Chapter Two

Adriana began coughing up water the second she came around. Her head hurt like crazy, and she could barely breathe. She was soaking wet, and it felt like gallons of that gross harbor water were regurgitating from her throat. Her eyes remained closed as she finished choking, and she finally opened them when she started to take deep breaths again. She was looking up into the eyes of someone that she had definitely seen before, and it took her a second to realize that it was the man she had bumped into on the dock. He had thick, wavy brown hair and deep brown eyes, eyes that seemed strangely familiar, more so than something she had seen from a passing glance. The man was leaning over her, also soaking wet, his collared shirt, tie, and suit pants dripping with harbor water. His breathing was heavy and rapid, like he had just run a marathon, and Adriana waited for her thoughts to reorganize themselves before she tried to come to a conclusion about what had happened.

"Thank—you," she said in between breaths, still coughing a little.

The man smiled. "You need to learn to be more careful. You could have drowned."

"I'm—sorry," she said, blushing a little as she realized something. This man had given her mouth-to-mouth, and they were complete strangers.

"It's okay," said the man. "Can you sit up?"

"I—think so," said Adriana, pushing herself up with her hands against the wood of the dock. The man helped her, placing a hand on the small of her back to support her. Adriana's head spun for a second, and she coughed a little more, but other than that she was all right. As she was sitting up, she heard thudding footsteps behind her, and before she could turn around to see who it was, she saw Kristina standing in front of her, worry written all over her face.

"Are you okay?" she asked, getting down on her knees to look into Adriana's eyes.

Adriana nodded as the man asked Kristina, "Did you call the paramedics?"

"Yeah, they're on their way," said Kristina. She turned back to Adriana. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Adriana wanted to say that she'd be fine if Kristina stopped asking her, but refrained herself. "Did they—find the dog?"

Kristina rolled her eyes. "You almost drowned, and all you can think about is that dog?" Adriana just stared at her, waiting for an answer. "Yeah, they found it."

"Good," said Adriana, still breathing deeply. "I think I'm gonna—skip the pool today." She chuckled, the small laugh coming out in a gasp and more coughs.

Kristina smiled. Adriana seemed to be even more like herself than before she had fallen into the harbor. Kristina hadn't heard her friend tell a joke in months. "I think that's a good idea. Oh, and I called your mom. She's on her way."

Adriana moaned. She hadn't been planning on telling Claudia about this, because that would just be another thing for her mother to worry about. She had just started earning Claudia's trust again, and then she had to fall into the freaking harbor. She'd be lucky if Claudia ever let her leave the house again after this one. But what bothered her most was how Kristina had been able to call Claudia. "How did you get her number?"

"She gave it to me in case of…emergencies," Kristina said reluctantly. She had promised Claudia that she wouldn't tell Adriana about their arrangement, because Adriana would certainly be mad. But now it was out in the open, and Kristina didn't want to be around when the other shoe dropped.

Adriana rolled her eyes. So much for trust. "Are you freaking kidding me?"

"Look, after last year, she just wants to make sure you're safe," said Kristina, trying to spin the situation, but Adriana wasn't having it. She would be eighteen in a little over a month. What kind of adult had a friend with Mommy's number on speed dial, just in case of "emergencies?"

"Hey, guys, the paramedics are here," said the man, unknowingly stopping the spat before it started. Adriana turned around to see two men in EMS uniforms, one of them carrying quite an extensive first aid kit. Kristina and the man stood off to the side while they checked Adriana out. As she sat through the blood pressure taking, stethoscoping, and other such procedures, Adriana watched her friend and the stranger, and noticed something odd. They seemed to know each other; in fact, they seemed to know each other very well. Adriana couldn't hear the conversation, but the way their bodies were positioned and the way their faces formed when they talked fueled the fire of her suspicions. She'd ask Kristina about it later, mostly because she really wanted to know who the man was that had saved her from certain death.

Claudia made her appearance just as the paramedics were finishing up. She ran down the steps to Adriana like a bat out of hell, her black boots clacking with worry. She ran by Kristina and the man without acknowledging them and knelt down to Adriana, holding her daughter's face in her hands as she ranted.

"What the hell happened?" she practically screamed, turning Adriana's face from side to side, as if looking for something. "I thought you were going to the pool, and then Kristina calls me and says that you almost drowned in the harbor! What is going on?"

"Claudia, calm down," Adriana mumbled, her cheeks turning red with embarrassment as she coughed a little more. "I was chasing this dog that had gotten away, and I slipped and fell. I'm fine. Just a little tired."

But Claudia didn't completely take her word for it. She stood up and turned to one of the paramedics, asking, "Is she gonna be okay?"

The paramedic nodded. "She'll be fine. Just have her get some rest. She was really lucky that that guy was there to save her," he added, nodding over towards where Kristina and the man stood. Claudia turned around, and was so taken aback by what she saw that she almost fell over. It was several feelings at the same time: anger, frustration, confusion, and, most of all, fear. Because if he was back in town, it could only mean trouble.

Trying to get her bearings and not alert Adriana of the danger, Claudia let one word slither off her tongue. "Ric."