Page 45 of The Life We Almost Had

Chapter Twenty-Five

Adam

There was a blow to my skull. The taste of blood in my mouth. Colours bright and dull. Light and dark. A kaleidoscope of pain.

Water, in my mouth and eyes.

Water, in my nose and ears.

My arms and legs flailed. I was sinking deeper and deeper. Dizzy. Disorientated. My lungs burning, chest tight.

The water morphed from blue to grey to almost black. I was spinning. Twisting in the sea, everything about to explode. My skull. My rib cage. Body burning.

Anna.

I tried to swim but I felt so odd.

Couldn’t think straight. Couldn’t force my legs to kick their way to the surface.

I was sinking. Heavy. A mass of pain and regret and fear.

I was drowning but, rather than my life flashing before me, there was only one thought in my head.

Anna.

I was heavy and light and here but not.

Drifting. Drifting. My arms and legs splayed.

I was weightless.

A feeling of calm washed over me.

And then I felt nothing at all.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Anna

Adam.

I couldn’t lose him. Not now. Not when our future was at last bright and glittering with all the things we had dreamed of.

Adam.

How could I ever have thought that I didn’t want him anymore?

I did.

Oh, how I did.

The other swimmers had reached the yacht and were diving under, resurfacing without him.

Adam.

The beach had lost its colour. Its noise. Holidaymakers static and silent, staring out to sea like mannequins.

‘He’s got him!’ someone shouted. Adam’s head surfaced and a sob clawed up my throat.

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