03

The heat burned my back, as if I needed a reminder I was in Hell. Anxious about the picture and increasingly tormented over the upcoming summer, I set my phone on a nearby rock before heading towards the sea.

As I dipped my feet into the chilly water, an unfamiliar thrill of serenity washed over me. It disappeared as soon as it had arrived, but there’d been a sense of relief where I’d felt detached—in a good way—from the dramas of London.

I waded further into the ocean, wincing as a wave splashed my front. It was refreshing, though, and the kind of escape I’d been searching for. Hitching my dress up, I strode towards a calmer section of water. With the blazing sun scorching my upper body, and the cold water cooling my lower body, I savoured the contrasting sensations.

In the distance, I heard a shout. Before I could turn, a pull sucked my feet from the seabed and dragged me away from the beach, deep into the huge expanse of ocean I’d admired just minutes before.

Salty water surged up my nose and flooded into my mouth as I struggled against the invisible force, fighting to overpower it and swim back to shore. But it continued to drag me along, unrelenting, whilst I choked on the gushing water and thrashed around, unable to regain charge of my body.

My limbs burned with fatigue, yet the ocean showed no signs of tiring, not allowing me a second of mercy where I could fight to escape.

Darkness. Water. No oxygen. No air.

Then air.

Light.

I coughed, spluttered, gasped to refill my lungs with oxygen. A hand gripped my upper arm, hauling me towards the shore.

As the water became shallower, and my toes scraped the ground again, my panic subsided and the hand released me. The unexpected requirement for my tired legs to function caused me to stumble backwards and land on my coccyx, water and sand splashing up into my eyes and face as I searched for the owner of the hand. I couldn’t find the energy for vanity, only relief.

A tanned boy, ripped with muscles and wearing bright red swimming shorts, stood a few feet away. I hadn’t noticed anyone on the beach, but thank goodness he’d been around. If he hadn’t…

Desperate to gush my appreciation, I lifted my gaze to his, noticing his narrowed eyes, balled fists and clenched jaw.

I was stunned into silence, still sat on the shore with the waves rolling over my soaked body. The guy ran a hand through his dark hair, sprays of water dripping to the ground.

« The red flag is there for a reason, you know. » He gestured towards the wooden lifeguard station, a dramatic movement to accompany the harsh bark of his voice.

I’d been so preoccupied with the irony of having a lifeguard on a deserted beach that I’d failed to spot the crimson flag fluttering in the light breeze.

« I didn’t notice. The sea looked calm. » My throat scratched, aching for a drink, despite the water I’d swallowed.

The guy’s hands landed on his hips, drawing my attention to his broad shoulders and sculpted chest, the sun bouncing off droplets and making his skin glisten. Yet when he spoke, his attractiveness plummeted.

« There are deadly rip currents on this stretch. Hundreds of swimmers drown every year. It’s clueless people like you who people like me have to rescue because you have no idea how dangerous the ocean can be. »

I scrambled to my feet, narrowing my eyes to match his scowl. I’d made a genuine mistake, and yet he felt within his right to make generalisations ? Perhaps I had behaved irresponsibly by not checking out the flag, and if this boy hadn’t been around, that current could have defeated me. Unfortunately, though, defensiveness now overpowered my earlier urgency to thank him.

« Do you insult every victim like this ? » I raised my eyebrows and folded my arms.

« Only the clueless tourists. »

« Right, because this is clearly a hot tourist destination. » I threw my hands out to emphasise the empty beach with not another human, let alone tourist, in sight.

« I saved your life and you’ve not even thanked me. If I hadn’t been here, you’d have drowned, especially with the way you were flailing about in the water. »

I’ve not thanked you because you’re being a dick.

« Well, maybe if such a dangerous beach had a lifeguard, they’d have stopped me from going so far out. »

His jaw clenched again, and I wondered if he regretted helping me. If I’d saved someone’s life and they were this bitchy, I wouldn’t be very impressed, either. He’d instigated the argument, though. Had he expected me to sit there and accept his insults ?

« I am the lifeguard, » he said through gritted teeth.

My eyes dropped to his red shorts and the humiliating realisation dawned on me. I willed a quick retort to spring to mind, but nothing came. I wanted to tell him he was a useless lifeguard, but I couldn’t. The guy had saved my life ; he was an excellent lifeguard. Yet he’d rubbed me up the wrong way, so I wasn’t going to back down.

« I guess saving lives is your job, then. »

I needed to leave the beach before I crumbled. The guy had every right to be angry. He hadn’t rescued me because I’d come into genuine difficulty through no fault of my own ; he’d rescued me because of my ignorance and carelessness. Mortifying.

But my pride prevented me from admitting that. He could have checked I was okay, but he didn’t. He launched into abuse instead. Hardly professional lifeguard behaviour…

Without another word, the boy marched up the beach and climbed the ladder into his chair. I watched him for a few moments, but his eyes remained fixed on the ocean, never once flickering in my direction.

Dripping wet and no longer able to enjoy myself because of his presence, I collected my phone and headed back. Alastair had irritated me earlier, and now another boy had pushed my buttons.

More than anything, I wanted a friend who I could spill my heart out to. Daisy and I used to be close, many years ago, but we’d drifted apart when the politics of being a socialite had hijacked our lives. I was the one who’d introduced her to that life, and she’d taken to it like a fish to water, so much so that she’d tried to take my boyfriend from me, too.

Much like my relationship with Alastair, my friendship with Daisy had become more about having decent social connections than genuine, intimate connections. Trust severed, the relationship hung by a thread that represented our years of history.

I draped my soaked dress over the balcony and hopped into the shower to wash the salt and sand from my body. The deluge of water covering my head and face caused my heartbeat to quicken, but I forced myself to remain calm. It was only a shower. I wouldn’t drown in a shower.

To reinforce that, I stayed underneath the torrent of water for longer than necessary, tilting my head back so it drenched my face. I waited until all feelings of panic had subsided before ducking out and twisting the dial to stop the flow. It would not beat me.

With a towel wrapped around my body, I hovered in the middle of my bedroom. What to do ? I knew there wasn’t much in the town, so I didn’t want to exhaust all my entertainment options on the first day.

After rooting through my case, I found my book and dragged a chair onto the balcony. For the rest of the day, I read. It was the kind of escapism I liked most, where I could lose myself in a novel and, for a few hours, live someone else’s life.

Mum’s an event planner, which is the ideal job for her considering she loves planning my life for me. When she’s not helping Dad with the marketing aspects of the business, she’s organising glamorous parties for anyone who can afford her extortionate fees. I’d only been to one of these events, and after embarrassing the whole family, I hadn’t been invited to another.