The Easy Part of Impossible - Sarah Tomp Page 0,91

had twisted and rewired her mind, making it hard to trust her own senses.

As they reached the road that would lead them back to the strip club, she dropped her backpack and helmet on the ground.

And then, without looking back, she ran.

The wind felt sharp and cold on her face. Her eyes watered. Or maybe those were tears. She concentrated on running. Her battered body could take her away from thinking.

The sharp pain in her leg, along the bandage line and stretching out beyond, past the tug and pull of her skin, became her focal point. A way to count her steps and regulate her pace. It reminded her that she was, in fact, moving.

At some point, it stopped hurting. She was too busy concentrating on breathing. Her lungs felt tight and hot. It was like being stuck in the moment of resurfacing after a dive. Desperate for air, but wary of the water all around. Her body, untrusting and unsure.

She’d known somewhere, in the back of her mind, where she was headed. Seeing the Aquaplex building in the distance gave her a burst of adrenaline.

Her rubbery legs carried her up the sidewalk. She staggered past the outdoor pool, closed now for fall and winter. She headed around the building, to the back, where she knew Benny had entered. He refused to use the entrance at the front. Not slowing her momentum, she crashed against the door, hard.

Her fingers wouldn’t cooperate to work the handle. It was slippery and overly complicated, and she couldn’t see through the mess of sweat and mud dripping in her eyes. But then, suddenly and wonderfully, with a rush of light, like the moment the sun pops up over the horizon, the door opened and she fell forward, with a crash onto the cement floor of the storage room.

She crawled, lifted into a crouch, grabbed one of the shelves to steady herself, then stood upright. She made her way through the crowded room, out to the pool deck. She moved across the tiles, slowly, smoothly, careful not to slip.

Voices echoed around her as she headed for the three-meter board. She knew, in one small, distant part of her brain, that she looked deranged and lost. Mud on her ragged clothes, streaked with sweat on her skin, her hair mussed and plastered.

A whistle from the lifeguard pierced the air as she made her way up the ladder, leaving a trail of mud along the rail. The minerals within the muck shone in the artificial light. They looked so pretty, sparkly and brilliant, against the shiny chrome. She headed up and up, back to where she belonged.

On the board, she wished she’d taken off her shoes. But it didn’t matter. She’d dealt with far worse inconveniences before. She looked out over the pool area where her team had stopped diving, stopped talking, stopped everything. With her contacts in, she could see everyone. Clearly, finally. All eyes were focused on her.

Benny’s, too. But he couldn’t touch her here. The board was her refuge.

“Hey!” Sean frantically waved his arms from the lifeguard chair, then blew his whistle as a bonus. “Ria! What are you doing? You have to get down.”

She moved to the edge of the board.

“No! Use the ladder! Ria! Don’t go in the pool like that!” Sean sounded hysterical. “Benny! Do something! Get her down!”

“Turn around and climb down that ladder.” Benny stood up from his chair, moved to the edge of the pool. She knew what he might do. What he was capable of. What he’d already done to her. Because she’d let him.

“I can’t,” she said. “That’s against the rules. Your rules. Once I’m on the board, there’s only one way down. No balking allowed.”

She peered over the edge. The blue of the water rippled and shimmered. It was fake, that blue. It wasn’t the water. It was only paint. An illusion. Water didn’t have any color at all.

“This used to be the scariest part of diving for me,” she said. “Standing here, knowing I had to do something hard, something I wasn’t sure I could. Fear would keep me company up here. It reminded me to slow down and be careful. It wanted to help. Fear helped me be a better diver. But you messed that up, Benny.” She bounced once, feeling the spring of the board.

“I almost died today. I was in a dark place, all alone. Scared of being lost, forever. Fear showed up, but it couldn’t save me. It didn’t even