13. A weekend with Nana Jones (II)

Playlist for this chapter;

Don't Let Me Down - Daya,

How Did We - Skylar Stecker.

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Have you ever had a near death experience? I certainly assume there comes a point in our lives that we all have a glimpse of it. It's all shades of terrible and would haunt you for as long as you welcome thoughts of it into your mind.

P.S: While swimming on the beach, don't swim too far out of the eyes and reach of people. Just swim around where you could be seen.

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I REAPPLY SUNCREAM UNSPARINGLY on every of my expose body part, in attempt of not risking a sunburn, from the bright harsh sun of Lake George as I take in view of my surroundings.

Women and men, both old and young are on the beach playing games like volleyball, Tug of War, Beer pong, and so on. With kids playing Beach Frisbee Golf, Let's Go Fly A Kite and Water Bucket Relay. Few young mothers are teaching their toddlers how to swim and float on the shallow beach water and dogs were barking happily and running around. I can see all these through the shades I'm putting on to avoid the harsh sun penetrating right into my eyes.

I have a straw hat on, my forest green bikini top that conspicuously shows my cleavage, and a high waisted jean shorts with my flip-flops. Looking really good as I take photos of myself and send to my friends who where Awwing and Wowing.

When we had first arrived at the beach, people's stares where burning holes into my body and I'm sure as hell the Mackenzie siblings felt the way I did because Nana Jones who knew half of everyone present introduced us all to them. The rest of the people who didn't openly gawk at us, where mostly tourist and families who wanted to enjoy their weekends since Lake George itself was the perfect place for enjoyable weekends.

Currently, Sam who is in just in his denim shorts and Sarah who has just her matching bikini of pink and white polka dots design, are building a sand castle on Evans who's whistling, stealing glances at girls butt who walk by. Sam throws a sand ball at him and he just throws his head back laughs out of excitement.

Max being the jerk that he is, is hitting on every girl he sees as pretty. He succeeds in getting few numbers, a peck on his chick which left perch of lip gloss. A stomp on his foot by a quiet OK lips girl who was peacefully reading a erotic novel at the tree side and was enraged to get interrupted from going further with her book by a perveted male with lipgloss stain on his cheek. He even took pictures with a group of bikini models who where doing photo shooting at the other side of the beach.

Miranda is with Nana Jones and Hank, both gossiping God knows what, laughing and body shaming whoever they think is ugly looking or wore ill fitting clothes.

Also trying to explain something to themselves but can't, because laughter finds it's way to their mouth after each spoken word.

I snort really hard out of jealousy and almost choke on my own breath, that I hurriedly take another sip of water from my bottle water.

Everyone has their attention diverted elsewhere and I'm just alone. Bored of posing for selfies and Face timing with my friends.

Attention I want, attention I will get.

People have no right to just ignore me like I don't exist. Even Hank, Nana Jones stupid dog can't spare a glance at my way. To tell you how frustrating it is. Ugh!

I stand up, discard my straw hat, shades, shorts, plus untying my ponytail and letting my long blonde honey hair loose. Leaving just my matching bikini on.

Several gasps erupts from people's mouth as I stand on the beach towel of Roger Rock on Lake George. I'm the only human figure there, so all eyes are practically on me.

A smirk form itself on my lips when I see the Mckenzie siblings watching me from every corner, even Nana Jones looks like she's going to have a heart attack.

"Katherine, you bad child, what the devil are you up to this time." I can hear her favorite phrase for me right in my head.

"On the count of three Katherine." I instruct myself. Never have I done such a thing, but I want to do something I haven't done before, if that can make people admire me and give me the attention I deserve here.

"1..." I shudder.

"2..." I feel my adrenaline kicking it's way up out of fear and panic.

"3..."

I jump and do a back flip midair before diving into the water, leaving a loud splash behind the moment my body dive into the cold water.

There are cheers and claps as I swim my way up and pop my head out of the water, flicking the wet hair that falls across my face backwards.

People are already walking their way towards Roger Rock because of this, and I swim, away retreating swims backwards as the boys jumps in, while the weak cowardice females lets out hight pitched screams that can cause instant migraine as they jump in as well.

I swim farther away as possible, suddenly loosing the interest for company and attention because people are already smiling at me and swimming their way towards me. I swim untill I'm where I can't be seen and begin floating on the water.

I float on away to the other side of Roger Rock until people are out of my sight and I theirs. And then I swim some more.

I ought to have taken Dr Grey's advice not to stay long on water because of my condition that I let people know not of. I've never swim like this, and I want to swim even more untill I start feeling dizzy and lightheaded. A sharp pain slices itself through my chest, and my breathing becomes unusual as my heartbeat slows down it's rate.

It's that moment a godforsaken wave takes it upon itself to suddenly appear and swells up to an extent, that I get scared and try to remote away, but it carries me to it's peak because can't swim back or forth, or to where I can be seen. I'm just stagnant and the wave swallows me and it starts taking me down into the depths of the sea before I can float upwards.

