Psych...the story's not ending soon! I wrote that it'd be 70+ chapters earlier, but I don't blame you if you forgot.
And 650 reviews! We're halfway to the goal I set a while back!
To everyone who celebrates it, HAPPY THANKSGIVING, PEOPLE! For all fellow students reading this, hope you're all having wonderful breaks!
Random Quote of the Week: "I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I" -Nicki Minaj, in "Turn Me On"
Real Random Quote of the Week: "So tell me what you want, what you really really want, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna, I wanna really really really wanna" -Spice Girls, in "Wannabe"
Fang's POV
I took a deep breath and dove under again, ignoring my aquaphobia. I was too focused and panicked for a childish fear like that to set in.
I searched the water beneath Max's feet, feeling around blindly with my arms. I couldn't feel anything keeping her down. In a moment of panic, I swam up and shoved the boat forwards. When my hands touched the bottom of the boat, I felt a few strands of hair. I got the sense that Max's hair was caught in a misplaced bundle of ropes attached to the bottom of the boat that were probably supposed to be used for docking.
Not thinking, I grabbed her hair and pulled as hard as I could. When I felt Max breaking free, I exhaled for the first time in what felt like forever. After getting Max out from under the boat, I hoisted her up and pushed her over the side of the boat, between the seats, careful not to tip it.
I climbed in after her, with no idea of what to do. Ella and Iggy were rowing furiously, but they were a minute away at best. I did what came to mind first.
I pressed my lips to Max's. Before I remembered what to do, since my brain was blanking at the moment, I noticed that they tasted a little salty. No duh, I thought. She was just in the water.
I pinched Max's nose and breathed a deep breath into her. When I felt her chest rise, I breathed again. I repeated the pattern until Ella got there. Deep breath, mouth, exhale. Deep breath, mouth, exhale.
"Fang! Let her go and jump over here!" Ella yelled. I did as she said, landing next to Iggy in their thankfully sturdier boat. Careful not to tip our boat, Ella jumped next to Max and looked her over. I held my breath as Ella's weight rocked the boat, but thankfully Ella managed to prevent it from tipping. After Ella pressed down on Max's chest several times, causing her to cough up water, Ella breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness. She'll be fine. She just passed out from lack of oxygen, but her systems are functioning properly and everything. We just need to get to shore now. But sometime soon, Max will need to see a hospital. She can pretend to be me," Ella said confidently.
I mulled it over for a minute, not sold on the idea of getting ourselves involved with a hospital. "I'll think about it," I decided.
"Fang, we have no choice. Max's lungs can still fill with water well after almost drowning."
Going to a hospital was an awful idea, but Ella was right in that we had no choice. Our odds of succeeding were high enough to make the risk well worth it. "Fine," I said, looking down.
As Iggy and I rowed back, I couldn't help but wonder how life always managed to screw us over and save us at the last minute. First, Max and I were both desperate with nothing to lose. Bam, we met. Next, Max got attacked. The douchebag tripped and Max got away. Just now, Max got trapped underwater. With less than a minute left, I figured things out and Max was saved.
I was grateful about the "save us" part, but why did we always end up in high-pressure situations? Why couldn't we, like, just break a bone or something safer like that? Sure, those hurt, but they wouldn't threaten our lives or anything.
As we dragged Max onto the dock, the ticket seller eyed us suspiciously. "What's going on, kids?"
"Those two clowns fell in," Iggy said. "She fell asleep on the boat, so we have to carry her," he added, motioning to Max. Not a bad lie.
He grumbled something under his breath and went back into his booth to wait for his shift to end. He probably heard me scream for Ella and Iggy and assumed there was something going on. Iggy and I carried Max fifty feet away from the lake and set her down in the grass.
I immediately knelt down to her right and inspected her. Max looked the same as she did when she fell in, but most of her hair was ripped badly, her bandages came off, and she was soaking wet.
"Can you dry her off?" I asked Ella. "I don't want her to get sick."
"Sure thing. Look away, boys," she replied. Iggy and I complied and stared over the beautiful lake which nearly took Max's life. Now that the wind had picked up a little, the lake looked far more ominous than serene, as if it was daring me to test it again.
"I'm done now. You guys can look," Ella said. When we turned around, Ella added, "Did you sneak any peeks, Fang?"
