CHAPTER 8 THE LAGOON
"Who decided this was supposed to be a family outing?" Ann being stirred from her baking spot on the beach
"What were you looking for some privacy Ann?"
"No, I was looking to not get soaked while on the beach, from small people doing cannon balls JARRED."
Ace plopped down on the blanket next to Ann shaking his wet hair out.
"Do any of you understand the theory of wanting to stay dry?"
"Why would you come out here on this hot day and not get wet?"
"You wouldn't understand." Ann huffed kissing his nose.
"Would you like to go for a walk then?"
"Well I don't know if I wasn't to leave Breanna, no one watches her as carefully as I do."
"Well then lets take her with us."
"No, she's having a great time lets just stay here."
"All right…then you have to get into the water with me."
"How did I know this was going to come up?"
"Are you afraid of water?"
"No!
"I just don't like…doing you promises not to laugh?"
"Sure doll."
"I really have this thing against the bottom of water filled hole."
"O.K. what does that mean."
"It means the gushy bottom of the lagoon, the dirt that I will be sinking in up to my ankles in is going to disgust me to a point of jumping and screaming like a girl."
"So you are afraid of something?" Ace smirked "Well I can fix that, it's nothing."
Ann watched Ace run up through the woods and disappear.
A slightly confused look on her face she turned back to watch her siblings and new friends at play.
"Thwump."
(A/N this is the sound I hear in my head, yes I know it's not a real word.)
"Thwump" Ace proceeded to drop an inner tube down over Ann's head.
"What is this thing?"
"I thought you were the princess of cars?"
"I am, but I'm not used to having car parts dropped over my body."
"It's an inner tube the inside of a tire."
"Wow, I never thought of that. What made you think of that?"
"Well I aint just another pretty face, I got some smarts in there." Ace speaking in his best hill-billy accent as he called it.
Looking deeply into Aces Eyes, Ann wondered how a man that had a reputation as bad as his could treat a girl so great.
"What are you looking for? Is my brain floating in front of my eyes again?" Ace pulled Ann up off the ground, and carried her to the water; letting the inner-tube walk it's self down and hit the edge of the water with a little splash.
"Why do you treat me so well?" Ann asked as Ace set her down on the inner-tube. "You have known me for less than a week."
"Who knows, I think I just like having someone around who lives up to the standards." Ace pushed Ann off, and wadded in after her.
"What standards?"
"Leaning into Ann's lap the standards of being a woman, the standards of being Ace Merrill's girl."
"Your Girl? Who said I was your girl?"
"Who said you weren't?"
Just as Ann went to add her reply a scream rang out through the lagoon ending with a splash, a crying Jocelyn half running half staggering out of the water.
Jocelyn? Ann jumping out of her inner-tube, swimming after her sister.
Jocelyn, what's the matter?
Jocelyn staggering and sobbing into her hands.
Jocelyn, stop and talk to me, Ann roughly turned her sister around to see a huge gash across her chest and blood running down her body. Jocelyn collapsed into her sister's arms
"Baby, what happened?" Dominic, get over here now, She screamed.
"He pushed me." Jocelyn choked out blood bubbling from her lips.
Ace came up behind Ann, saw what was happening, and scooped Jocelyn into his arms. "Ann get the others, I'll take her to the car."
"I can't breath."
"It's o.k. Jocelyn." Whispered Ace
Ann ran, scooped up her bundle of stuff.
"Dominic get the others Jocelyn is hurt we have to take her to the hospital."
"What? What happened?"
"I don't know, but she's bleeding all over get the others now!"
Bridgett grabbed onto Ann's arm. "Take Dominic with you and go. Billy and I will take Elizabeth and Breanna."
Ann kissed Bridgett on the cheek took Dominic's hand and ran for the car.