Please Don't Tell (3 page)

             
             
             
             
             
Chapter 3

             
“I can’t swim there.  I just can’t,” I whimpered, as fear gripped me. I imagined what all those pelicans were diving for; dead slimy things, fish, water snakes and I didn’t want to find out. The cliff looked so far away. I blinked quickly, hoping it would change the distance between us, but it didn’t.

             
Ethan grabbed my chin forcing me to stare into his green eyes. “You just have to, Sophie. The boats aren’t going to see us treading water, so, we need to swim...okay?” His eyebrows rose waiting for some kind of confirmation that I was on board with his plan.

             
Tears started to fall down my cheeks and they mixed with the warm ocean water that splashed onto my face. I tasted the mixture of salt and my tears as they trickled into my mouth.

             
I pulled my right hand out of the water, wiping the tears away as best as I could and nodded.

             
His hand reached down tugging at mine. “Start swimming as soft as you can. If you get tired I’ll pull you the rest of the way. I promise to stay right next to you, I won’t leave you, okay?”

             
I continued kicking my feet underneath trying to take everything in that he instructed me to do.

             
“Sophie, can you nod or something so I know you understand me?”

             
Somehow I managed to move my head up and down. It was like some lightbulb turning on and I finally understood what he was telling me to do and I started to swim. The life vest scrunched under my arms as it held me above water. Kicking my feet out I started to make my way to the jetted rocks and cliff ahead of us.

             
As we swam, several different thoughts swirled inside my head. Would we make it all the way over there? Would someone find us? What if this was it? What if sixteen years was all I got on Earth? As all these different thoughts crept into my mind, I pushed myself forward trying not to let them take me over. Sand came slowly into view; black rocks poked out at all different angles. I don’t know how long it took us to get there, but it felt like forever.

             
“Sophie, whatever you do...don’t look down. Just keep swimming and push yourself through this,” Ethan said, grabbing onto my hand.

             
I looked down after I felt the warmth of his hand. Okay, I know he said not to, but that’s like a dare in my book. “Oh. My. God!” I cried out.

             
I stopped swimming and started to tread water. Stingrays swished through the water, their bodies nestling against the sand. Ethan’s hands tugged at the life vest, pulling me closer to shore.

             
“I told you not to look down. They won’t hurt you. They’re harmless okay?”

             
I shook my head. “Ethan, I can’t do this.”

             
Ethan stayed true, he never left me side. He treaded water right next to me. “We’re there, just slowly place your feet down into the sand. They’ll move. Most of them have already taken off.” He pointed a few feet away. “Look.” He was right. Most of them were gone.

             
Even though we had been somewhat safe, I started to panic, shock taking a hold of me. My heart rate skyrocketed. I couldn’t believe how calm he was. Why was this happening? Why couldn’t I be sitting on a beautiful lounge chair back at the hotel with Peter? Ethan’s hands suddenly wrapped around my waist, tugging me forward, and then in one fell swoop he picked me up, carrying me onto the sand. He placed me down softly, tucking the wet strands of hair behind my ear.

             
“You all right?” He asked, as he pulled the life vest from my death grip.

             
My breathing started to slow as I gripped the sand beneath me, squishing the wet sand between my fingers.

             
“Yeah, I’m okay.  I just...I don’t know what happened,” I whispered as I laid back into the hot sand.

             
He sat down beside me and leaned back propping himself up with his elbows.

             
He held out his hand. My anklet was wrapped around his fingers.“Well, that didn’t go according to plan.”

             
Propping myself up on my own elbows, I grabbed my ankle bracelet. “You think? What are we supposed to do now?” I hooked the bracelet around my ankle. “How is someone going to find us?”

             
His brows furrowed. “Let me just think for a few minutes.”

             
I pushed myself up, standing with my hands on my hips. The sun beating down on me, sweat formed on the rim of my upper lip. I slowly licked the salt away, placing my hand onto the brim of my eyes and searched for anyone passing by.  “No one is going to find us are they?” My eyes focused on the few passing speedboats as they zipped by hundreds of feet away. Not sure how long we’d been gone I huffed. It had to be well over a couple of hours since we pulled away from the dock. Everything that I brought with me in my little knapsack was somewhere floating in the sea: my cell, my sunblock, my Chapstick.

             
“Hand me that vest will you?” He asked.

             
I bent down and threw it directly at him and he caught it. “Please tell me you’re not swimming somewhere?”

             
His eyes squinted as he looked down at me. “I’m using it to attract attention. I already told you that I wasn’t going to leave you. Relax and get some sun.”

             
“You’re kidding, right?”

             
He smiled as he stood and started waving the vest into the air at the boats passing by.

             
“Over here!” He yelled out, waving it over is head more forcefully than before.

             
“They can’t see us. They’re too far out,” I said, defeated.

             
“They’ll find us, Sophie. Peter or one of our parents will eventually realize that we’re missing. We just need to hang for a bit.”

             
I skimmed my lips with my tongue trying to moisten them.“My lips are starting to burn.”

             
At least another hour dragged by without anyone discovering us. I clutched his hand, trying to ease my doubts of being found, but it wasn’t helping.

