Even. Funny.
Me: Hey, you said you wanted to see some skin. I was only doing what you told me.
Drake: I’m not sure what bothers me more – the fact that you’re taking pictures of Jordan shirtless and wet or that you thought I would enjoy them.
Me: LOL Sorry, I had to.
Drake: I’m sure you did. At least Jade got some enjoyment from them. What are you doing?
Me: Sitting by the pool. Everything went ok at the reading today, mom stormed out.
I decided it would be better if I left the part out about her threatening me. He would freak out and I didn’t want to add any more stress to his life.
Drake: I’m glad. We’re about to stop for some food so I’ll talk to you later.
Me: Ok, love you.
Drake: Love you too.
I set my phone back down and smiled at my own joke. I glanced up to see Jordan and Kadi watching me closely. “What?”
“Was he mad?” Kadi asked.
“Nope. He didn’t appreciate them, but Jade certainly did.”
Jordan gave me a smug smile. “Who wouldn’t? I mean look at me. My abs have abs.”
Kadi and I started giggling like idiots. “I still don’t think that’s enough to make Drake bat for the other team. Sorry about your luck,” I wheezed out between giggles.
“Whatever,” Jordan mumbled, “I need to run inside and make a quick call to my coach, will you be ok here by yourself for a couple minutes? You’re mom still isn’t home.”
I waved him away. “I’ll be fine, go do what you need to do.”
He walked to the patio doors and slid them open. “I’ll only be gone a few minutes.”
I rolled my eyes as he closed them behind him. “He worries too much. I think I can survive sitting by the pool for five minutes.”
“He just worries about you,” Kadi said as she stood, “I need to head home, so I’ll see you later.”
“Ok, later.” I waved goodbye as she grabbed her clothes and left.
I decided to go for a quick swim while I had some alone time. It was nice to have Jordan around, but I wasn’t much of a people person and I enjoyed being by myself more often than not. I climbed the ladder to the diving board and did a cool little spin dive into the water. I surfaced and started leisurely swimming back and forth from one side of the pool to the other. I felt the muscles in my arms and legs start burning as I killed some of the nervous pent up energy inside of me.
I did a few more laps until my arms felt too heavy to move. Deciding I had pushed myself enough, I swam to the steps and stepped out of the pool. The swim had the intended effect; I was worn out, but my mind was calmer.
I walked over to grab my phone, but before I reached it, I felt a pair of hands circle my neck. I shrieked as I was thrown to the ground and someone kicked me in the ribs. I groaned as I tried to roll over, pain slicing through my ribs.
My mother was standing above me with a look of pure rage on her face. “You little bitch, you’re going to pay.”
Before I could utter a word, she kicked me in the ribs again and bent down to grab me by my hair. I tried to free myself, but she must have been on something because my strength was nothing compared to hers. She lifted my head and slammed it down onto the ground in front of me repeatedly. I felt blood running from my nose and I could taste it in my mouth. The taste alone made me gag.
She pulled me to the edge of the pool and held my head an inch from the surface of the water. “Maybe next time you’ll think about crossing me. If there is a next time.”
With that, she pushed my head under the water. I struggled to free myself as she held me there. I don’t know how long she kept me like that, but I knew it was longer than I could hold my breath. Without thinking, I opened my mouth to take a breath and the water flooded my mouth. My lungs instantly started to burn as it filled them.
I felt myself losing consciousness when suddenly I was free. Strong hands grabbed me and pulled me from the water. I rolled onto my stomach and started coughing, trying to get all