Make Me Forget (It's Kind of Personal #1) - Anna Brooks Page 0,2

imagined she would have been a girl.”

“Oh, God. I’m so sorry.” I reach out to comfort him, but pull my hand back, not sure how he would react.

“Yeah, me too.”

I have no clue what I’m supposed to do right now. I don't know this guy from Adam, but I feel bad for him. I look toward the party and hope someone is coming for him, but there’s nobody in sight. I’m about to get up when I notice his shoulders are shaking. It appears that he’s crying, and I don’t think before I walk the couple of feet to him. The sand cushions my knees, and I put my hand on his shoulder.

“My sister died four years ago.”

He reaches up and grabs my hand with his. The gesture is strangely comforting.

“We moved to Texas, and she was so excited to be somewhere warm. All her life, she’d complained about the weather here.” I laugh, remembering how she would look like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in the winter. “She saved all of her money for years and had gotten a new convertible for her sixteenth birthday. It was cherry red with black leather seats. Her dream car. She went for a joyride with the top down to check out the town and never came home.”

He’s quiet for a moment before he simply says, “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, me too.”

We sit for a while longer, his hand still holding mine, looking at the waves. He suddenly stands up and takes off in a jog toward the lake. I try to catch up to him, but he’s already waist deep by the time I make it to the edge of the water.

“What are you doing? Come back here!” I yell at him. He ignores me and continues to walk deeper into the lake.

What is normally my solace brings me nothing but fear right now. The lake can be beautiful, especially on a night like tonight. The moon is unbelievably bright shining on the water, giving off an almost eerie glow. But it can also be dangerous and deadly.

Adrenaline kicks in. I toe off my sandals and start running after him, yelling, “Hey! Stop! Get back here!”

He finally does and turns around, swaying as he talks. “What are you doing? Go back to the beach.”

“No. Not until you come back with me. This is dangerous… and stupid.” I stand my ground and cross my arms, hoping I sound as confident as I look. This is not me. I don’t do confrontation. I walk away from drama, not directly into it.

“Go. Back. To. The. Beach!” he screams at me.

I’m about to yell back at him, but a wave comes out of nowhere, and his body disappears under the rough water. I grew up in this lake and have the advantage of not being drunk, so my feet that have sunk slightly in the cold sand stay firmly planted. The water has pushed him a little closer toward me, so I take a few steps and reach down for him as he surfaces. He swings his arms and yells at me to let him go as he tries to stand again. I maintain my grip on his shirt even as he tries to get away.

I have no freaking idea what I’ve gotten myself into. He’s huge compared to me, and I’m quickly regretting my decision to help him. Another wave crashes in, and I panic as I’m pulled down by a combination of him and the waves.

“Shit!” I cough up some water that splashed in my mouth and scramble to get my bearings. I’ve managed to keep my head above the water and can see him fighting to stand. We’ve miraculously gotten closer to shore as he stares me down.

“What the fuck is your problem?” he yells.

“Me?” I pant, trying to catch my breath. “You’re the idiot who went into the lake when it’s pitch black out and you’re drunk as hell. I was helping you.”

He crawls until he’s on dry sand and sits with his knees bent, resting his elbows on them. I should leave now. Call the cops or something. Go. A smart person would do that. But I only have a ‘C’ average, so I decide to sit down next to him. Our breathing starts to even out, and I look over at him a couple of times. His eyes are shut, and his fingers are tapping uneven beats. I have no idea how long we’ve been here. I pull out my phone to