"No! What do you think I am, a pervert?"
"Pretty much. After eleven years of best friend exposure to Iggy, it'd be crazy to expect anything else of you," Ella told me.
"Whatever."
"By the way, were you making out with Max on the boat or what?" Ella asked me, wiggling her eyebrows.
"You know I wasn't. You also know that I don't know how to CPR," I said.
"Then what were you doing?"
"Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation."
Ella laughed. "You have to pump the water out first! That's kinda cute, though."
"What?"
"That your first instinct is to get in on some action with Max."
"Shut up! I was just trying to, you know, save her life."
"Have you heard of Sleeping Beauty?" she asked me, seemingly changing the subject.
"Yeah, why?"
"Well, she was woken up from her eternal sleep by a kiss from her soul mate, so…I think you know what I'm suggesting."
"Don't say that! Max isn't going to die," I said, my voice tight and hands clenched.
She paled. "That's not what I meant, I swear! Anyways, since we're going to be here for a while since we can't carry Max two miles back to the car, can you go grab some coffee so we don't fall asleep?" she asked Iggy.
"Sure thing," he said, jogging off once Ella handed him a wad of bills.
After he left, Ella opened up her bag and fished out the disinfectants and bandages. "I'll bandage her up again real quick," she told me.
Ella opened up a small, square package and took out a thin disinfectant wipe. She wiped Max's face down and pulled a wad of gauze and bandages from her backpack to bandage Max's face.
"I wish mom was here," Ella grumbled. "She could do this in seconds."
"Just focus. You'll do great," I assured her. A minute later, Ella stepped back to admire her handiwork.
"Huh, that actually turned out pretty well," she said proudly. "Maybe I do have some hope for medical school after all."
"I'm sure you will. Just put that you're Dr. Martinez's daughter on your application, and nobody will reject you. Besides, you just saved Max's life. If that's not enough to impress colleges, I don't know what is."
"I know, but that's one instance. I wanna get in with my own merit, not my mom's," she said, fiddling with another packet of disinfectant wipes. She cursed under her breath as she removed what was left of Max's old bandages before disinfecting her leg wound.
After applying the gauze and cloth tape, I told her, "Nice job. Your mom couldn't have done better herself." It wasn't much, but we both knew that was as close as I was going to get to a sincere compliment. She knew me too well to need more.
"Thanks," she said, not taking her eyes off of Max's leg. Finally, after laying another few tapes, she rolled down Max's pants. "She's probably conscious right now, just asleep. She should wake up in a few hours, hopefully by," she said, checking her watch, "five in the morning or so. That means we gotta find a way to get her to the car."
"If you can carry the bags another mile, Iggy and I can take Max," I said, not fully believing it. I was tired myself, so carrying Max two miles was going to be difficult. Maybe I'd feel more energized after a power nap and a coffee.
"We both know that'd be a stretch," Ella said. "But for what it's worth, get some rest now. Even if it's just half an hour."
I shrugged, my eyes already drooping. "All right."
When my head hit the grass, I was out within seconds.
Actual Real Random Quote of the Week (This one's the last one, I promise!): "I'll run away with your footsteps, I'll build a city that dreams for two, and if you lose yourself, I will find you" - Zedd ft. Matthew Koma and Miriam Bryant, in "Find You"
Question of the Chapter: How would you rate your attractiveness from one to ten?
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Just kidding. Hey, I'm in a joking mood now! Anyways, I hope you answered ten since you're beautiful. Yes, I'm looking at you.
Real Question of the Chapter: Did you think I was serious with the last question?
On a completely random note, this will probably be the last multi-part chapter in a while.
I've just seemed to notice that the story's finally getting good - action at last! Thanks a ton for being so patient for 30 long chapters, guys.
Another random note: The review bunnies are awesome! Loving them! Look on my profile if you don't know what it is. (:
Including this time, I've used the word 'random' 6 times in the two A/N's combined this chapter. Just a random (7 now) fact!
Oh, if anyone didn't feel like picking apart my new username, it's heart of glass 99. A heart of glass is one that breaks easily. It's also the name of a Blondie song, lol. It fits me perfectly.
Can we get some long and funny reviews? I know I'm being awfully picky, but...things have been rough lately for me. You guys are always the best at cheering me up! (: