Beyond the Border | ✔

27 | rule 89

RULE 89: IF YOU FIND YOURSELF RATIONALIZING THE OUTSIDE WORLD, THEN YOU ARE OBLIGATED TO CAST YOURSELF OUT OF THE BORDERLANDS.

✷ C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - S E V E N ✷

"I don't know how to swim!" I squealed, my heart thudding so loud in my chest that Theo would be able to hear each rhythmic beat.

Despite my panicked state, Theo pulled me further to the shoreline. My feet touched the water, the frigid temperature almost as cold as ice. A prickling sensation radiated throughout my feet, traveling up my legs. I wriggled my toes, afraid my knees would buckle out from underneath me.

    Theo laughed as he continued to lead me. I yelped the further we got into the water, trying frantically to run back to safety. However, I was happy I still had my shorts and tank top on instead of a swimsuit, not that I had much of a choice in the matter. Once I was waist-deep in the water, Theo twirled me around to face him, my hands gripping his forearms for support.

    I tried to kick my legs around to no avail; I had no earthly clue how to swim, and I didn't want to embarrass myself by trying to learn right now.

    "Relax," Theo smirked. The water was now up to our necks; Theo had to crouch down to be on the same level as me. "I've got you."

    "You better," I exclaimed, purposefully hardening my grip. "You're the one who brought me out here! You might be more reckless than me."

    Theo grunted, "no one can be more reckless than you, Sage. You jumped out of a window."

    Theo then proceeded to unlatch a hand from me, still holding onto me with his other hand in order to splash water at me. The water landed on my face, and I tried to spit out the water that had made its way into my mouth. It tasted like polluted salt. Making sure I had an iron grip on Theo, I splashed him back.

    He didn't seem to mind being splashed, and, with one hand on my forearm, he submerged himself briefly underwater before coming back up for air. His curls hung around the sides of his face, becoming tighter ringlets. He still had a dark gray shirt on; it clung to his body, very much, in the same manner, my hand grasped at his biceps.

    My feet were no longer touching the soggy sand below. Instead, I was treading water, my nerves increasing at the thought of not being able to see what was swimming alongside me. The water was murky, holding a brown tint that made seeing anything deeper than an inch impossible.

    "Now, this is where you kill me, right?" I asked, still clinging tightly to Theo, the tips of my fingers wrinkling from overexposure to the water.

    Theo was near rolling his eyes, his green eyes pointed upwards. "We've already been over this today, Sage: I am not going to murder you."

    I nodded my head but scowled. "That's exactly what someone who would murder me would say."

    "Only time will tell," he floated on his back, still acting as my own personal anchor.

    Raising up a brow, I took a deep breath in and then released my tight grip on Theo. I tried to run as best as I could, but my body was not moving — I was too short to touch the ground and I could not swim. Instead, I quickly went under the water until my feet had touched the sand below. Then I ran for it.

    The water was pushing against me, making it hard to get very far. I could hear Theo splashing around behind me. He called my name, but I kept trucking on. The water was just past my waist when Theo's hand latched onto mine.