Trapped in the Pool with a BROKEN ARM and I AM DONE Chapter 08
The wail of approaching fire-engine sirens finally tore through the quiet night.
By the time firefighters forced open the apartment door, dense black smoke had already filled the living
room
Soot covered Everett’s face and clothing, but he still held my old jacket tightly against his chest
“Sir, you have to get out!”
The firefighters grabbed him and pulled him toward the door.
Everett fought them and pointed toward the empty bedroom.
“Let go of me! My girlfriend is still in there!”
“She’s afraid of fire. She’ll be terrified in there alone!”
They dragged him outside and secured him on an ambulance stretcher.
Everett was discharged from the hospital the next day.
He did not return to the apartment, which the fire had left nearly unrecognizable.
Instead, he went directly to Bluehaven Water Park.
The entire park had been closed pending an official safety investigation after my death.
Its gates were locked, and police tape still surrounded the entrance.
Everett climbed over the locked perimeter fence and wandered through the abandoned park toward the deep
end.
Workers had drained half the water from the wave pool.
A thick, foul-smelling layer of mud and discarded debris covered the exposed pool floor.
Everett stood on the platform and stared down at the cloudy water.
“Maren, were you cold while you were trapped down there?”
His voice drifted through the deserted park.
“Your arm was broken, and you couldn’t swim. Were you terrified?”
“Why didn’t I turn around and look at you?”
“Why did I give the rescue tube to someone else?”
He removed his shoes and spread his arms.
Without hesitating, he jumped straight down.
His body struck the shallow, cloudy water below with a heavy and painful splash.
Everett sank into the muddy pool.
He did not fight the water and allowed his body to descend.
He wanted to experience even a fraction of the pain and despair I had endured.
He wanted to know the suffocating terror of water filling his mouth and nose until his lungs seemed ready to
burst.
A security guard on patrol heard the splash and came running with a long rescue pole.
After an exhausting struggle with Everett’s dead weight, the guard finally dragged him from the water, barely
conscious.
The manager hurried over and screamed at him.
“Everett! Are you trying to destroy this park completely?”
“Was one death not enough? Were you planning to die here and make us responsible for you too?”
“You’re fired, effective immediately!”
“Get out! Get out of this park right now!”
Everett lay soaked and shivering on the muddy concrete beside the pool.
He did not argue or beg for his job.
He only stared blankly at his mud-covered hands as water ran from his clothes.
“Good. I should be fired.”
“I don’t deserve to be a lifeguard. I couldn’t even save the person I loved most.”
He staggered to his feet and walked through the park gates.
