River:
I wasn't sure who was more nervous - her or me.
My chest ached from the force of my heartbeat, every thud was ricocheting through my ribs like a drum. My lungs were burning, but I couldn't take in air properly. It was as if my whole body had gone still, suspended in this fragile moment, desperately waiting for her answer.
She sat there, perched on the edge of the pool wall, with her eyes wide, lips parted, and her throat bobbing as she swallowed. She held her breath as tightly as I did, neither of us daring to move. The silence between us stretched, thick and suffocating, yet charged with something I couldn't put into words.
I needed her answer. I needed it more than my next breath.
Her lips moved, opening and closing as if she wanted to speak, but no sound came out. My eyes followed every attempt, every twitch of her mouth, every flicker of hesitation across her face. And the longer she struggled, the more dread pooled in my chest.