"Help!" I scream my insides out, coughing and sneezing out the water on my mouth and nose as my feet repeatedly kicks itself lazily inside the water and pulls out just my head and shoulders when the wave carries me up. I'm drain out of strength because I have used it. The salty sea breeze kicks itself harshly into my nostrils.

It's difficult battling to pry my eyes open and stay awake because of my lightheadedness. But I tried, oh God knew how I tried.

"Help!" I scream again, letting my tears muddle up with the sea water and drip it's way down from my cheeks, wondering if someone is going to ever find me or I'd be left alone for the chains of death to bound me.

The last thing I see is a human figure swimming afar, before I finally loose consciousness and feel my weight being pull down by the wave into the sea for the third time.

* * *

After what it seem like eternity, I flicker my eyes open lazily out of tiredness, to a glassy panic fill green eyes, a nose slightly touching mine, and lips slightly apart and an inch away from mine as well with soft breath fanning into my face.

I'm trying to figure where the hell I am and what happened untill I hear.

"Are you alright, Kate?"

The voice thick with British accent that sounds alot like Klaus Mikealson in The Originals, I can recognize that voice anywhere.

It belongs to Max.

Only that it sounds hoarse and absolutely funny.

And then images of what happened flashes through my head and I can remember everything. The last thing I can remember was me fainting in the water, because of my condition that I was warned greatly of by my doctor, not to stay too long in the water.

It's the first time since the seven days I've known him that I've seen him staring at me this way, without contempt.

He looks scared shitless.

Wait a minute, does he looks this way because of me?

He looks like the one who rescued me. Even the water from his hair drips and falls on my forehead. He hastily wipped it away.

I want to ask him if he really is my rescuer because I did saw a human figure swimming his way towards me before I fainted but my voice outcomes through a cough.

There is a sharp pain on my chest, plus I feel really cold. I can feel my lower abdomen swelled up with water, and I need more oxygen.

He presses on my chest, panting really hard as he does this and I cough and vomit the sea water out of my lungs.

"Your voice sounded funny earlier." I remark, after I lay my head to rest on the sand. Chest and eyes hot, itching and excruciating. My voice sounds hoarse, talking hurts, but I can't help it.

"Yeah, that was because I was shouting a lot." And he suprises me by hugging my head to his chest and muttering swear words in his language. Despite his unclad chest is wet, it's smooth and warm. I can hear the steady pace of his heartbeat. His bangs that always fell over his forehead is groom backwards by the water. He looks really nice this way, and less annoying. Even smells masculine and of the sea.

It's surreal because Max will never hug me, not in this life, not even in the next when we'd come as different people. We hate each other, the feeling is beyond mutual between the both of us.

I don't know how to feel at the moment because I'm still having symptoms of near drowning. My eyes are groggy with fatigue.

I finally look around and see the beach occupants have stop whatever they were occupied with and have gather around me with looks of fear and pity.

"Kate, Ah, thank Christ you're awake Kate." Nana Jones had taken her glasses off to cry, but she wears them back on, pulls me away from Max and clasps me into a tight embrace.

"Can't breath, can't breath." I gasp out, shivering really hard, but Nana Jones doesn't hear me.

Fuck!

"Don't hug her so tight, she might choke this way." Someone tells Nana Jones and she takes the hint and releases the tightness of the hug.

Sarah is wiping her nose which is running, she has tear stains on both cheeks.

Miranda looks like she has been crying, too. Sam's lips is in a grim line as he watches me quietly from a corner.

Even Evans looks uneasy, his hair messy and I suspect that he'd been running his fingers into his hair a couple of times.

What the hell happened?

It looks like a lot did.

Did I die and woke up?

All this questions that are replaying in my head and I trying so hard to calm myself down was interrupted when Sarah wraps thick towels around my shivering body.

"Let's get the hell out of this fucking place." Nana Jones makes an exasperated sound, looking really angry as she speaks, and I wonder what or whom she was angry at. "One of you-"

She's interrupted as Max gets off the ground and proceeds to carry me, but Evans steps forward and says he will.

Something flicker on Max's eyes as he backs away and lets Evans carry me on his back.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come save you." He whispers the words to me through his shoulder and I let my head rest against his back as I wrap my weak limbs around him.

With Nana Jones and Sam who's holding Hank leading, we make our way out of the beach with the crowd diverging.

I snap my head back at Max, who is right behind me.

Our eyes meets instantly like he's already been watching me and our eyes holds up for sometime. His eyes and lips are contempt and smirk free. He gives me a look as if I'm a normal everyday person to him.

I never in my life thought I could thank Max, but he did saved me. God knows if he was keeping watchful eyes on me, or he just by chance saved me. But all the same, he still did. Or Godforbid, dead I would've been.

"Thank you." I mouth at him, knowing him saving me doesn't mean I still don't hate him, and him I. He gives me a firm nod with his green eyes a shade darker from the glow of the evening sunlight and lips in a thin line.

And my heart stutters like Maggie's voice, when she turns to a nervous freak.