With a deep breath, I stepped toward the pool’s edge and extended my hand. My voice was low, barely above a whisper. “Grab my hand, Bianca. I’ll help you.”
She grabbed it, but the moment her fingers brushed mine, I felt a sharp yank. Without warning, she pulled me into the water, her grip tight around my wrist.
I gasped as the cold water surrounded me, my body sinking deeper. Panic surged through me. I couldn’t swim. I was going under.
Bianca’s smug face appeared in front of me, her lips curling into a vicious smirk.
“How dare you try to hurt me?” she spat, her eyes gleaming with malicious satisfaction. “You thought you could drown me and get away with it?”
I struggled, fighting to keep my head above water, but Bianca only tightened her grip.
“My brother never dared hurt me,” she sneered. “And now you think you can? You think you’re better than me?”
I kicked my legs, but the weight of her words only made it harder to breathe. My chest tightened.
“You’ll drown before I do,” she taunted, laughing. “I know you’re the one who doesn’t know how to swim, Thalia. You’ll drown. Just like I wanted.”
She pushed me further down. The cold water engulfed me, my body sinking deeper into the darkness. I gasped, trying to get air, but there was nothing but water, swallowing me whole.
I felt my strength fading. My limbs grew heavy. The world around me spun, the surface so far away.
Suddenly, I heard a voice.
“Troy!”
It was Bianca, her voice sharp and frantic. “She tried to drown me! She pushed me in!”
I heard the sound of footsteps rushing toward the pool. Troy’s voice followed, full of disbelief. “What’s going on?!”
I couldn’t see him. I couldn’t even lift my head anymore. I felt myself slipping, my body too weak to keep afloat. The water in my lungs burned, but I couldn’t fight it anymore.
“She tried to drown me!” Bianca screamed again, her voice full of triumph. “She pushed me in. She wanted me dead. She wanted to get rid of me!”
I could hear Troy, now closer, his voice shaking with anger. “What? What the hell are you talking about?”
I heard the sound of him tending to Bianca, pulling her out of the water, wrapping her in a towel. Her voice was full of mock hurt as she demanded help.
“Help me! She tried to kill me!” Bianca cried, her voice dripping with fake tears. “I’m so scared.”