Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 52739 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52739 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
I floated for what felt like hours, my hair fanning out in the water like silk. Thorn helped me up moments later and pressed me close to his chest. I could feel his heart beating, and my tongue slid out between my lips, licking the salt on his chest.
"See?" he asked me gently. "You're already getting more used to this. Now let's try to teach you how to swim."
We stayed in the water for hours. Until I was upset, on the verge of tears, and annoyed as hell. And he still wouldn't let me leave. He was patient but very determined, and he made me keep trying until I was at the end of my rope, convinced I would just never learn. Then, he took my hand and helped me to the sandy shore, wrapping me in a towel while I sulkily looked away.
He fed me lunch, fruit salad and delicious sandwiches with cold lemonade. Slowly, my mood improved and I started to feel more and more like a brat.
"Do you think I'll ever learn?" I asked Thorn, and he gave me a long look. "I don't think I will. I think it's too late to even try."
"It's not," he said simply. "You will learn, but only if you truly want to."
His words resonated with me and he could tell. He grinned wide before speaking again.
"I think you're resisting me, little Rose. Is there any reason for that?"
I swallowed the lump of sandwich in my mouth, my throat going dry. I swung back a bottle of lemonade and looked at Thorn guiltily, feeling like an insolent child.
"My father," I finally spoke up, minutes after his question when I almost thought he'd forgotten he'd asked me anything. "He tried to teach me how to swim."
"And it didn't work out?" Thorn asked, his voice gentle.
"No," I said miserably. "He pushed me into a deep pool. I almost drowned. The next time he tried, he was drunk. He held my head under the water for ages."
I watched Thorn's fists turn white from how much he was tensing his knuckles. It wasn't something I spoke about often - if at all possible, I preferred to avoid the topic of my father all together. But he'd always had outdated ideas on how to parent me, and after Mummy died, things only got worse. He wasn't very kind, and he was never patient. So unlike Thorn I felt guilty for even comparing the two of them in my head.
"I know you wouldn't do that," I explained hurriedly. "But I guess... a part of me is still afraid."
He held me close then, and we lay in the sun, stretched out lazily until our food went down.
It was closer to evening than I thought when I opened my eyes again, the sun lower in the sky but not dangerously so.
"Come on," Thorn said, standing above me and blocking the light. "One last try."
I got up even though I didn't want to, and followed him into the water again. The sea was a brilliant azure color, and the beauty of the beach struck me. I wanted to learn, I realized with a start. I wanted to know how to make the water carry me.
I listened closely this time around when Thorn was explaining. I nodded and shook my head and tried really really hard to do what he said. And finally, after ages of trying, I swam.
Thorn laughed out loud and I giggled when I did it, took my first few lunges without filling my eyes or mouth or nose with water.
"Such a good girl," he told me, and like a little kid, he made me swim from one end of the beach to the other until my arms ached.
"I think that's enough excercise for one day," he finally said, even though I could have kept swimming for hours.
But he was right, my body was achy from running and practice early on. As we got out of the water, he towel-dried my body, paying attention to every inch of naked skin and drying me off. I lay in his arms as he fed me fruit, and I giggled when his hair dripped on me.
Lying under the sun felt incredible, and the weight of my accomplishment made me smile wide. With a start, I silently realized it had been a gorgeous day, my favorite of all the ones I'd had.
"I loved today," I whispered in Thorn's ear, pulling him down by his wet hair. "It was perfect. Thank you."
"You're welcome, Rose," he grunted back, his lips stealing from mine, taking kiss after kiss and making me giggle when his stubble brushed my cheeks. "There's one last thing I need to show you. But you'll need to swim to see it. Do you think you're ready for that?"
Curiosity piqued my interest and I got up on my elbows, giving him an inquisitive look.