Cursed Waters

6

Sam

Millie was in my room.

I don't know what I had been expecting when I got home from Brandon's house, but finding Millie Clearwater lying on her side in my bed, flipping through something on her phone was definitely a surprise, to say the least.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, sliding to a halt as I entered my bedroom.

Millie barely looked at me. "You should probably shut your door before your parents see me."

Of course, she was right, but I found myself slightly annoyed as I kicked my door shut behind me, reaching out to press the lock down on the knob. Something about Millie's voice wasn't sitting well with me — it hit me in a place that made me feel weak and cowardly. The way she looked at me was practically condescending, like she knew so much more than me.

It had been four days since Millie had been loaded in an ambulance and I'd had to battle EMTs the entire way to the hospital just to continue holding her hand, since she refused to let go.

In those four days, Angel and Drew Clearwater had graciously informed my family that they weren't planning on pressing any charges for what I'd done to Millie — but they'd appreciate it if I could please leave Millie alone for the remainder of her recovery, which Drew had said could last anywhere from a month to the rest of summer. He'd gone on to say that her stomach muscles had been shredded, but she was expected to have a full recovery...if she was left without any stress.

It had been made very clear Angel and Drew saw me as a stress source for Millie. I didn't blame them, since I was the reason the car had gone over the bridge and into the water below, but it still hurt. It had hurt even more when Millie hadn't even tried to reach out to me, despite our close proximity.

"What are you doing here?"I repeated, throwing my backpack across the room.

"I wanted to see you, and I didn't think your family or mine would appreciate that."

I frowned. "You wanted to see me? What about all the texts and calls you ignored?"

Millie looked up at me, her dark lashes sweeping over her cheeks. "For one thing, Angel had to get me a new phone because mine was left somewhere in the lake. I just got it today. Secondly, I felt like our conversation would be much more appropriate in person than over text."

"Why does it sound like you rehearsed this?"

Millie shrugged, tilting her head. "I did a little bit. I wasn't sure what I wanted to say, so I pretty much planned out every scenario."

Watching her bottom lip twitch, I grabbed my desk chair and dragged it over to the side of my bed, swinging it around so I could straddle it and face her. "Are you nervous, Millie?"

Millie's eyes widened a fraction, but just enough for me to catch it. "Why would I be nervous?"

"Because you're alone with me."

"I was alone with you before."

"Yeah, but last time we were alone, I made you laugh and smile and then I almost killed us both. Also," I said, raising and wiggling my eyebrows, "you weren't on my bed last time."

Millie started to smile, but her eyes went all glassy before she could fully relish in my humor and all traces of warmth vanished from her expression. With a pained huff, she pushed herself into a sitting position, resting one hand on her abdomen. Immediately, guilt flooded through me.

She must've noticed my expression, because she leaned toward me. "Sam — this wasn't your fault."

"Millie, I was driving, and then I fell asleep . . ."