Maxwell’s POV
I started moving toward the water, but my father took a step to the side, blocking my path.
"Maxwell... let her go..."
"MOVE!" I shouted, throwing him a hard punch across the face.
He stumbled backwards, holding his jaw as blood spilled from his lips.
He looked at for a second, his eyes filled with pure hate and cruelty before he took to his heels.
He ran down the beach in the opposite direction, his form quickly swallowed by the rain and darkness.
Every instinct scread at to chase him. To get answers. To understand how he was alive, why he’d faked his death, why he was trying to kill Olivia.
But Olivia was in the ocean.
Olivia was drowning.
And that was the only thing that mattered.
I spun back toward the water, my hands already reaching for my jacket, tearing it off and throwing it to the sand. My shoes followed. My phone - I yanked it from my pocket and tossed it onto my discarded jacket.
Anything that would weigh down, slow down, keep from reaching her.
Then I ran into the ocean.
The cold hit like a physical blow, stealing what little breath I had left.
The waves were violent, each one trying to push back to shore, but I pushed through them, fighting against the current.
"OLIVIA!" I scread into the storm, knowing she couldn’t hear , needing to call for her anyway. "OLIVIA, WHERE ARE YOU?"
Nothing.
Just the roar of the ocean and the hamring rain.
I started swimming, my strokes powerful but desperate.
Where was she? How far out had she gone?
The water was dark, the storm making it impossible to see more than a few feet in any direction.
Another wave crashed over my head, and I ca up sputtering, frantically looking around.
Nothing.
"OLIVIA!"
I swam farther out, my arms already starting to tire, the cold seeping into my muscles.
How long had she been under? How long could a person hold their breath?
Too long. She’d been under too long.
Panic clawed at my chest, making it hard to think, hard to breathe.
"OLIVIA!" My voice was hoarse now, breaking on her na. "PLEASE! WHERE ARE YOU?"
I dove under the surface, forcing my eyes open despite the salt water that burned them.
Darkness. Just endless darkness.
I surfaced, gasped for air, dove again.
Still nothing.
My chest was tight, my lungs burning. Exhaustion was setting in, making my limbs heavy.
But I couldn’t stop. Wouldn’t stop.
Not until I found her.
I ca up for air again, my movents becoming more frantic, less controlled.
"OLIVIA! OLIVIA, PLEASE!"
Another dive. I had to keep trying.
I took the deepest breath I could manage and went under.
Kicked down, down, farther than before, my arms sweeping through the water, searching for any sign of her.
My lungs started to burn. The pressure in my chest built, demanding air.
But I kept going. Kept searching.
And then - there.
A flash of sothing pale in the darkness. A hand. An arm.
Olivia.
She was sinking, her body limp, her hair floating around her face like seaweed.
I swam toward her, my muscles screaming, my lungs on fire.
So close. Just a little farther.
My hand closed around her wrist, and I pulled her toward .
She didn’t respond. Didn’t fight. Didn’t move at all.
No. No, please, no.
I wrapped my arm around her waist, holding her against , and started swimming up.
Or what I hoped was up.
In the darkness, disoriented by the storm and the depth, I could barely tell which direction was which.
My lungs were burning so badly now that spots were dancing in my vision.
I needed air. Needed it desperately.
But if I surfaced for air, even for a second, Olivia would sink again. And I might not be able to find her a second ti.
So I kept going.
Kept pushing upward with the last reserves of strength I had, towing Olivia’s limp body with .
My vision was starting to go dark at the edges.
My movents were getting sluggish, uncoordinated.
But I could see light above now - the faint glow of the surface, tantalizingly close.
Just a little more. Just a little farther.
I gave one final, desperate kick.
And broke through the surface.
Air. Sweet, beautiful air mixed with rain.
I gasped, coughing, trying to fill my lungs while keeping Olivia’s head above water.
She wasn’t breathing. Her face was pale, her lips blue.
"No. No, no, no." I started swimming toward shore, one arm wrapped around her, the other doing all the work. "Stay with , Olivia. Please. Stay with ."
The waves pushed us toward the beach, helping for once instead of fighting .
My feet touched sand, and I stumbled, nearly falling, but managed to keep us both upright.
I half-carried, half-dragged Olivia out of the water, up the beach, away from the tide.
When we were clear of the waterline, I laid her down on the sand, my hands shaking as I tilted her head back and checked for breathing.
Nothing.
No breath. No movent.
I started CPR imdiately, my hands positioning on her chest, pressing down in steady compressions.
"Co on, Olivia," I begged, counting out the rhythm. "Co on. Breathe. Please breathe."
Thirty compressions. I tilted her head back, pinched her nose, and breathed into her mouth.
Once. Twice.
Nothing.
Back to compressions.
The rain continued to pour down on us, and I was vaguely aware that I was crying, tears mixing with the rain on my face.
"Don’t you dare leave ," I choked out, still doing compressions. "Not now. Not after everything. Please, Olivia. Please."
Thirty more compressions.
Two more breaths.
Still nothing.
My arms were shaking. My whole body was shaking.
But I couldn’t stop. Wouldn’t stop.
"I love you," I whispered, and the words ca out broken, desperate. "I love you so much. Please don’t go. Please..."
I bent down to give her another breath...
And that’s when I felt it.
A shift in the water.
No, not the water.
The tide.
It was pulling at . Pulling hard.
I looked down and realized with horror that I was still half in the water. That while I’d been focused entirely on Olivia, on saving her, the tide had been creeping back up the beach.
And now it had .
I tried to move, tried to push myself farther up the sand, but my legs wouldn’t cooperate.
Too tired. Too cold. Too depleted from the swim, from diving so deep, from using every last bit of strength I had to save her.
The wave pulled harder, and I felt myself sliding backward.
Toward the ocean.
Away from Olivia.
No.
I tried to fight it, tried to dig my hands into the sand and hold on.
But I had nothing left.
Nothing at all.
Another wave crashed over , and I went under.
I tried to swim, tried to kick toward shore, but my body wouldn’t respond anymore.
Couldn’t respond.
I’d given everything I had to save Olivia.
And now there was nothing left to save myself.
The ocean pulled down, and I let it.
My last conscious thought was of Olivia lying on the beach.
Safe.
Breathing, if the CPR worked.
Alive.
And that was enough.
That had to be enough.
The darkness closed in, and I stopped fighting.
I saved her, I thought as the water filled my lungs. At least I saved her.
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