Gio

I grab a coolant and a towel from the backseat and set it on the ground, waiting for the steam to cool down so I can pop the hood open.

The road is vacant as I decided to take the more scenic route back to town. The right side is lined with trees and the right side oversees the quiet lake. The whiff of damp hills and willow trees waft around us. The only noise is the echo of crawking ravens and buzzing of bees.

There's not a single soul around, probably because it's hot enough to melt.

"How long will we be stuck out here for?" Celia wonders, holding her lower back. I feel guilty for driving so carelessly with this old truck.

"Not too long, maybe fifteen minutes until the engine cools down so I can take care of it." I offer her an apologetic smile. "The phone repair trip will have to be canceled."

"It's okay," she shrugs, turning towards the lake. "We can still make the most out of it."

I raise my eyebrows as she sashays down the hill, heading straight towards it.

"You're not getting in the water!" I yell as she waves her fingers over her shoulder. "Celia!"

"I know how to swim!" she turns to roll her eyes, making me groan.

"You don't even know what's in that water! I'm not coming after you!" I shout, but she laughs.

"Come on, it's so clear and blue!" She bends over and swirls her hand in it. "And so warm!"

I sigh and turn to the hood of my car, glaring at it for being boiling hot. I squint at the sun, a sheen of perspiration across my forehead. The back of my shirt is getting damp.

"You're missing out, Gio!" Celia yells, ankles in the water as she paddles back. "Live a little!"

"I'm good!" I say with sarcastic enthusiasm. "Just don't go too far."

Even across the distance, I hear her scoff as she turns to face the lake, spreading her arms.

"Crazy girl..." I shake my head. Where's her phone? Maybe I can call Chase and check up on Ari.

I put the coolant and towel back and lock the doors before going down the hill. Her phone is left near her brown sandals, cooking under the sun.

"What's your passcode?" I ask, noting how she's already halfway in. Her skirt is underwater and the wind blows her hair as she turns and smiles at me.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she says coyly, making me wonder what the fuck she has on her phone that she wouldn't want me to see. On second thought, I don't think I want to know.

"I want to call Chase and check on Ari!"

"Come for a swim and I'll tell you," she says and lies back, floating with her eyes closed.

"What's the passcode?" I yell, smacking my lips when she twists on her belly and swims away. "Celia! I told you not to go too far!"

"Who's going to stop me?" she laughs, head bobbing up and down as she gets further.

What if something gets caught to her leg and she freaks out and starts drowning? What if I don't make it in time and something bad happens?

No. She's fine. She's a grown adult. I'm not her babysitter.

I press the side button of her phone to test my luck and find a black and white picture of a woman as her wallpaper. She resembles Celia, but her dark hair is sideways in waves. She's in a loose, open-back tank as she looks at the lens over her shoulder. Her chin is slightly dipped, eyes calm with authority yet lonely and vulnerable.

Probably her mom, I think.

I look at Celia in the water, splashing around, enjoying the lake. Her laughter brings life to the statue-still place and I wonder, I wonder what she's carrying behind that laugh.

"Gio, I'm getting tired! What if I drown? Are you going to watch or come save me?"

This girl... I wouldn't be surprised if she pretends to drown and actually hurts herself just to mess with me.

I undo my white button-down and unroll the sleeves, shrugging it off. Celia watches me as I pull my shirt over my head and unbutton my jeans. Stripped to my black briefs, I leave the rest by her sandals and tuck her phone under my clothes before ambling towards the water.

Small rocks push against the soles of my feet as I paddle through the soft ripples. The water stuns my broiling core, teasing and tingling as it embraces around me.

I dip my head underwater and lunge forward, welcoming the cold jolt from head to toe. My deprived cells explode with pleasure. I emerge briefly for air before diving again. When I float upright, Celia's just a few feet away from me.

"Damn, you swim fast," she gapes, voice stunned. Her wet hair is pulled back, pale skin covered in droplets, lips still red and eyelashes stuck together.

"You're tired, aren't you?" I tease, noting the strain in her voice and the way her mouth is parted.

"I'm not old like you," she says and splashes me suddenly, laughing.

"What are you, five?" I turn my face and shut my eyes as she continues to splash.

"What are you, fifty?" Her giggle morphs into a shriek when I splash her back. "Hey!"

"What?" I chuckle, doing it again as she coughs. "I'm not even doing it hard."

"Who cares, your arm is the size of my leg!" she yells, glaring at me.

Then she goes crazy and starts splashing with both hands, shrieking and laughing as I attack back.

She manages to get some in my eyes and nose, but my palms are too big and all it takes is just a few, heavy splashes to make her turn to catch her breath.

I use the leverage to push forward and snatch her by the waist so she doesn't go anywhere.

"Are you done now?" I ask, holding her against me. "Can we go back?"

"Hell no, I will not be a loser!" she grunts, thrashing to break free.

I laugh at her attempts as she tries to pry my arm off with all her strength, kicking her feet. I just twist her sideways and lift her above my head before throwing her in the water.

She splashes under with a high-pitch shrill, then gasps out for air, gaping at me.

"You..." she growls and throws her arms over my head, trying to sink me under. I laugh as all she manages to do is squeeze her breasts against the side of my face.

"No!" she shrieks when I lift her up and toss her again.

"Getting tired yet?" I smirk as she tries to catch her breath.

"No," she pouts, not making eye contact. What a sore loser.

"Do you need help?" I tease, biting my lip when she looks at me like she wants me dead. "You look like you need help."

"Fuck you."

I chuckle, swimming close enough to wrap my arm around her waist. "You can hold on to me."

"I don't want to—" she tries to say but gasps when I slide my hand down her ass and push her against me.

