, I saw no hope, faith, or happiness in her glittering brown eyes. They looked void, black . . . and empty.

Rio cursed, “Holy shit.”

I snapped out and realized that Liam had pushed her shoulders. Kiara slipped on the water and fell backward into the pool. My breath hitched in my throat hearing the loud thrash of her body falling in the pool. Everyone heard that. Then I saw that she had fallen in the deeper end of the pool. And she was alone.

Shit.

I rushed there, pushing everyone out of their way, and snapped at Liam, “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

His face was ashen and his hands were shaking. “I didn’t . . . I didn’t mean to—”

“Save it, Liam.”

I dived into the pool because I knew Kiara could never swim in the deep end of the pool or without someone looking out for her. She used to get panic attacks when we were three feet deep in the water. When we were seven, she had almost drowned in the water park because no one was with her as I was busy buying ice cream for us. That day, I had hated watching her cry and leaving her alone. And I felt the same right now.

Please be all right.

I saw her petite body floating underwater. Her eyes were closed and the brown tendrils of her hair surrounded her pale face. There were no bubbles around her and at that moment, I realized my worst fear. The fear of losing her. Shaking my nerves, I swam toward her and captured her frail body in my arms. Her skin was cold.

She wasn’t breathing.

But I knew she could hold her breath underwater for more than a minute. Fuck. I needed to get her out of the water.

I helped her unconscious body out of the pool and everyone quickly surrounded us, giving me a towel. Everything was a blur after that. I blindly blew air in her mouth, trying to make her breathe and catch a heartbeat. The coach came and pushed me away, giving her a proper CPR while I held her pale palm in my hands. Begging her to wake up.

I couldn’t breathe staring at her numb, ashen body. Her lips had turned blue and her golden skin was turning gray like she was already—No. My throat clogged and blood pounded in my ears when my hands trembled, holding her hand close to me.

Please be all right. Please be all right. Please don’t leave me.

Finally, she sputtered out some water, gasping for air, and her eyes watered. I exhaled a breath I didn’t know I was holding and so did the others who were hovering above us in a circle.

“You’re okay. Ju-just breathe. It’s all right,” I said, wrapping my arms around her body and holding her close when I heard her cry in the crook of my neck. I ran my hand through her wet hair, not caring about the murmurs spreading around us.

I didn’t know who I was telling that to. To her or to myself.

Her throaty sobs pierced my heart and I didn’t want to hear the sound of her voice cracking in my ears ever again. Rio wrapped a towel around her back while the coach settled everyone in the team who were worried about her.

“Hey, come on, Kia. You are fine, Ethan saved you.” Rio tried to cheer her up, causing her to tighten her arms around me. She was still shaken up and scared.

I pulled away and tucked her wet hair behind her ears. “Bella, you’re all right. I’m here.” She lifted her eyes at me when I cradled her cold face in my warm hands. Her eyelashes were wet, her eyes red and glistening with tears, and her red lips were quivering when tears streaked her face. I had never seen her so vulnerable and weak. It almost hurt to look at her.

“Hey, Kiara, you’re okay. You’re fine. Please don’t cry,” I begged, my voice breaking as I wiped away her tears, not wanting to let go of her.

The coach came over to us after settling my other teammates and the crowd that had gathered near the hallway. “She needs to go to the nurse’s office. Ethan, why don’t you help her and I will take care of him,” she said and gave a pointed look to Liam, who was standing alone glaring at the water. Asshole.

I would’ve fought him, but Kiara needed me right now.

Rio looked between the two of us and said, “I’ll tell Katherine to bring her some change of clothes.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat and asked softly, “Can you walk?”

Her voice was weak and croaky when she stammered, “W-would you mind holding me?”

“Never.”

I scooped her in my arms and stood up when she hid her face in my neck, her arms clutching me tightly. She didn’t weigh much and I noticed she had lost her appetite. I promised myself to ask her about that later.

I walked to the nurse’s office and glared at everyone who dared try to take a peek at Kiara’s face or the fact that her white bra was visible through her damp T-shirt. She wasn’t crying anymore, and my hands tightened around her knees when she stayed silent. I didn’t know what I should say, so I stayed silent. Which was worse than saying anything at all.

Nurse Gena checked her while I stayed beside her, holding her hand. Finally, the nurse smiled at us and said, “Well, Kiara you seem perfectly healthy and fine. You didn’t try to swim because of the panic attack, but now—”

“Wait, panic attack?” I looked at Kiara, who was busy looking down at her lap, twiddling her thumbs.

Mrs. Gena nodded. “Yes, it’s perfectly normal to have a panic attack when pushed in the pool out of the blue. Don’t worry, hon, she’ll be all right. Kiara is strong. Why don’t you wait outside while she gets changed or she’ll get sick.”

I nodded and asked, scratching my neck, “Is there anything else I—uh, we need to take care of?”

She smiled. “All she needs right now is some rest and healthy food. She is perfectly fine.”

Kiara finally looked at me, a small smile tugging her lips. “Yeah, Ethan. I’m fine.”

I frowned but nodded nonetheless. Something still wasn’t right, but I let go of it because I didn’t want to push her right now.

I kissed her hand and her forehead. “I’ll be right back, okay? Then I will take you home.”

She shook her head. “You don’t have to. I’ll call—”

“Shh, I am taking you home. Go and get changed. I will be back here in ten.”

I left when Katherine, Rio, and Volt came rushing to the office. I was even surprised to see Vivian, Alice, Becky, and other friends waiting outside the office worried about her. As I was still in my swimming shorts and a towel, I got lots of long looks when I walked back to the locker room to take a quick shower and get changed into my clothes.

I knew that something was going on between Liam and Kiara. I didn’t trust Liam, but I did trust Kiara. So, if she decided not to tell me about what was happening with her and Liam, I would stay out of it. She would tell me when she was comfortable with me knowing it.

But back in my mind, I was curious to know what she had said to him that made him snap and push her into the pool. When Liam was still my best friend, they got along well together, and even though they had silly little fights with each other, it never ended up being either of them getting hurt. And Liam would never push anyone in the pool like he did today. Especially not Kiara. I didn’t know what was going on.

I was walking back to the office and sighed in relief when the crowd that had gathered outside had disappeared. The hallway was empty. I was about to open the door when I heard the familiar male voice talking to her in a hushed whisper.

I froze.

“Please, Kiara. You have to—”

I turned the knob and opened the door to see Liam sitting on the same chair I was sitting on moments ago, talking to Kiara, who had changed into leggings and my shirt. I couldn’t decipher her expression when Liam was about to say something and stopped mid-sentence, looking at me.

I clenched my jaw. “What the fuck are you doing here?”