Arabella

The water was the only place I could think straight. In the water, I was happy—my thoughts, pain, anger, fear—none of that seemed to matter when I swam.

It was the only place I felt I could get away from Marco and the horrors of the mansion. The mansion behind me felt far away, the people inside even farther.

For a few precious moments, I was just a girl in the water. I was back at home at our family house, swimming with my mother.

Then I heard footsteps that pulled me out of my daydreaming.

I heard her laugh softly before she even said a word.

“You always...