Broken

• Chapter 125 •

- CLEMENTINE -

"ASHTON! ASHTON, WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU?"

Panic chills me to the fucking bones. I find Ashton's shit on the sand, and he's not in his fucking room! Unless he has run off to fuck someone, he has decided to take a swim in this monstrosity of an ocean. The waves are violently crashing onto the shore, the wind is wicked. Tears threaten to leave my eyes as my heart hammers against my chest.

I hope to God he's fucking someone and he's not in there.

"ASHTON!" my voice is frantic. I haven't been this afraid of anything for so long, I can't keep it together. I feel like I can't breathe.

- ASHTON -

Something wills me to open my eyes, I force myself to wake up. Shock fills my entire body as my consciousness slowly comes back, I'm freezing. The waves are wilder than they were when I'd drifted off. I look around with a racing heart. Relief floods through me when I realize I'm still clinging to Aoife. Is she dead? How long have I been out? She's still unconscious.

I snap my head towards the shore, spotting someone. She's looking around, frantically yelling out something. I shake my head and squint as my hearing slowly comes back, along with my ability to breathe.

"ASHTON, PLEASE! ARE YOU OUT THERE? PLEASE FUCKING TELL ME YOU'RE JUST BEING AN ASSHOLE AND YOU'RE FUCKING SOMEONE!"

My heart sinks into my stomach. Clementine's crying, her voice sounds injured. I know it's her, but I can barely see her. She definitely can't see me. Hope fills my body anyway, I open my mouth to yell back, to let her know I'm here. But nothing comes out. I can feel myself getting irritated. I use all my strength to flail my arm around, hoping she sees my signal.

I see her body grow rigid, "ASHTON!"

Thank fuck.

She doesn't hesitate to rush towards the water, yanking her clothes off before diving in. My heart sinks and my eyes widen in horror. I can't let her drown.

"N-No! Don't!" my voice is hoarse.

She pauses and pops her head out of the water at the sound of my voice, looking around at the crazed waves. She squints, trying to see what it is I'm holding onto. Her eyes widen in comprehension.

"COME HALFWAY! I'LL GRAB HER FROM YOU HALFWAY!"

I nod, inhaling deeply, willing to give it one last shot for her. The adrenaline pumps through my veins, I begin swimming towards her. She swims closer to me as well. I'm not well-oriented, still dazed and shocked by the intensity of that massive wave. I pause when I can no longer find Clementine in the water. Oh, fuck. Did she drown? WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE?

"CLEMENTINE?" my voice cracks.

Her head pops out of the water a few meters away from where I'm floating with Aoife's unconscious body.

"Come on, Ashton! I can't go in further without being swept in there with you. Please baby, you can do it," she pleads with me.

Her voice is laced with desperation, her bloodshot eyes encourage me to keep swimming. I dive under water before the next wave hits and pop up when it crashes, not hesitating for the next wave before pushing whatever strength I have left and swimming to her. She quickly grabs Aoife from my arms, lifting a weight off my shoulders. I can feel the sand shifting beneath my feet, but that doesn't stop the ocean from trying to pull me back in.

Clementine snakes her arm around my back and steadies me, tugging me towards the shore.

"Are you okay? Holy shit, come on. Come on!"