Summer Pool

AVA'S POV;

“Ava!!”

I suddenly heard my name and ran down the stairs. I told Davis never to call my name like that for no good reason.

“Why did you yell like that?!” I yelled back when I came down and saw Davis with a girl in a short brown skirt and a crop top.

Another of his exploits.

“It’s Dad. He wants to speak to you,” Davis said, passing me the phone.

“Then why didn’t he just call my phone?”

“I don’t know. Tell him to and give me my phone. I’m heading out,” Davis said as he smiled at the blonde girl he was holding by the waist.

“Can you not do that in front of me?” I said, rolling my eyes.

“Give me my phone and I’ll be out of your face,” he smiled.

“He isn’t even on the line, Davis. You should have just texted me to call him instead of yelling,” I said, rolling my eyes as I gave him his phone.

I had been annoyed all week. It had been a week now and Christien hadn’t come back.

“I’ll be back by seven. Don’t go outside,” he said.

“I won’t,” I replied as he left with the blonde.

I sat on a chair in the dining area, sighing hard.

The house suddenly became quiet again. No Christien. No cold stares. Not that I cared. Okay… maybe I cared a little. But only because it was strange for someone to disappear immediately after acting emotionally unstable and bleeding all over the place. That was a normal reason to think about someone, right?

The truth was, the house felt annoyingly different without Christien in it. Quieter. The sitting room no longer had the faint sound of keyboard typing late at night. The balcony stayed empty.

I hadn’t had a chance to ask Davis yet where he was. Davis had been busy a lot with girls, and he would question why I wanted to know. But yesterday I heard him speaking to Christien on the phone, though I couldn’t hear anything. And that hurt. Not being able to talk to him after what happened.

Did he leave because of me? Was I really that annoying?

I knew he didn’t like me, but he shouldn’t have just left like that.

I picked up my phone and dialed my dad. We spoke for about thirty minutes before I hung up.

I was bored, and I needed to get out of this house. It was suffocating.

I walked over and opened the front door, standing on the balcony looking ahead at the tarred roads of Pasadena.

Davis’ neighbours were couples, and they had children my age. They were all guys… four guys. I could see them gathering outside in swimsuits. Looks like they were setting up a pool. The weather was quite hot, so it was understandable.

I was busy watching them when one of the guys noticed me from afar and walked over.

“Hey,” he said smiling. He had blonde hair and blue eyes. He was wearing green shorts and a white singlet.

“Hey,” I smiled back.

“You wanna join us?” he asked.

“Oh no… I don’t think that’s appropriate.”

“Come on, it’s going to be fun,” he said.

“No, I don’t…”

“It’s fun, really,” he emphasized.

There was no way I was getting out of this. Talking to strangers wasn’t really something I was good at or enjoyed doing.

This summer couldn’t get any worse.

“Okay sure, let me just get changed,” I said, forcing a smile before going inside.

I didn’t know what to wear. But by the time I was done changing, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I was wearing the pink bikini bra I packed the other day from school. And I wished I had listened to Stella and picked the black bra instead. Maybe she was secretly a witch.

I came downstairs and met the guy waiting for me.

He stared at me for a minute before saying, “You look good. By the way, I’m Stephen.”

“Oh thanks, I’m Ava.”

“Nice name,” Stephen said, then led the way to their compound.

The pool water was colder than I expected. I stayed close to the edge while the guys laughed loudly around me. Stephen sat beside me talking nonstop about random things while I nodded occasionally, pretending to listen.

I regretted coming already. The other guys were nice enough, but being the only girl there suddenly felt awkward, especially in this outfit.

Stephen leaned closer.

“So… you just moved here?”

“Temporarily,” I replied.

“You got a boyfriend?”

I nearly choked on the water.

“No.”

“Good.”

Good? What kind of response was that?

I laughed awkwardly and looked away.

The sun was beginning to set slowly, casting orange reflections across the water.

“I should probably head back now,” I said, starting to stand.

But Stephen suddenly grabbed my wrist lightly.

“Come on, stay a little longer.”

The smile on my face faded slightly.

“I really should go….”

“Ava.”

The voice cut through the atmosphere instantly.

Deep. Cold. Dangerously calm.

My entire body froze.

Every single person around the pool suddenly went quiet.

Stephen didn’t leave my hand.

My heart began pounding loudly as I turned around.

Christien stood a few feet away, dressed entirely in black despite the summer heat. One hand rested inside his pocket while the other held his car keys loosely.

His expression was unreadable.

But his eyes… God. His black eyes looked darker than usual. Sharp. Cold. And locked directly on Stephen’s hand that still held onto me.

The air suddenly felt too heavy to breathe properly.

Nobody spoke.

Even the guys around us looked uncomfortable under the intensity radiating from him.

Then his gaze slowly lifted to me.

My breath caught instantly.

I hadn’t seen him in over a week.

Yet the moment he appeared, the entire atmosphere shifted.

This was the scariest he had ever looked.

“Ava,” he repeated calmly.

Too calmly.

And somehow that was worse.