AlexYes, I had pushed her.I could still remember the way the sunlight had looked on the water's surface, broken into a thousand dancing diamonds that made it impossible to see her beneath. The way my stomach had dropped when I realized she wasn't coming back up. The way her small hand had broken the surface, grasping desperately at nothing."Sarah!" I'd screamed, my voice cracking with panic. "Sarah, swim!"But she couldn't swim. Not without the water wings. That had been the whole point of her defiant gesture—proving she could do something she absolutely couldn't do.I'd jumped in after her, of course. Eight-year-old me thrashing through the water, barely able to keep my own head above the surface. I'd managed to grab her arm, drag her toward the shallows where we could both stand, both of us coughing up lake water and crying.She'd been fine. Scared and crying and probably traumatized, but fine. I'd been the hero for about five minutes, until Victoria found us both soaking wet and
Last Updated : 2025-05-30 Read more