I originally wrote this short for this Tumblr prompt. It may or may not be inspired by/part of one of my upcoming fantasy books. 👀
She was tangled up in his arms, laying with him on a towel on the beach. He whispered sweet nothings into her ear, melting her heart over and over again. She laughed, she giggled, and they shared soft kisses, making promises they didn’t know they couldn’t keep.
“Let’s go for a swim,” she said eagerly, scrambling to her feet.
She held out her hand to him and he took it, grinning, and together they waded into the water while she gushed about her feelings for him.
“Don’t you even dare leave me in any way, shape, or form,” she said, looking back at him as she walked deeper and deeper into the water.
“I wouldn’t even dare to dream of it,” he reassured her with a smile, tightening his hold on her hand.
She waded deeper into the water, unconcerned and unafraid, his hand never letting go of hers. Wave after wave hit them and his hand almost slipped, but he gripped her tighter.
“Don’t let go,” she said over her shoulder, trying not to panic.
“I would never.”
But he did. Because, suddenly, she was in the middle of an expansive ocean with nothing beneath her feet. No one and nothing to hold on to. She tried to keep her head above the water but the vast emptiness of the ocean on all sides filled her with terror. No one could hear her screams. She couldn’t hear her screams as her lungs filled with salty ocean water.
She woke up coughing, desperately trying to get air back into her lungs. She could still taste the saltiness of the water, which filled her with panic until she realised she was choking on her own tears.
She wrapped her arms around her knees as her sobs quieted down. She couldn’t take her eyes off the empty, cold side of the bed. A side that would never be warmed by him.
She cursed her heart for still thinking of him. She cursed her heart for hating him and loving him so.
But most of all, she cursed herself for not remembering how to swim on her own.
