Splash!

The scene felt like déjà vu. Water splashed everywhere, its sound a repeated circle of torture. Bella opened the French door, the scorching sun hitting us as soon as we entered the vast balcony. With hurried steps we went closer to the commotion. Along the line of the pool, the floor appeared wet and slippery, and we skidded to a halt a few feet away from it. Shouts of struggle, the stricken face of Bella, and the flapping arms in the pool was all I heard and saw. I stood frozen, unable to breathe or do anything. It was like the clock froze with me, the ticking sound slowing down the moment as each second passed.

What is happening? I wondered in the small place of my head. Bella cried beside me, her hands in her hair, all scrunched up and ugly. I saw it, but I didn't see it.

Everything was a blur, just a blur of movements and sounds. Someone was calling me, I thought. Brandon is calling me. He is calling me!

"Tyler! GET HERE!" he bellowed, and I snapped to attention. The tension in his voice sent blood pumping through my body at a double rate. I kneeled down to where he was, frantically looking around and blinking hard to focus on the body on the ground. Brandon opened her mouth, listening for her breathing. The verdict must not have been good because his shoulders tensed under his wet shirt and he spat a series of colourful words.

Without wasting a second he pumped Giulia's chest, his hands working fast as he continued counting the number of repetitions.

"What are you doing?!" Bella asked bewildered, and I could see cold fear in her eyes at the situation. Giulia laid still, no movements or a hint she was responding. I looked towards Bella who was crying, rubbing Giulia's feet, speaking incoherently in French.

Help, I have to call for help. The thought ran through my head, and I stood up.

"Tyler! Do the CPR." Brandon demanded, pinching close Giulia's nose and opening her mouth to blow in it.

"M-me?" I hesitated for a minute second.

"Okay!" I shouted, my voice coming out of my mouth on its own. CPR lessons ran through my mind, and I found the exact spot, two fists above her ribs and a little to the left. With a nervous energy, I intertwined my fingers and pumped her chest. Counting thirty fast and steady reps, I stopped so Brandon could blow into her mouth.

The seriousness of the situation hit me in the head, and it swam in fear. What if she d—

No, no, no! This cannot happen. I kneeled straighter and kept pumping. One, two, three, four... I have to do this!

My arms groaned with pain, but I kept at it, pumping her chest in a frenzied manner. Panic filled with me when she didn't respond even in the second round. Tears blurred my vision, and Brandon pushed me away, taking over.

One, two, three...

Giulia coughed, water spluttering out of her mouth with vomit. I turned her face, and she coughed it out on the ground, making sure none went into her mouth again. Relief flushed my body, and I fell back on my butt, feeling like all the burdens lifted off of my shoulders.

"Hey! Are you awake?" I patted her face, forcing her to open her eyes. Her eyes rolled, and she didn't look like she could understand what I was saying.

"Are you okay?" Locks of wet hair matted on her face, and I raised my hand to put them away. But before I could touch her, she slapped my hand away.

What?!

With a spark of anger and a lot of confusion I snapped my head to Brandon.

Someone had nearly drowned; one would have expected more reaction or panic. But both Brandon and Bella just sat there with their heads down.

"Be-" I stopped, when I noticed Bella's state. She was a mess, and thinking better of it, I addressed Brandon instead of her.

"Brandon. I'll call security or hotel staff up here and you can—" Brandon's hand slapped on my mouth, and I widened my eyes. Bella purposely looked away, and Giulia, who I noticed was regaining consciousness, glared at us as Brandon pulled me away from them and to a corner.

He glanced back, and I stared too, confused as to what was happening right now. Everyone should have been rejoicing and taking care of Giulia and not sitting as if this was a funeral.

"Tyler," Brandon said, trying to catch my attention. The urge to help Giulia up and get her somewhere safe was strong, which was surprising and unnerving at the same time. But I ignored it for the moment, because Brandon seemed to have much 'pressing issues' to discuss.

"Yes?" My voice dripped with sarcasm. What in the world were they doing not calling help. As far as I knew, she needed medical attention at once. Brandon pressed his lips, and didn't reply. I frowned. Maybe he could not. His eyes told me that he was perplexed on where he should start and disclose the impending bad news. I couldn't keep in and demanded, "Brandon. I don't get it. Why the hell the two of you look so... pale?"

