Vivien blinked in surprise as Troy crawled on the ground next to her. His hair and clothes were wet. He breathed hard as if he’d run across the sand to get to her. He leaned over her, his head blocking out the night sky as he looked into her eyes.
“Good, you’re breathing.” He nodded and stared at her chest as if to confirm his own statement.
Vivien tried to speak, but she was too weak to answer. Her eyes didn’t want to stay focused.
“You’re shivering. We have to get you inside. Can you walk?” he asked, not giving her time to answer as he lifted her into his arms. He cradled her against his chest as he carried her away from the water, away from Sam.
“No, wait,” Vivien demanded, trying to grasp to any sliver of sanity she had. She struggled against his hold and pushed at his chest, forcing him to drop her feet.
Vivien hurried as fast as she could back toward the waterline, searching for her phone in the sand. When she found it, the device was dripping wet. She shook it a few times and tried to make it turn on so she could use the camera.
“Vivien, you need to get inside where it’s warm,” Troy insisted.
“Wait, no, I have to see…” She shook the phone harder, willing it to get dry enough to work. It didn’t. “Do you have a phone?”
“Not on me. It’s at the house.” Troy pulled her by her elbow, forcing her to walk with him. She fought for a few feet before finally giving in. The breeze caused her clothes to sting as they slapped against her flesh. Her teeth chattered.
Troy looked like he wanted to say something but held his tongue. It only was when they’d made it onto dry sand that she realized she no longer wore her shoes. The numbing sensation that had made the ocean feel so warm and inviting started to drain from her body.
She must have looked like a complete lunatic trying to walk into the ocean in the middle of the night.
“Nice night for a swim,” she said through her chattering teeth, trying to make a joke.
“Seriously? What the hell were you thinking?” he demanded under his breath. He slipped his arm behind her back to continue to force her to walk alongside him. “Were you trying to kill yourself?”
“Why would I want to kill myself?” Vivien countered in surprise at the question. Of course that’s not what she was doing. “I love me.”
“Are you drunk?” he persisted.
“Not that I know of,” she said, even though she felt a little dizzy. “Why? You offering to buy me a drink?”
His frown deepened. “This isn’t funny. You could have died.”
“I know how to swim. I don’t think I was in that much danger.”
“Do you know how dangerous the water can be at night?” He suddenly stopped and looked around. “Where’s that roommate of yours? Is she out here too? You should know better than to be out in the water at night.”
Even though she was freezing and wanted nothing more than to get inside out of the breeze. Vivien rotated away from him to roll out of his hold. Her eyes narrowed. “Did you just chastise me? I’m sorry. Do I look like some teenager you caught out after curfew? I’m a grown-ass woman, and you can kiss my ass if you think you have any right to lecture me about what I do.”
The argument might have been more convincing if her teeth weren’t still trying to chatter, and if a strand of her hair hadn’t plastered itself to her chin. She swiped at it a few times before managing to unstick it from her face.
“Well, I—” he began.
“If I want to swim naked in the middle of winter, that’s on me. I appreciate you coming in to get me because you were worried, but I don’t need the lecture.”
“You’re drunk,” he concluded. “I will assume your meeting today had something to do with this?”
“I haven’t had a drop,” she insisted.
“You’re slurring your words,” he said, his tone completely calm and rational, “and your friends already mentioned you were drinking margaritas tonight.”
Vivien lost her train of thought at the slow drawl of his words. She did feel a little like she was drunk, but that wasn’t possible. “I’m not…”
His lip twitched to the side as if he wasn’t taking her seriously, and he couldn’t quite decide if he wanted to yell at her some more or laugh at her.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked.
“I’m fine if you want to keep berating me for rescuing you, but maybe we should do it inside?” He gestured toward the houses. “I’m freezing, and you’re turning blue.”
“I am cold,” she admitted, trying to rub her arms with chilly hands. She still held her phone, but the device hadn’t turned on. The haze from her mind was beginning to clear the farther she walked away from the water. “Maybe I can berate you later?”
“It’s a date.” Troy slipped his hand behind the small of her back. He was gentler than before as he guided her up the slight incline to the path.
“What were you doing out here?” she asked.
“Walking the shoreline. It’s peaceful, and I sometimes have trouble sleeping,” he said. “The fresh air helps me clear my mind.”
They passed between the trees. Her back gate had been left open. She fingered her phone, wondering if the spirit had returned and was walking through the fence even now.
The light to her bedroom had been turned on. Heather was awake.
“Come on, let’s get you warmed up.” Even though Troy was undoubtedly cold from the water, he seemed more concerned with her well-being than his own. He tried to lead her toward his house.
Vivien started to follow him without thinking, but a light came on near the side door of her kitchen. She heard footsteps coming down the stairs toward the backyard.
“Viv?” William’s voice called. “Are you out here?”
“I didn’t realize you had more company,” Troy said. “Is that your boyfriend?”
The question was obviously him fishing about her personal life, but she answered truthfully anyway.
“That’s William Warrick. He’s like my brother. He is, in fact, the brother to my friend Heather,” Vivien said. “He’s dating my roommate.”
“Oh.” Troy smiled. “So not your boyfriend.”
“Are you flirting with me? Now?” She shivered.
“I’ve been trying to flirt with you since we met. Nice of you to finally notice.” Troy nodded toward his house. “Want to come over and get warmed up?”
“I should go home.” It was right there, after all. “My friends are looking for me.”
“Viv?” William appeared in the backyard.
“I’m here,” Vivien answered. She started to walk toward William, only to stop. “Hey, thanks for pulling me out of…”
Troy had disappeared. She looked into the shadows between their houses, not seeing him.
“…the water,” she finished weakly.
Chapter Six
“Viv, who are you talking to?” William asked as he rushed across the lawn toward her. He wore pajama bottoms and a t-shirt. It was clear he was there to spend the night with Lorna.