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When rocks fall into the water, they carve a jagged path through the air as they descend into the blue abyss. Their descent makes no sound as gravity pulls them down and cracks the air with a sharp splash. Ripples fan out at the sudden intrusion as they sink lower into the ocean; the water swirls, bubbles, and churns, swallowing them whole. Their trip to the bottom is quiet and peaceful as the water settles back into calm stillness and the ripples fade. There they rest at the bottom, ever so quietly, their presence minuscule and felt only when the water moves ever so slightly. The water returned to its previous undisturbed state as if there had never been an intrusion, with its subtle motion of slight waves moving through it.
In a swift movement, she plunged into the pool. Her body cut through the air and sliced the water with smooth, fluid grace. A splash followed her briefly, a quick burst of water leaving a faint ripple in its wake. With her muscles rippling beneath the surface, she glides through the water towards the end of the lane. She pulls herself forward with measured strokes, trying to escape the weightless embrace of the water. Her legs kick in a fluid motion, pushing her through the water with a steady force. She hears the muted rush of the water fading in and out as she moves her arms. Suddenly, she surges upward, breaking the surface with an explosive splash unlike before. She puts her arms on the edge of the pool, hoisting herself up, catching her breath as droplets fall down her face and neck. “I don’t understand how you’re so fast, it’s almost as if you were of the water.” Francesca looked up to see Leo looking down at her. Leo has been Francesca’s boyfriend for the past 3 years. They met in high school and continued their relationship well after graduating high school. They live together in a one-bedroom apartment near the edge of town, tucked between cracked sidewalks and flickering street lights. He looks at her with a kind look in his eyes and an easygoing smile. His dark brown hair falls in loose waves over his forehead, slightly covering his eyes. He has green eyes with little specks of yellow in them, a hint of mischievousness behind them, and something else, something hidden. He has olive skin, tanned from working outside, giving him a sun-kissed look. There is no doubt that Leo is physically attractive, but also in the way he carries himself. He has a confident posture, not exerting cockiness but reassurance. Everything about him is magnetic, drawing people to him. That is what drew Francesca to him in the first place also.
“I guess coming here every week has allowed me to become a very proficient swimmer.” Francesca comes to the community center in the middle of town every week and swims when there are few to no people occupying the pool. It is a way to de-stress herself from her everyday life and forget about everything. “I guess you do need to get out of the apartment now and then.” Francesca feels a slight twinge of sadness at Leo’s words. He doesn’t let her work and instead prefers her to be at the apartment, waiting for him. Francesca lifts herself from the pool and stands up. She moves past Leo and grabs the towel on the bench behind him. She begins to dry herself off, feeling Leo’s gaze on her. “I’m going to go change, I’ll meet you in the car?” Leo just stares at her, a slight sharpness to his gaze before he answers, “Alright, be quick” and begins to move to the exit doors. Francesca stares at him quietly before going to the dressing rooms and changing in quick motions. Outside, she meets Leo in the car, she opens the passenger side door and gets in. They pull out of the parking lot and make their way to their apartment. Leo begins to talk about his day at work and Francesca nods absentmindedly while looking out the window. Her thoughts are elsewhere but are quickly grounded when she feels his hand on her thigh. She looks down at his hand, the heat of his hand radiating onto her skin through her jeans. She stares for a moment before eventually putting her hand on top of his.
