Because We Fell

18. Cleansing

Jake was still nowhere to be found, so I moved away from the rocks and went closer to the waterfall, wanting to feel the water pour down my body when suddenly I felt two hands grip onto my ankles. Before I could move or swim away, the hands pulled me down underneath the water and suddenly my body crashed against Jake's, who was grinning at me as he let go of my ankles and quickly gripped my waist.

Crap. How was I going to escape him? He was too strong for me so I couldn't break free from his hold, so now I was forced to move along with his body. He effortlessly lifted me back up to the surface, just to take a quick moment to catch his breath, as he whispered triumphantly, "revenge."

"Let me go," I squealed, wiggling in his arms as I tried to move away. He shook his head, smiling crookedly at me, and in the next second we were back underneath the water. From the look on his face I knew he had no intentions on letting me free, and he seemed to be enjoying watching me struggle.

Okay, fine. Game on, Rivers.

I had to act fast. Trying to figure out how to overcome his strength, I started to move whatever part of my body that I could. I wrapped my arms around his head, moving closer to his body, and pushed my body a little bit upwards and wrapped my legs around his waist. My heart began to race incredibly fast as our bodies pressed together, but I ignored the beating of my heart and worked to try and move away.

His arms were still around my waist but I could feel his grip loosening. He seemed surprised by my sudden action and I could see a muscle in his jaw clenched and a tensed look in his eyes. I quickly took advantage of his distraction and took my hands and placed them on his shoulders, pushing myself off from him. In an instant I was free from his grip, and I quickly swam back to the surface, gasping for air.

A few seconds later, Jake appeared on the surface too, looking completely out of breath. His face was slightly flushed and he glared daggers at me. "That wasn't fair," he murmured underneath his breath.

I had to look away from him as my heart beat uncontrollably against my chest. I know, I thought to myself. I couldn't help but feel a little giddy at the moment as I tried to catch my breath. Suddenly the water didn't feel so cold anymore; my body was still burning and I could feel my cheeks reddening.

I stared at his bare chest that was dripping with water, not able to look straight into his eyes, and noticed something on his skin. A pale white jagged line was on his skin, close to his underarm. Jake caught me staring and without a word, he started to swim away from me.

I watched him swim towards the rocks, and he lifted himself up onto them so that he was sitting on the rocks but his legs were still in the water. He leaned back, and stared at me, as if he was waiting for me to join him. I looked over at the others, who were swimming and shouting just a couple feet away from us, but none of them paid any attention to me and Jake. I went over to Jake and quickly moved through the cold water, and sat next to him on the rocks.

"I got it a few years ago," Jake said before I could even ask anything. He looked straight ahead of him, and I gazed a little mesmerized at the way the sunlight hit his body. "My dad and I got into a nasty argument. I mean, we always do, but that night was the worst we'd ever been. He was drunk, so damn drunk. He was sputtering on about some stupid road and car and I was trying to calm him down but he just ended up screaming even more. He went on and on about what a failure I was and --" Jake paused, and he closed his eyes. His fists were clenched and I could see him trying to steady his breathing. He kept his eyes closed as he continued, "he started to break things. He grabbed vases and threw them at the wall and knocked things over. Then he ended up breaking a mirror and I was yelling at him to stop, but he just took a piece of the shattered glass and stormed towards me and --" Jake took another deep breath and my heart sank as I realized what he meant.