Page 48 of Playing with Fire

My legs drop from time to time, yet I lack any opportunity to establish my balance. He lifts me partially while simultaneously dragging me back to the stern of the boat.

My hands burn as they touch the railing in direct sunlight while I try to escape him.

Ow.

"Jaxon, I'm serious!"

Silly stomach pain shouldn't make you act like a coward. I hear him laugh behind me.

I reached the boat's edge and watched everyone below swimming in the water.

The pain in my stomach had disappeared yet I continued to resist his push to enter the water.

He released me but I had already reached the edge where I stood. Like I expected, he pushed me in. A brief scream escaped me as I fell until my body hit the water.

My anger flared as I surfaced from the water. My ears were experiencing slight ringing while my head felt mildly painful. I've been dealing with this concussion for a month, but some symptoms are still persistent.

I push my hair back from my face while listening to their laughter. "You're such an asshole!" I shouted at him.

I watched him jump off the boat and splashed away from the water. "Oh no! My diamond earring!" Felix mocked my insult.

"Shut up." I fired at him, sniffling.

Why is my nose running?

"Uhm Em...?" Felix looked a little worried.

"What?" I asked him, confused, sniffling again.

"Your nose is uh–bleeding," he mentions.

I rubbed my finger beneath my nose and realized to my surprise that what appeared to be mucus was blood staining my skin red.

My finger was covered in it. I needed to wash off the blood under the water before it reached my bathing suit.

Why the hell is my nose bleeding?

After swimming to the steps, I climbed up again onto the boat. The memory of our tiny food display led me to locate some napkins in a bag which I then pressed against my nose.

Footsteps approached me from behind, so I turned to see my brothers moving closer.

"Are you okay, Em?" El asked.

"Yeah," I nod. "Just a nosebleed. I'll be okay again after a few minutes. To reduce their concern, I press my nose and replace the napkins.

"How'd it even happens? I didn't see how you ended up in the water. Tristan stressed.

"Jaxon pushed her in." Elijah gave him a short answer.

I don't have a better explanation than my concussion although it doesn't seem especially logical. I shrug. "It's not that big of a deal. It's not like I'm dying." I joke.

Tristan rolls his eyes at me. If you're telling me, you're okay then I don't need to be concerned. I'm puzzle something to worry about. I laugh.

I learned my sister is bleeding so it's fair for me to feel worried. Elijah defends both.

"It was a nosebleed," I emphasize.

"Whatever." They both say before walking away. With my head low I walk toward my belongings. My phone is in my bag, so I remove it to view my notifications. I had one text from

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