Fault [bxb] ✔

{ SIXTY-ONE }

CHAPTER 61 | Detached

MARK'S P.O.V.

Summer break is finally here, and to celebrate these first days of being school-free, we decided to come to this really beautiful place. We were sitting on the edge of a wooden bridge with a small lake in front of us, our feet submerged into the cold, crystalline water. It felt so refreshing at this hot time of the year. We splashed them around for a bit, enjoying the calm atmosphere of the place with its sounds of nature. Tall pine trees and bushes surrounded the edges of the lake. We could see the top of some mountains further ahead.

I had an arm wrapped around Zack's shoulder, and he had his head resting on my left one. We continued moving our feet lazily on the water, looking up when we saw a flock of birds flying above us. Everything about nature felt so peaceful, although admiring the view of a city isn't that bad either. I looked down at my feet under the water, then I started to rub my left one with Zack's little one, expecting some kind of reaction from him.

"Does this turn you on?" I asked him, looking into his face.

He rolled his eyes. "Stop mocking me about my foot fetish, Mark."

I laughed, hiding my face on the crook of his neck and kissing the skin there. This tickled Zack a bit and he started laughing with me. We spent a few more seconds fooling around with ourselves and with the water, until Zack spoke in a calm tone.

"You know... This would be a nice place to swim for a while."

I turned to look at him, surprised. "You know how to swim?"

"Yeah. But it's been long since the last time I did it."

"How did you learn?" I asked him curiously.

"Well... My dad taught me."

"Your dad?"

"Yes. You see, when I was little, around 8 years old, my dad used to take me and my mom to this kind of places. He liked to go fishing and hunt animals because that's what a real man would do. One of those times, I was sitting on the grass of a forest with my mom, eating a sandwich while we watched my dad swim on a nearby lake, much bigger than this one. Then I heard him calling for me and he told me to get in with him, but I didn't want to because I was scared of the water. But then both my dad and mom insisted that I should learn at least one skill because at that time I wasn't able to do anything, then they started to compare me to other kids of my age who were better than me. So, after my mom asked me if I was a coward, I had to demonstrate her that that wasn't the case, and so I got in the water with my dad. He was a bit harsh on me while he taught me how to move my arms and legs so I wouldn't drown, but at least he never left me alone. We continued to practice each day until I was able to swim on my own and I wasn't scared anymore... You could say that I was forced to learn, instead of me wanting to, but in the end I guess it was worth it. I think that's the only good memory that I have of my dad." He said that last part a bit sadly.

"Oh..." I said after he finished, grabbing his shoulder and squeezing it gently. "I'm glad that you were able to develop that skill. But I think that your parents comparing you to other kids or your mom calling you a  coward, weren't good reasons to encourage you to do it."

"I know. But I guess that's the way that my grandparents taught them to educate their children."

I nodded. We remained silent for a few seconds when Zack decided to change the topic. At least the topic about his parents.

"So, what about you? I bet you're a great swimmer."

I snorted. "I wish. But the truth is that I suck terribly at swimming. You see, one day my parents took me and Wyatt to this water park. Wyatt was the one who was more excited about this stuff than me, he was the fanatic of jumping into the water and splashing people. But I wasn't. I was even too shy to take off my clothes and that people would look at my ugly body." I said and Zack chuckled at that part. "The thing is that I was just sitting at the edge of one of the pools, moving my feet on the water like I'm doing now. That was until the idiot of my brother insisted that I should get in the pool fully with him and the rest of the people, but I didn't want to, and what he did was to pull my arms so I would fall directly into the water. I began to thrash around the water because I had no idea of how to swim and I swear I felt like I was dying. That was until my dad had to get in the pool to pull me out. I obviously became the center of attention of everyone, and I felt so damn embarrassed. After a while Wyatt apologized to me but I remained angry with him for the rest of the day."