"Tyler." He closed his eyes, as if the words he would say was paining him. "Look at her feet."

"What feet?" The way he said it, all dejected and depressed, filled me with dread. But still, I looked back to the two of them to see what he was going on about.

With horror I understood the black cloth around her feet. They were wrapped securely with a rope and weights. Bella too was staring at it with as much abhorrence as she could, and one by one everything fell into pieces.

"S-suicide?" I whispered, not a breath louder. But Brandon's eyes darkened, revealing that he had heard me all right.

"Yes." There was no hesitation or doubt in his voice. "She tried to take her life. Even when I was trying to pull her out of the water, she kept pushing me away. If I hadn't seen her..."

The silence was heavy. He didn't need to complete his words for me to guess what would have happened. Bella's silent tears, Giulia's glares, and even Brandon's reluctance to call for medical help made perfect sense now. But what irked me most was how in stride Bella took this. As if it was a normal or a daily occurrence.

Though another heavy question lingered, hanging between us like an unspoken word; why?

Who could have expected such a turnout of events? Life was sure full of surprises. Here we had come planning to uproot Bella's plan and now-

Wait a minute. "Brandon, where are the sunglasses?" My voice was a notch higher, worried that all the drama before had been for nothing.

He looked confused for a second, his brow furrowed. My eyes flitted towards the pool, half-expecting the sunglasses to be floating around somewhere. Why did the gods have to be so cruel on us?

Before I turned blasphemous, Brandon spoke, "There." He pointed with his head to the sunglasses resting on the chair. Facing towards the pool.

It could not have...

In a hurry I pulled the phone out of my pocket and winced when I saw the number of missed calls from Francis. The last one was three minutes ago, meaning they had definitely seen the whole fiasco.

But they didn't know that she tried to kill herself, I reminded myself. Of course! Brandon kept the sunglasses there before he dived in the water. So what Francis must have seen was Brandon saving Giulia. Then he must have called security. But they hadn't come here till now. Or they might be here soon.

My attention snapped back to Giulia and her feet tied up with those weights. The consequences if the truth came out wasn't pretty, and judging from the passive stares I knew they never meant us to be involved, let alone the world.

"Brandon, hurry up." I rushed, pulling him with me towards them.

"Bella, go and get towels!" She appeared startled at my sharp command and I took pity on her. "I think people are coming up. We can't let them see this."

My last word specifically pointed to Giulia and her legs. Because either one of us would get arrested for attempted murder or Giulia would have to come out with her truth and tell them she tried to commit suicide. Bella seemed to have gotten my message because she was up in a jiffy and out the pool area.

"What are you doing?" Giulia spat, and I rolled my eyes at her childishness. She seemed pale but otherwise fine. But I knew different. She had inhaled a lot of water and immediate medical attention was required. Brandon hadn't commented on it, but I knew from his over concerned gestures that he was thinking the same.

Choosing not to answer her, I instead asked Brandon to pick her up. He was taken aback at my request, but seeing me unperturbed, shrugged and picked her up. Giulia struggled in his arms, trying to get away. But when neither Brandon nor I bulged, she gave up.

Brandon took her to the bedroom, and I took this opportunity to slip the sunglasses in my pocket. It was a snug fit, but it had to do for now. Bella laid out the towels on the bed and Brandon kind of roughly put her on it. Hard feelings, much?

The bell rang at that exact moment and we all froze. Giulia whimpered, and Brandon and I shared a look.

They won't break the door, would they?

"Bella. Listen carefully. Try to stall them for a few minutes. We'll cover up everything here." She nodded frantically, wiping tear trails off her face.

First thing first, I untied her feet. Brandon helped me out and even Giulia attempted to do something.

"Here, dry yourself." I handed her an extra towel, and she gave me a quarter of a smile. It was just a small flicker in her facial expression, but it was saying a lot and I relaxed.

"Thank you," she whispered her voice hoarse.

"You're welcome." I squeezed one of her hands, taking the towel and the ropes and dumping them behind the bed. They would work as a good hiding spot for now.

"Yes, come here!" Bella's raised voice from the other room reached us and we quickly hovered over Giulia. I noticed the lines around her feet where she had tied the ropes and quickly put over a blanket on it.

"They'll probably take you to a hospital. Don't worry, and just say you fell in the pool and this young fellow here saved you. Can you do that?" I whispered, eyeing the entrance.

