Page 24 of Just Breathe

Aiden looked at Jane with a small smile. “You ready?”

“Hell yeah, let’s do this.” She hiked up her bag, making her boobs jiggle. Aiden turned away quickly, being the smart man he was, and Jane followed him, oblivious.

“You think she’s doing it on purpose?” Nathan whispered as we followed them.

“Nah, don’t think she is. Usually when girls do that shit, they have that smile on their face like they know what the hell they’re doing or at least trying to do. She seems like she’s been out of the dating pool for a while,” I thought about the way she held herself and was pretty sure I’d read her right.

“I think that’s what’s killing me the most, is her not knowing what she’s doing to us.” Nate groaned. “I love that she’s oblivious.”

I smirked because Nate always liked the girl who wasn’t interested. Our hike continued in silence, but that’s the way we usually functioned, and I assumed Jane would talk up a storm. She was so engrossed with her surroundings that I don’t think she even thought about talking.

We’ve never taken a girl hiking, so it was unusual for me to see a girl this quiet. She was so different from the girls we’ve been with. I didn’t know why, but this suddenly made me feel uneasy. Was she trying to con us? Fuck, were we just falling into her trap? I felt the inevitable feeling of panic claw at my insides. This girl was out to get us, and we were just letting her. It took us way too long to get to the falls. I was itching to either punch something or exercise till I was so exhausted I couldn’t think of anything else.

“Wow.” Jane looked up at the waterfall in awe, a little out of breath. I scowled at her expression, feeling even more certain she was just fucking playing with us. Nathan nudged me, nodding his head, checking to see if I was ok. I shook my head and walked off to get my shorts off so I could get in the water. I needed to get away before I did something stupid.

“The water looks amazing. I was worried that the water would be shit, but I see that I’m very wrong.” Jane took her backpack off, unbuttoned her shirt, and took off a tank top. She had her bathing suit underneath, showing just a little cleavage.

“The water is actually really nice. Cool at first, but you get used to it.” Aiden started taking his shirt off. I turned away from everyone getting all my clothes off, only to turn around to see Jane in a one-piece suit with the sides cut off, showing off her hips and a thin piece covering her stomach. A large tattoo came down her thigh from her bathing suit. It was an awesome floral design, and the color was amazing. She had her arms covering her stomach, looking uncomfortable, but she looked fucking edible. Fuck, like I could eat her right now.

She walked over to the water’s edge and dipped her toe. “This is cold.” She shivered, turning around to look at us.

“Don’t think about it.” Nathan also undressed to his trunks.

Aiden had walked in a little and splashed her back. She screamed. “You jerk!” She splashed him back.

I threw my clothes next to my bag, walking into the water like it wasn’t a little cold. I needed to get away. My thoughts consumed me. She was playing us, and this was all her game. She was trying to play us like puppets for God knows what reason. I heard Nathan coming into the water, but I didn’t let it slow me down as I dove in. I kept going down as far as I could, letting my lungs burn a little without oxygen. Without Jane near, I felt better. I stayed down until I couldn’t take it anymore and I had to kick up for air.

I came up slowly, trying not to get noticed. They were all in the water, swimming around. I spotted Jane floating with her eyes closed. She was completely still, looking like she wasn’t even awake, her face peaceful but then quickly turning sour. Her lip quivered, making her bite it as her nostrils flared. A tear fell down the side of her face and a small sob escaped her. She covered her face, looking devastated, like she was drowning in her own pain.

Seeing her break while she thought no one was looking eased my anxiety a bit, making me think a little clearer without the fog of hate tainting everything. She took a deep breath before she disappeared beneath the water. I looked under to see herself swim down as far as she could go just like I had a minute ago. I clenched my jaw, feeling something familiar. I couldn’t even tell you what it was. Was she just as broken as I was?

“You ok man?” Nathan came up to me, pulling me from my thoughts.

“I’m fine, just shit, you know.” I didn’t elaborate because that’s one thing we all let ourselves deal with our own demons and if we needed help, all we had to do was ask.

“Well, don’t let it ruin a nice day. You deserve to be happy, even if it is only for a short while.” Nathan clapped my shoulder and swam away.

Nathan was always talking about being happy, but the dude didn’t let himself be happy either. Sometimes I think we were all doomed to be miserable for the rest of our lives. I looked over and noticed Jane had never come up. I panicked, diving quickly to look for her. She was at the bottom struggling to stay down, but the need for oxygen took over and she push herself up. Chills broke out on my body. She coped like me, our thoughts become too much for us and we need space, silence to work our shit out. I came up for air and we made eye contact.

“You ok?” I asked, knowing she was going to say she was fine.

“I don’t know, but I hope maybe one day I might be.” She gave me a look that broke me. She smiled sadly and swam away from me. I think I was fucked. This girl somehow called to me on a level that I barely even had with the guys. For just a moment, I wondered what it would be like to be with her – or all of us to be with her – and if she might be the answer to all our problems. With her around, maybe, just fucking maybe, I could become a better person.

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