             
“Stay calm, Sophie.” He laced his fingers into mine, then added, “It hasn’t even been that long.”

             
Stay calm? I can’t even breathe or think, let alone stay calm. Are we supposed to just sit here and rot in the hot sun? What are we going to do now? We certainly can’t swim anywhere, let alone flag someone passing by. That obviously wasn’t working. I couldn’t stay calm. Everything I’d ever done and kept secret kept suddenly tumbled out of my mouth.

             
“I have a crush on Peter. We kissed once. I don’t know who kissed who but we never talked about it again.  I killed my little brother’s pet bird. He followed me into the bathroom and I accidentally stepped on him when I jumped out of the shower. I blamed it on the dog. I hate thong underwear even though all my friends wear them. I still like my Monday through Sunday undies; way more comfortable.”

             
Why was I telling all my little secrets to Ethan of all people? But I’d started and I couldn’t stop myself. “My best friend’s boyfriend kissed me and I never told her. What kind of friend am I? I can’t stand when Valerie wears too much pink. She looks awful in it. I literally know everything about sex because my mother watched a Dr. Phil episode when I was ten. Ten years old and she thought I could handle it. I’m still a virgin even though people assume I did it with Jason at a party. I don’t even know why or what happened. I felt his hand in my pants and I freaked. So technically, I’ve only really ever made it to third base.”

             
He looked at me. “What?”

             
But I kept on going. “He’s been trying to get me into bed ever since.”

             
I had to stop rambling. A stingray swam up and nestled into the sand not five feet from us, reminding me that I was stranded, possibly forever. I looked toward Ethan, making sure he was still there and I wasn’t alone. He grinned, and for the first time I appreciated his broad tanned shoulders, his tousled streaked hair, and his presence.

             
And then my mouth started again and more of my past spilled out. “I secretly love to still watch Full House when everyone else is watching soaps. I once got my belly button pierced only to take it out a month later. My mother would kill me. I cheated in English last year by paying Andy to write my term paper. Valerie and I went on a road trip last summer with two boys and we lied to our parents by pretending to sleep over each other’s houses. Don’t know what we were thinking. I’m a total sucker for all of John Hughes movies.”

             
I can’t believe I’m telling him all this. I’m losing it and telling him all the things that nobody knows about me.

             
“I’m sorry,” I said, as I took a deep breath. “My life is pretty boring.”

             
He chuckled softly. “It’s okay, Sophie. And your life is not boring.”

             
“We’re going to fry out here like some bug getting caught in one of those contraptions.”

             
“We’re not going to fry.”

             
I couldn’t stop rambling. I ramble all the time to Val, my best friend, but why couldn’t I stop now? I never ramble to a guy.

             
“I hate Seattle. Still not sure why they divorced. I think someone had an affair. When I drink at parties I throw most of it out. I hate feeling out of control.”

             
“Sophie, look at me,” he said, calmly as he pulled my chin and pointed in straight out into the ocean. “Let’s play a game?

             
“You want to play a game? Right now?” I asked, as I pulled my knees up to my chest.

             
He grabbed my hand. “Sure, ask me a question? Anything.”

             
My mind was a complete blank, a zero. I looked at him like he’d been crazy, when he started. “What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?”

             
“You’re serious?”

             
“Answer the question.”

             
“Fine,” I said, as I rolled my eyes. “I love Friendly’s Butter Crunch.”

             
“Grand! And, I like sorbet. Hate ice cream.”

             
“Who’s your favorite band?”

             
“I don’t have one.”

             
“Everybody has one. I like Coldplay, The Beatles, technically just Paul, and The Stones.

             
“What do you do for fun?” He asked.

             
“Do we really have to do this?”

             
“Yes, now answer the question.”

             
“My friends and I like to go to the mall.”

             
“Right. Okay, and I like to read in my free time.”

             
“Who likes to read in their free time?”

             
He laughed. “Me. You should try it sometime.”

             
I gasped. “I read. I read a lot--well, really just when I have to for school.”

             
“So, Pete tells me you haven’t been back to London for quite some time.”

             
I shrugged.“Yep, kinda been busy. My mom has gone back a few times, but with school and all.”

             
“Remind me...weren’t you born over there?”

             
I know he knew all of this, but I answered anyway. “I was. We moved right before I turned one.” I shrugged. “My parents met over there, but since he was an American citizen we moved here.”

             
“That’s a shame. It might be fun having you over there.”

             
“What?”

             
“Nothing. Pete tells me that your parents got divorced.”

             
“Gee, what didn’t Peter tell you?”

             
“Well, he didn’t tell me the things you just blurted out. That was merely a bonus,” he chuckled.

             
“How do you know so much about the ocean? I mean like taking off my ankle bracelet and staying so calm?”

             
He shrugged and smiled. “Ah, that’s nothing. Lived in Australia for a long time. Me Dad and I use to fish and swim a lot together.” He looked down, but then winked at me. “But, this was just...well, you were really scared.” He gave me a long lingering stare before he spoke again. “So how have you really been? It’s been a long time.”