Page 64 of Beyond The Break

I twist my head around and spot Eliana and Colton walking along the old boat dock. An uncomfortable feeling settles in my stomach as I watch them walk further and further from the party. Although Eliana is completely capable of taking care of herself, I decide to get closer to where they are, just in case. I never would have expected Colton to do anything to her but I don't know if I can trust him after what happened with Meghan, even if what he told me is true.

As I near the dock, I hear a loud crack and Eliana shrieks as the end of the dock breaks off from the rest, throwing her and Colton into the water together. A chorus of gasps surrounds me as the rest of the party watches the scene unfold. I yank my shirt over my head and toss it to the sand as I run towards what’s left of the dock.

“Griffin!” I hear Eliana shout from the dark waters.

When I reach the end of what’s left of the dock, I find her struggling to stay afloat while holding an unconscious Colton.

“Griffin, help!” She shrieks again.

Without a second thought, I dive into the ice-cold water and swim to where she is, pulling Colton onto my back and wrapping an arm around her waist to help her stay afloat.

“Are you okay?” I shout over the loud ocean waves.

“My legs are cramping,” she whimpers.

Panic claws at my chest when I realize I won’t be able to hold them both up, but I shove the feeling far away, needing to stay focused.

“I’m not leaving you, sunshine.” My voice cracks as I pullher in tighter and use all my strength to keep her and Colton afloat while I tread water.

“Fin, catch this!”

I look towards the voice coming from my boat and spot Maliah and Kairi. They throw in a lifebuoy, and it lands directly beside Eliana.

“Grab onto that.” I push her towards it, and she quickly grabs on, relief engulfing me.

“Griffin, I don’t think he’s breathing,” Eliana says, voice trembling, as she looks at Colton hanging over my shoulder, “he hit his head on a piece of driftwood when we fell in, and I found him floating face first. Leave me and take him to shore.”

“I’m not leaving you,” I say stubbornly, though I know Colton won’t make it out of here alive if I don’t get him to the shore fast enough.

I try to pull her along with me as I swim towards Koa who is cutting through water like it’s nothing, but Colton’s weight slows me down.

When Koa reaches us, I pass Colton over to him and we swim our fastest and hardest towards the shore, Eliana dragging behind us as I pull the rope attached to the lifebuoy.

Koa tosses Colton onto the dry sand and starts to perform CPR on him as Maliah and Kairi run from my boat onto what’s left of the dock, holding dry towels for us. Eliana is shaking profusely in my arms, and I try to shield her from everyone else that is watching us, her dress sticking to her body like a second skin.

When they reach us, they toss a towel over her and take her from me, wrapping their arms around her shivering body to warm her up. I run over to where Koa is and take over the chest compressions while he counts beside me.

Colton is lifeless under me, his face paling and his lips turning blue. The thought of losing him this way lights a fireunder my ass and I put even more pressure in my compressions before I blow more oxygen into his mouth. I won’t let him get off this easy, he owes me for all the pain he caused, and a part of me wants our friendship back.

When I lower myself back down and blow into his mouth, he responds with a watery cough. Koa and I quickly roll him to his side and Colton spits out water before coughing and gasping for air as he sits up.

I fall back onto my ass, resting my hand on my knee as I watch the color return to his face, my breathing ragged as the panic claws at me chest. I look around at all the eyes on me and feel it building, reaching overwhelming levels. It reminds me of my accident; I assume this is what it looked like too when I was being resuscitated by the medical team. When Colton finishes coughing and his breathing evens out, he looks up at me with a horror-filled expression.

“Did youkissme?” he asks in disgust, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“Oh, fuck off.” I scoff, but I can’t hold back the smile that pulls at the corners of my mouth as the panic begins to fade away.

Koa laughs beside me, and I join in until all three of us are laughing. This moment reminds me of what it was like between us when things were good, when we were as close as brothers. Sadness replaces the relief that I feel, and my laugh dies away, both of theirs following shortly.

The crowd cheers as Koa helps him up, and Colton being the crowd pleaser that he is, takes a bow before turning back to me. He holds his hand out for me to take so that he can help me stand up. I stare at it for a moment, considering whether I’ll burst into flames from touching him, but I take my chances and accept the help, feeling the familiar ache in my leg. Blood trickles down his forehead from a cut on his head where the driftwood must have smacked him.

“You’re bleeding.” Kairi runs up to Colton, grabbing his chin and angling his face so that she has a better look at the cut.

Her expression is filled with worry and anger as she frowns up at him. Her relationship with Colton was always complicated, just like her relationship with Zale.

“I’ll take us back to The Shredder House, you can take my bed for the night. I’m going to stay on the boat with Eliana tonight,” I mumble, returning to Eliana’s side.

Kairi throws me a thumbs up as she loops her arm around Colton, supporting him as they walk towards the dock and board my boat.

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