"Yes. I'll do it. But there's something I want to tell—" The door opened, and I straightened up.

Two paramedics rushed inside the room, along with two bodyguards. Something which I expected since Bella was a VIP of sorts here.

"What's her status?" The young man rushed, opening his medical kit and producing an oxygen mask.

I didn't need to say anything because Brandon took over. "She inhaled water, but we performed CPR and could make her cough it out. No injury, neck or otherwise. But there is a chance of hypoxemia. Right now, pulse oximetry, blood gas analysis, or bot—"

"I see." The other man said in a crisp voice, doing his work. "And you are?"

"I am the one who saved her." That didn't seem to be enough of an answer for the man, and he arched his eyebrow. So Brandon continued, a little miffed, "I am a professional swimmer, so all the emergency procedures have been taught to us."

That was the correct answer I suppose, because he nodded, and opened the stretcher. They shifted her body on it asking no one and started to take her away. She suddenly pulled the oxygen mask away, and stared at them.

"Wait! Where are we going?" Her voice cracked when she spoke and even though her body lacked energy, she carried enough authority to stop the paramedics in track.

"To the infirmary we have in the hotel. It is well equipped—"

"Fine. Take me there," she paused, turning her head towards us. Her eyes flitted to us before boring into Bella's. "But mon amour? Restez ici et leur dire la vérité." She went away with that, and Brandon nudged me to know what she had said.

He bent down, and I went on my toes and whispered, "For some weird reason, she just called Bella her love and told her to tell us the truth."

We both assessed Bella who stood clutching the door frame with an expression that I couldn't comprehend. For a second, her back seemed lonely, as if something was breaking in her. She had never looked so... weak before. And the thought sent shivers through me.

"You heard it." It wasn't a question but more like an accusation. "You really are something. I underestimated you a lot. But your annoyingly sick ways are... unnerving. And yet, they work every time."

Each word went like an aeroplane over my head. What was she saying? "Um... thanks?"

"Well, you can take it that way." She chuckled, and I really wanted her to start making some sense.

"Okay..." I drawled. Brandon sent me signals through the corner of his eyes and I nodded, ready to be out of here in an instant.

"Don't go. I have something to tell you."

Ah, so that was the point.

"Okay, I guess?"

"It's not that simple." Her eyes landed on me, and they were darker, depths of shadows behind them. Whatever she was saying truly meant a lot to her, I thought, if she was asking me to stay.

"Brandon?" I pointed to him, and he stood up straight like a deer caught in headlights.

"He can stay too."

"So..."

"It's about why we want to win this competition." So there were more reasons?

"Oh." I took a seat, and Brandon followed me, sitting close beside me.

"It's to marry Francis. I have to marry him." Her words allowed no contradiction, and I wisely kept my voice shut.

Here we go again, I thought, regretting the decision to sit and listen to her. First she would give me 101 Reasons On Why Francis Is The Perfect Match and then tell all her evil plans in elaborate detail. And maybe when she had bored us to death, she'll explain her method of killing people a slow torturous death by words. If we were alive, that is.

But like my luck these days, which seemed to live down the drain with the rats and slime, her next words proved me wrong. Oh, so horribly wrong. Because it wasn't about him. Not at all. It was something else entirely.

"You both are the first ones to know. I don't even know why I am telling you this, but hope my trust in you hasn't been false.

"I-I..." She took a deep breath, "I am in a relationship with Giulia."

*****

WHATTT?? Hopefully that's what's going on in your mind right now! Yup, you read it right. You can reread it. Bella just admitted that she is...gay or lesbian.

Shocked?

Did any of you guys have the faintest idea of what was going to happen? Sadly, all the guesses in the last chapter were wrong! But are you happy that Brandon is safe and sound? And why do you think Giulia tried to commit suicide? What is the link between winning the competition and Bella and Giulia being in a relationship?

THE CORRECT ANSWER GETS A VIRTUAL COOKIE. SO THINK AWAY!

AND THE MOST IMPORTANT THING! All the medical related things, performing CPR, and problems were thoroughly researched by me, but in no way should be taken for granted. Suicide or not, you have to call for help IMMEDIATELY. And not stall around like these stupid people. I didn't want to be so nonchalant about it but the plot demanded it. Be careful!