Page 1 of Emerge

Chapter One

Riley

Iwas surrounded by water and my bad decisions, waiting for them to take me under and drown me. How had I gone from sitting under a tree, considering the pros and cons of Stanford over UCLA to being kidnapped and shot in the leg?

The gunshot wound burned with every kick of my feet it took to stay above water. I looked around frantically for land, but all I saw was darkness and glistening water in the moonlight. There weren't even faint lights in the distance indicating civilization.

I could inherently sense which way land was, which was eerie. I'd slowly been coming to terms with the idea of being something other than one hundred percent human. I had moments when I felt unlike myself, but when I was around the Tritons, I felt almost normal.

"Riley." Ivy spun me around so I could see her. The moon lent enough light to see the fear and regret in her eyes. "What are we going to do?"

Pain ripped through my leg and I sucked in a sharp breath. "My leg," I choked out on a hysterical sob. "He shot me."

I was certain I was about to go into shock. We were in open water in the middle of the night, and I was undoubtedly spewing blood. A shiver ran through my body, and not because of the cold water.

"I should tie it off or something." Ivy pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. "I'm so sorry, Riley, I-"

"This isn't your fault."

I should have noticed the changes in Ivy sooner; the detachment, the poor judgement, the distance.

But I hadn't. I'd been too invested in my own issues to notice that something was wrong with my best friend. Maybe if I'd noticed, I would have connected all the dots about Mr. Gale.

I fisted my hands under the water as my blood heated, thinking back on everything involving him. He'd swept in and taken us all by surprise. What did he need the knife for, though?

"Riley? Where'd you go?" Ivy put her hand on my arm, and I snapped my attention back to her.

I looked around, spotting a faint blinking light in the distance. "We're going to have to swim."

It wasn't that I couldn't swim. I had lessons before that day in the ocean that made water my greatest fear. Before then I had begged my mom to sign me up for synchronized swimming and the swim team.

"We should try tying off your leg now before we swim so you don't lose as much blood." Her words were muddled through the chattering of her teeth.

My body had adjusted to the water and I wasn't too uncomfortable. The small voice in the back of my mind told me it was because I was meant to be in water. I shivered again.

I nodded and unbuttoned my jeans, pulling them down my thighs. My leg didn't hurt anymore, and I hoped I didn't have nerve damage. If I couldn't dance... I didn't know what I was going to do.

To get the pants off the rest of the way, I had to go under and work them off my legs. It was pitch black, and I wondered what it would be like to be able to see in such conditions.

Jax would get my voicemail soon and they would come looking for us. They wouldn't stop until they found us. I just hoped we didn't get eaten by a shark or die from dehydration first.

I managed to get my jeans off after finally deciding to kick off my shoes. I didn't need them if we were in the water and it might be a little easier to swim without them.

"What are we going to tie it off with?" I let the jeans float next to me. "I don't think you can get the jeans tight enough with them being so wet and thick."

I was nervous for her to look at my wound. It really didn't feel like anything had happened to it, and I wondered if maybe the bullet had just grazed me and the saltwater was helping it.

"We can use my shirt. I have a cami on under it." She removed her long-sleeved shirt and blew out a breath. "Maybe float on your back so I can see it?"

I was thankful the ocean was calm enough that we weren't being thrown around by waves. I laid back, letting the water cradle my body so Ivy could look at my leg. We bobbed gently in the water as I stared up at the stars.

"Holy shit." Her hand ran down my leg near my shin.

"Is it that bad?" I wanted to lift my head and look but was too nervous. "It doesn't hurt."

"It's healed," she said, confusion in her voice.

"It's what?" I shrieked and sat up, immediately sinking under and getting a mouthful of seawater.

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