"I got you," I smile as her legs wrap around my waist. "You can catch your breath."

She tentatively holds onto my neck, then dives one arm behind her and starts squirming against me.

"What are you doing?" I ask, voice lower.

"I'm, uh..." she slightly whimpers, staring at my chest. "I'm trying to lower my skirt..."

Her cheeks turn pink as she peeks at me and I realize she's shy about my hand. Oops. Not really sorry.

I gently raise it to her back and she leans into me, face in the crook of my neck to brace herself while she pulls her skirt down.

"There..." she grabs my hand and guides it back to where it was, biting her lip timidly.

Jesus Christ...

"Your reward for saving me," she says cheekily with a little smile.

"Oh, thank you," I roll my eyes despite the grin on my face.

"You're welcome," she says and clenches her thighs to lift higher.

The sun catches her hazel eyes and her red, wet lips part. Her fingers tangle with the back of my hair, nails scratching my scalp as we breathe heavily and stare at each other.

I shake my head at her slowly, voice hoarse. "You're trouble, you know that?"

Lost for words, she looks at me... in a way no one has ever look at me before. Like she's afraid, but not afraid of me. Like I mean something. Something she might be afraid of losing.

We inch a little closer. Her soft chest presses against mine and her warm breath spills over my lips. Slowly, the tips of our noses brush against each other and we close our eyes.

A car honks behind me, startling us both. I turn us around and find a white car parked behind mine and a middle-aged man staring right at us.

"Great..." I mutter, slowly releasing her. "You good to swim back?"

She nods, looking away. I beckon her to get in front of me as we swim back.

I ask Celia to wait next to me while I put on my clothes before we approach the man. He greets us with a friendly smile and shakes our hands, introducing himself and asks if he can help.

Relieved, I explain the situation and he says he has extra coolant just in case. I ask Celia to get in the car while he grabs it from his trunk. After opening the hood, we make a small conversation while finishing my coolant then adding some of his. I shake his hand, thanking him. We exchange numbers after I tell him about my auto shop, then we goodbye.

"Ready to go home?" I ask Celia, turning the car on.

"You're dropping me off?" she asks, voice timid as she looks at me.

I scan her drenched clothes and nod. "Want to hang out at my house until you're dry? That way your dad doesn't ask any questions?"

"Please," she frowns, turning away. "I don't want today to get ruined."

"It won't," I assure her, getting on the road. "Don't worry."

Thirty minutes later, we're parked by my gate when she receives a call.

"Why? What's going on?" she asks, tone cold and defiant. Her eyes dart left and right as she listens to her dad on the other line before defeat washes over face. "Okay."

"Everything okay?" I ask, but her eyes bulge at something in front of us. She lowers the phone though her dad is still speaking, then hangs up on him.

"Gio..." her voice rises with anxiety and I follow her sight to find Chase, Oscar and Ari kneeled at something on the grass outside the gate.

We jerk out of the car and rush up to them. Ari turns to find me and breaks into wails, throwing her arms up for me.

"What happened?" I lift her up, hugging her as she cries into my neck.

Chase and Oscar who were standing side by side, part slowly and look at the ground.

Luna lies on the grass, motionless and eyes shut.

"No..." Celia paces towards her. "No, no, no. What happened?"

"We just got here and found her like this..." Chase says, tone distant. "We didn't see..."

Celia drops on her knees before Luna, leaning down and resting two fingers against her neck. She sniffles as she tries to speak clearly. "She's... she's breathing, but it's very weak."

"We need to get her to the hospital," I say. "Is there one nearby?"

"Yeah," Celia nods, eyes broken as she looks at me. "But I don't know if they'll take her⁠—"

"Please!" Ari twists in my arms. "Please, Celia, please save her!"

"Baby, Celia's not a doctor..." I hold the back of her head, making her look at me. "We're going to take her to the hospital and get help, okay? I promise, we'll do everything we can."

"Who would do something like this?" Celia asks Oscar and Chase. "You guys didn't see anything at all?"

They shake their heads and Celia's eyes water. I clench my jaw, bouncing Ari in my arms.

"I saw," a little voice says behind me.

We turn to see Liam, standing still, eyes distant on Luna. "I saw someone stomp on her a couple of times."

"Who?" we all ask. "What did he look like? Do you know his name?"

"I didn't... I didn't see his face."

Celia stands next to me, her hand on my arm as Liam's shoulders start to shake.

"She didn't do anything wrong," he gasps with short breaths, rubbing his eyes. "She was just guarding the house..."

"Fucking asshole..." Chase mutters, spitting on the ground.

"I'm sorry..." Liam cries out, face turning red. "I'm sorry..."

"Shh, it's not your fault," I kneel beside him, setting Ari down.

Ari turns and throws her arms around Liam as the two embrace, crying together.

"I got to go home..." Celia steps away, eyes glazed and absent.

"I'll take you⁠—"

"No, you need to take Luna to the hospital. By the time I'm home, my clothes will be dry. I'll call Chase to let you know when I'm home."

Something doesn't feel right about her tone. Why is she rushing to get home? What did her dad want?

"Is there something you're not telling me?" I ask.

Her steps freeze as her eyes snap to mine, she clenches the fabric of her skirt.

"Celia..." I step towards her.

"Ari needs you," she says softly. "I'll call you later, I promise. There's nothing to worry about."

"Let's get Luna in the car," Chase tells Oscar behind me.

"I'll call you, I promise," Celia assures me.

Ari and Liam join Oscar and Chase, asking if Luna will be okay. Celia gives me one last look over her shoulder and curves her lips into a half-hearted smile.

~ A/N ~
Buckle up guys...