Chapter 2 - The Rescue
Instinct obliterated thought. Arthur didn't even realize he had dropped his glass; the sound of shattering crystal against the stone tiles was swallowed whole by the frantic pounding of his pulse. He broke into a dead sprint, dark leather shoes slapping violently against the concrete path. The camera of his perspective whipped frantically, tracking the churning foam of the pool where the sky reflected broken fragments of light.
Without pausing at the coping stones, Arthur hurled himself forward. He plunged headfirst into the pool, his pristine white shirt instantly drinking in the water, turning heavy and translucent against his skin. The cold hit him like a physical blow, but his focus was singular. Swimming through the turbulent underwater vortex, his eyes searched open through the stinging chlorine until he caught the floating halo of blonde hair and the faded light blue of Lily’s dress.
He hooked his arms under her small armpits, kicking off the hard tiled floor with raw, mechanical fury. They broke the surface together in a violent spray of foam and gasping breath. Lily coughed hard, water spilling from her mouth as she clung to his neck with a desperate, crushing grip. Arthur hauled them both over the lip of the pool, hoisting her shivering frame onto the deck before hauling himself out, dripping wet, gasping for air, his chest heaving under his ruined shirt.
