2

SEBASTIAN 

Caroline will be starting high-school soon and I'm hoping with every fiber of my being that she gets a spot in my school at Crescent High.

It wouldn't have been a problem last year until the mayor decided that he was going to create a scholarship program for high  performance students among the less privileged to join our school. Only one slot.

That meant one slot down for the students that were already scheduled to join next year. My sister included. 

And one thing my parents wouldn't do is bribe the school to get her in cause the other option is as good as my school.

But that other option is also my school's rival and being the quarterback for my school makes it a big deal.

A loud splash jolts me out of my thoughts and I look over at the river. Splashes are normal, but the bubbles that keep popping to the river surface and the retreating backs of the running kids on the bridge doesn't sit well with me.

So I draw closer and squint,trying to make out what that was. It's night,so visibility is poor,but the bubbles and the splashing tells me it's a human. Or a living thing at least.

I take my shirt off and start to take my pants off when I notice that the splashing has stopped and the bubbles are dwindling. 

I quickly jump in,swimming towards where the splash was and hoping that I find whatever is drowning. Pants and all.

I hold my breath when I get to the spot and sink down into the water, looking around in the dark water. 

I don't see him at first,but it's the bright spongebob boxers that make me see the guy drowning. I swim towards him and grab his waist,then I swim up to the surface with him.

I realise that he's not breathing,when we break the surface but I control my panic and focus on getting us to the shore.

He has a lean build and looks to be around my age. And I've never seen him before. Judging from the direction in which his friends who I assumed run for help went,he's on the other side of town. Not my side.

I lay him down on his back and my stomach drops when I see that his hands are trapped behind him,bound by tight rope. Shit.

Those people are definitely not his friends and they were definitely fleeing the murder scene and not calling for help. 

My hands are shaking as I kneel over him to perform CPR. Prioritising reviving him to freeing his hands

It doesn't work. I push on his chest multiple times but he doesn't wake up.

My pulse is beating rapidly,fear gripping me. Is he dead?

Mouth to mouth. Yes,yes.  I'll try that

I bend over him,pinch his nose and put my mouth over his,blowing air into his lungs.

His chest heaves and I quickly let go off his nose as he twists his body to the side and coughs up the water he swallowed 

I slump back,my chest rising and falling with relief. 

My hands are still shaking when I untie the ropes and his hands.

His coughing slows and he takes several deep,wheezing breaths then looks over his shoulder at me.

Bloodshot green eyes. Framed by a thick and long set of lashes which are clustered because they're wet.

His face is red from coughing and his lips are slowly losing the blue hue and returning to pink. His hair is dark brown and matted to his forehead. 

“Here,let me help you sit up.”

 

I help him to sit up as he keeps staring at my face 

“I'll be right back.” I say to him.I sprint to where my car is and grab my spare clothes for after training and run back to him with them in hand. 

I offer them to him,but he only stares at them,making no moves to take them from me.

“Uh,alright. I'm gonna help you put this on,yes? You need to be warm.”

I carefully kneel in front of him and help him wear the hoodie 

“You know,it was boxers that made me find you. If your taste in boxers were anything like mine,well I don't know what would've happened.”

His lips twitch a little. And I pause,wondering if I imagined that,because it's gone in an instant.

“You're gonna have to stand to wear the pants,man.”

He blinks,then nods. So I stand first and offer my hand,pulling him up when he grabs it.

He takes the joggers from me and puts them on,his feet bare and a little wobbly.  I pick up my shirt that I discarded earlier and put it on

“Thank you for saving my life.” His voice is low and raspy 

“You're welcome,man. But what happened? Who were those people? Should we call the cops?”

He frowns,shaking his head slowly like he's thinking about something. 

“No. There's no need. They're my friends. We were playing a little game,that's all.”

I furrow my brows,not believing a word.

“Game? You were gonna die!”

He flinches. And I feel bad,then open my mouth to apologise but he's already moving away.

“Thank you for your help but I gotta go. I really appreciate you.”

“Hey,I should take you to the hospital just to be sure.”

“I'm fine.” He calls out as he walks away,looking like he'll fall any second. I shift on my feet,not sure if letting him go is the right thing to do.

“You're sure you don't wanna call the cops?” I call out to him as he walks further and further away.

He waves me from the bridge, looking pointedly away from the water. 

And as I watch him go,I realise that I don't even know his name. What a weird situation. And what a weird guy.