Page 101 of Gambler's Fallacy

TWENTY-TWO

SEVEN

The hall echoes strangely,the sound of water reflecting back to me even though the water isn’t doing anything but sitting there in the giant pool.

It’s really blue. I’ve seen a few pools on TV, but I didn’t realize the water would be that blue. It isn’t blue in the bathtub, so why would it be blue here?

“Geez, I thought it would be Olympic size. This is a dinky little pool,” Havoc says as he pulls his t-shirt off. He’s wearing a pair of swim trunks that go down to his knees, in a bright red floral pattern.

Caleb has already stripped down to his swim shorts, which are much shorter, and black. The Roi de Pique logo is embroidered on one edge.

“Why would I need an Olympic sized pool?” Caleb says. “Most of the guests use the outdoor swimming facilities. This is for swimming laps.”

“Dinky laps that are barely worth the effort.” Havoc walks over to the far end of the pool and jumps in.

Maybe jump is the wrong word. He goes with his arms and headfirst, and the momentum propels him forward so that it only takes him a few more seconds to swim over to us again. He leans over the side and smiles at me. “Water’s heated, at least.”

I should probably be afraid of the water. It’s not like I know how to swim. But it’s tantalizing, and I walk over to the shallow end of the pool. I grab the metal bar for balance and take a step into the water, enjoying the feeling of the warm water on my feet.

Vortex is right behind me, hovering like he’s afraid I’m going to fall.

I give him an amused look. “I’m fine,” I tell him. “Daddy.”

He looks good, too, in swim shorts that are similar in length to Havoc’s. I’m not used to seeing his bare, hairy chest, and I tilt my head as I notice bare spots I don’t think I’ve ever paid attention to before. They’re scars, I think. They’re not like mine — which are hidden beneath a tank top — but it’s clear he’s been hurt a few times in his life.

I don’t want to talk to him about it right now, though. I want to enjoy my time with the three of them without them constantly checking their phones or rushing off to work.

“I’m not going to fall,” I assure him. “And I’m not going to go too deep. Promise.”

“I was a Navy SEAL,” Havoc says with a big grin. “If he slips, I’ll save him.”

“You were in the army,” Vortex points out, scowling. “Landlocked right outside Calamity City.”

Havoc winks at me. “Seven doesn’t know that.”

“Seven absolutely knows that,” I say, even though I don’t know exactly what they’re talking about. Some kind of military thing, I guess. “But if you want me to pretend to drown, I’ll let you save me.”

I absolutely will not pretend to drown.

“You will not,” Vortex says.

I take another step into the water. The slightly rough material of the bottom of the pool helps me keep me from slipping, and I keepgoing until I’m waist deep. Vortex follows, resting a hand on my hip, and I turn to face him.

“You can stop hovering like that. I’m not about to go run off to the tables,” I tell him pointedly, even though I’m itching to do just that.

Vortex has the decency to look chastised. “I wasn’t thinking that,” he mumbles.

He definitely was.

Caleb comes over to the pool and sits on the edge, dangling his feet in. “I haven’t been swimming in ages,” he admits. “It feels like a lot of hassle.”

Havoc flicks water at Caleb. “Hassle? This was what I did most summers. My mom would take me to the local pool. I’d spend hours playing with other kids in the water.”

I wish I had memories like that. I wish I had memories beyond twenty-one steps in the same room, over and over. My mood plummets.

Emily got to do things like that.

She’d come back with a tan — or a sunburn — gushing about how much fun she’d had in the pool. I’d begged to go, but… No.

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