Trapped in the Pool with a BROKEN ARM and I AM DONE Chapter 05
My right arm hung limply beside me at a grotesque, unmistakably broken angle.
Everett remained frozen in place, still clutching a corner of the white sheet
“Maren.”
He whispered my name.
“Stop pretending.”
“The makeup is impressive. You even copied the discoloration.”
“Get up. The ground is cold.”
His hand trembled uncontrollably as he reached down and tried to pull me upright.
But the body he touched held nothing except the cold silence of death.
The unnatural rigidity beneath his fingers traveled through his entire body like an electric shock.
Everett jerked his hand back.
The medical examiner frowned and shoved him away from me.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Tampering with a body is a crime.”
Two officers immediately moved forward, caught Everett’s arms, and restrained him beside the tarp.
Everett fought desperately, his eyes locked on my twisted right arm.
“That’s impossible. She was an excellent swimmer.”
“She had an advanced water-rescue certification. She could hold her breath for three minutes!”
“How could she possibly drown?”
The medical examiner gave him a cold, professional look and opened the case notes in her hand.
“The victim suffered a comminuted fracture of the radius in her right arm, leaving her unable to swim
effectively.”
“She was directly above the central current when the wave machinery activated.”
“The severe pain depleted her strength, and she ultimately drowned”
“Estimated time of death was approximately two hours ago.
The words echoed through the stunned silence: two hours ago.
That was when he had ordered me through the megaphone to stay in the water and calm down.
I had not been pretending or deliberately ignoring him.
The vortex had already trapped me beneath the surface.
Everett’s breathing turned ragged as the meaning of that timeline finally sank in.
He dragged one breath after another into his lungs.
“A fracture… How did she break her arm?”
He suddenly turned toward Brielle, who stood trembling beyond the police tape.
“Brielle, when she fell, didn’t you say she only scraped herself?”
Brielle stepped back in terror, tears spilling from her eyes.
“I didn’t know. I swear I didn’t know.”
“She never screamed, so I thought she was fine.”
Marcus broke through the gathered crowd and drove his clenched fist directly into Everett’s face.
“How dare you ask her that?”
“She fell from a high platform! Her arm was visibly bent when she hit the ground!”
“I told you to check on her, but you insisted she was faking.”
“You gave the only rescue tube to that manipulative woman when she wasn’t even in the water!”
“Then you sent the rest of us away because you wanted Maren to learn a lesson!”
The force of the punch sent Everett stumbling backward until he collapsed beside my body.
His unfocused gaze landed on my left hand, which rested pale and motionless at my side.
A cheap red braided bracelet circled my pale wrist, holding a tiny glass charm.
Everett had bought it from a sidewalk vendor for ten dollars during the first week we started dating.
He had promised that once he earned real money, he would replace it with a solid-gold charm.
I had treasured his inexpensive gift and worn it every day, never removing it even to shower.
And now it was ruined.
The tiny glass charm had shattered cleanly in half when my body struck the hard pool floor.
The red braid had faded in the water and lay lifeless against my wrist.
Everett stretched out a shaking hand, but stopped before touching it.