They reach the door to their apartment, Leo going in first followed by Francesca. Leo goes to sit on the couch and turns on the TV. Francesca goes to their bedroom and changes into the clothes Leo left for her on the bed, a flowy black shirt with a mid-thigh length jean skirt. Leo has always liked Francesca in skirts because he could see the ivory tones of her legs even though they were littered with deep purples and dark blues. As she put on her shirt she saw the skin on her stomach had greens like old moss along with yellows and browns signifying healing. She slips on some socks and slippers and makes her way to the kitchen, she sees Leo still entertained with the TV and quickly begins to work on dinner. Before leaving for the community center, she left everything for dinner prepped. Leo liked to have fresh meals so she learned to have everything ready to cook so she could get dinner out quickly and efficiently. He didn’t like for dinner to take too long to be done so Francesca speedily cooked. She meticulously added all the ingredients to a sizzling pan and watched them soften and change. The aroma of the food begins to thicken and spread throughout the apartment “That smells good babe” Leo says as he looks back at Francesca cooking, her slender frame, lean and toned from swimming, standing over the stove. Her mid-length dark hair was tied back in a ponytail with bangs framing her smooth ivory skin. She has upturned hazel-colored eyes that look at him with softness but also uncertainty. She had this quiet beauty to her, like a heron standing tall in the shallow waters of a marsh. “Honey, dinner is ready” Francesca called out to Leo and quickly started serving the food. She served Leo bigger portions than herself and laid out his silverware and drink on the table. She waited for him to sit down before serving herself and sat across from him at their small kitchen table. There she watched Leo eat and awaited to see his reaction to the food, he was very specific and picky about how his food tasted. It took Francesca a while to learn what Leo liked and didn’t like, what he loved and hated. She held her breath, feeling like she was drowning in his silence until she heard a hum of approval come from Leo. Francesca let her body relax and picked up the fork to begin eating the food she cooked for him.
After Leo was done eating, she picked up his plate and hers to put in the sink to wash. Leo moved to the living room again and Francesca began to pick up the rest of the table and cleaned the kitchen after its use. Once she was done she made her way to the living room to ask Leo a question “Leo?” He looked at her with a raised eyebrow “Yes?” Francesca fiddled with the hem of her shirt before gathering the courage to speak “Could we possibly go to the beach sometime soon? I’ve learned to swim well so that I can keep up with you.” As soon as the words left her mouth, her heart began hammering in her chest, each beat like an echoing warning. She could feel the tension rise, air thickening, and suffocating, his eyes watching her with a cold expression “Honey what have I told you before about asking for stupid shit” Her heart dropped and she knew that she messed up, her throat feeling tight, fear began to choke her. Leo rises from the couch and begins to move towards Francesca, she instinctively backs up, further angering Leo. The next moments were all too familiar to Francesca, the initial shock followed by sharp and intense pain blooming all across her skin. Her body tense as the points where his skin met hers radiated heat and pain outwards in waves. As he continued, the pain transitioned into a deep throbbing ache, pulsating and alive. Then finally as he’s finishing, it settles into numbness and tingling with Francesca lying on the kitchen floor. She had been holding her breath, waiting for Leo to stop. She inhales through her nose and lets out a shuddering breath, her chest rising and falling rapidly. Adrenaline courses through her body allowing her to sit up and slowly pick herself up from the floor, wiping tears she didn’t realize she let out. She sees Leo sitting on the couch watching the TV, Francesca stares at him for a few moments before Leo turns his head to the side acknowledging Francesca’s gaze. He rises from the couch and makes his way over to her. As he does she can feel her body begin to tremble in fear, this time not backing up. He raised his hand to her face, cupping her cheek and wiping away a tear under her eye. He gently strokes her cheek “You know I love you right?” Francesca looks Leo in the eyes, searching for something she knew she wouldn’t find. She nods her head and presses her face further into Leo’s hand. Francesca didn’t flinch when Leo raised his hand to her face because he never went for her face, he loved how smooth and delicate her face was. “Go get ready for bed” “...Ok”, Francesca moves away from Leo and makes her way to the bedroom. She goes into the bathroom and begins to undress. In the mirror she sees the aftermath of Leo’s fury on her. She doesn’t like lingering too long in front of the mirror and gets in the tub. She lets the water fill around her, soothing her aching body with its warm, weightless embrace. Once the water reaches her purplish collar bones she shuts the faucet, takes a deep breath, and submerges herself. In the water she feels like she can disappear and the purples and blues on her skin too. Submerged she’s in her own world, nothing outside the water can reach her as she imagines she’s at the beach with the warm and soft sand beneath her feet. The air is fresh and salty, and the crashing waves sound and feel soothing against her skin as she continues to walk into the ocean. She continues until she is fully submerged and begins to sink, she looks up and sees the water above her swirling, bubbling, and churning as she continues her descent. As she sinks quietly and ever so peacefully, taking in the blue abyss around her, the surface water is calm and still. The water returned to its previous undisturbed state as if there had never been an intrusion. The ocean swallowed her whole and the only indication of her presence is the subtle motion of slight waves moving across the water.