Chapter 44 - Choking in the water

The water looked shallow from up there, but it was really deep; it was almost on her neck;

After stabling herself, she dived into the pool again; it has been a long while since she felt so much relief. She was getting used to staying in Nicklaus home at least. Remembering Gwen, she figured she should go see her, since it's been a while. She had told her about the job, but she still needed to see her and know how she had been faring.

After swimming for a while, Tiana decided to practice her breath holding skills before she left the water; so she came up to the surface and took in a deep breath then plunged deep into the water squatted on the floor, closing her eyes;

After Nicklaus came back from work, he went to the basketball court to play and relieve his thoughts; these days, he had been avoiding her like plaque, although it didn't stop his thoughts, it left little to his imaginations.

He figured if he carried on for a while more, he would take her off his mind. And after she completed the second month, he'll really send her away and get a replacement. He had not felt like this for anyone before; it was just her, so he knew that if he sent her away, everything would return to normal.

He didn't have friends, neither did he want to play with any of his guards; he just needed sometime alone; some time to get his head together.

When he was exhausted; he wiped his body with his towel and stepped out of the court. The entrance to the basketball court was connected to the swimming pool area; when he had come in, he didn't see anyone in the swimming pool but he was surprised to see a towel and some clothes when he stepped out; his eyes reflexively turned to the pool, and he saw someone squatting in the pool; his brows creased as he wondered what the person was doing in there; he turned to leave but his eyes flickered back to the person again and he recognized her;

He was shocked for a moment, wondering what she was doing inside the pool; he wanted to walk away but he didn't know what kept his legs at the spot and his eyes staring at her; and just at that moment, her eyes opened, and she looked up;

It was as though she was not expecting to see someone there, because her eyes widened in shock;

Nicklaus realizing what he was doing turned around to walk away; but he had just taken a few steps when he heard splashing in the water;

Tiana held her breath for one minute and thirty seconds; that was the longest she had ever done;

She felt her nose go stiff, and she begun suffocating; she had held in her breath for too long and if she didn't take in air in the next second; she would really pass out;

Instantly, she aimed for the surface of the water but her brain refused to give strength to her legs because of the alarming obstruction in her throat; Tiana pushed herself, but she couldn't even swim; her hands flapped through the water, trying to push her body to the surface but she was barely moving; she kept on gulping more water down her throat; till her tummy was full; her ears were constricting and she could barely feel her body again;

Her survival instincts kicked in and she struggled more, but her strength had failed her. Slowly she let herself give in to the tide and she quietly slipped into darkness; just when she was about to go numb, she felt something tug on her waist then everything went blank.

Nicklaus turned to the water and his brows creased; it looked as though she was swimming to the surface, but in reality she was not even moving at all. Her hands were just flapping in the water and her face was pale, she looked as though she was struggling;

Nicklaus hesitated for a moment before he walked closer to the pool; on a closer look he saw that she was really struggling; her mouth opened as though she wanted to say something but it closed again when water filled it;

Suddenly her body stopped moving, and it began floating towards the surface;

Nicklaus eyes shot open with fear and the hairs on his body stood straight; without thinking, he lunged into the water; he swam as fast as fast as he could to her; when he reached her, he put one arm around her waist and pulled her up to the surface;

Pulling her limp body forward; he pushed her to the platform and jumped out quickly. He was not thinking about anything else; his face was deathly pale as he rushed to her;

''Tiana! Tiana! Tiana, wake up!''

He shook her body vigorously, but she didn't budge; her body lay limply on the floor, eyes closed and face blood-drained.

Nicklaus heart slammed against his chest; he was so terrified.

Was she dead?

He felt shivers run through him as the thought entered his mind; and he shook her head the more;

''Tiana! Wake up! Wake up! ''

She was still not moving;

He was panting frightfully as he watched her and without thinking twice, he took in air and leaned closer, covering her lips with his, pushing in air into her lungs.