Page 213 of Something Rad
“Cooper–”
“Stop touching me–”
“What’re you–”
“I can’t–”
“Where are–”
“Ahh!”
I’m not sure which one of us is really at fault–which one of us trips first–but what I do know is that, right now, I’m in Robbie’s arms. And we’re falling, tumbling straight into the pool, breaking the surface of the freezing cold water, and then, everything going black.
forty-six
ROBBIE
I don’t know how it happened.
One second, I’m ready to deck Paul across the face, and then the next, the wind is knocked out of me, I’m staggering backwards, Cooper and I are at each other’s throats, my entire view becomes a mess of red hair and tangled limbs, and then we’re falling.
Cooper’s still in my arms when my back hits the surface of the pool water. The breath is pulled from my lungs, our bodies making a deafening smacking sound as we break the tension of the water, and then, all at once, we plummet like rocks.
It’s early March and we live in the Bay Area, meaning this pool water would already be pretty chilly. But, with the cold front that came in tonight, it’ssocold.Painfullycold. Freezing, honestly. It feels like time goes in slow motion as Cooper and I sink towards the bottom, our clothes weighing us down like heavy anchors.
The frigid temperature sends my body into something like shock, my muscles stiffening and not wanting to move, but my brain takes over, forcing my feet to kick off the ground of the pool. Somewhere on the way to the surface, Cooper slips from my grasp, and, when I finally come up for air, I find her coughing and sputtering, her soaking wet hair stuck to her forehead and hanging heavy around her face. I reflexively reach for her, pulling her to me as she continues to catch her breath. Even as she coughs, I can hear her teeth chattering from the cold, shivers wracking her body. Every time I nearly get a hold on her, she pulls back, beginning to sink again as she continues to choke. Finally, words manage to break through her strangled gasps.
“Stop it!”Cough. “Just leave me alone, would you?”Cough.
“What?” I question her, my head flying back.
“I know how to swim,” she informs me, sputtering.
“Well, excuse me, Cooper,” I scoff. “I just figured it’s a little difficult to swim when you currently can’t even seem to breathe.”
At the same time, it appears Cooper and I both realize we don’t need to tread water anymore, our feet finding the bottom of the pool. “I’d rather not breathe if it means I’m sharing the same air as you!” she shouts, shoving water in my direction.
“Wow.” I bark out a laugh. “Real mature, Cooper.”
She crosses her arms, speaking through her chattering teeth. “I wish you– I can’t– Would you just–”
“What, Cooper? Spit it out.”
“Just–God!” She shouts, exasperated. “Shut. Up.”
I take a step closer to her, laughing. “Is that the best you’ve got?”
Her gray eyes narrow at me.
“Well then, how aboutyoushut up, Cooper?”
“Will you leave me alone if I do?” she fires back, quirking her brows.
“Probably not,” I answer automatically.
“Ugh!” Cooper shoves at my chest, letting out a guttural cry.
When I don’t budge after several attempts at knocking me over, she finally relents, crossing her arms once more.
