A Broken Jewel (Jade Book 1)

by Lucy Rains

  Gavin and Alex wasted no time and jumped right in. Their bodies were graceful as they sailed into the water. Alex gave a chipper hoot and I dodged their splashes. Kyson and Pierce stood behind me with waiting eyes.

  The end of the pool we were standing at was at 4 feet deep, and then quickly dropped to 5, then 6, then down to 7 and ending at 8. The water lapped up over the edges, sending trickles over the rough tile and threatening to grab at my sandals. I stepped back and debated about making a run for it.

  Logic told me I was strong enough to swim. I wouldn’t drown. The guys would step in if anything went wrong. I knew all of this. But my heart told me I didn’t know what I was doing. I was taking an unnecessary risk, and visions of me sinking to the bottom with a mouthful of water kept me from shedding my clothing right away. That and I was uncomfortable with my body.

  Alex swam up to the edge of the pool by where I stood and grinned up at me. He pushed his long brown hair off of his face and wiped at his eyes. He was alluring down there in the water. So beautiful in his apparent glee with his blue eyes shining through wet lashes.

  Then his grin turned mischievous and I took another, much larger step backwards. I held up my palms to him as a warning. He eyed them and scowled, knowing he wouldn’t get close enough to me to carry out whatever evil plan he was thinking.

  “Jade,” Pierce warned.

  I dropped my hands but gave Pierce a side glare that told him I didn’t like any of this.

  I heaved a frustrated grunt and quickly ripped off my sweatshirt and loose cotton shorts. I tossed them onto a lounge chair and placed my sandals underneath.

  Gavin and Alex stilled in the water, turning to watch me. I looked to my right, seeing Kyson and Pierce also watching me. My skin crawled at their attention. I shut off my 6th sense, protecting my feelings from whatever emotions they might be feeling at the sight of me.

  I walked down the length of the pool, to the opposite end away from the guys, needing space. My legs were starting to tremble as I prepared myself mentally for entering the water.

  Pierce and Kyson entered the pool as I walked to the other end, and quickly began swimming towards me. Their bodies cut through the water with ease and their strokes were solid. Watching them only made me feel worse. I was going to look like a floundering fool.

  I dipped a foot into the water to make sure it wasn’t freezing. The temperature of the pool was neither too cold nor too warm. It was perfect.

  I debated sitting on the edge of the tile with just my legs in the pool. Maybe it would be better to ease in slowly.

  Pierce and Kyson reached the edge and placed themselves on either sides of me. Silently waiting. Watching.

  I paced a moment, gathering courage. Why didn’t my mother let me swim? Why would she have a reason to keep this away from me? Feelings of betrayal filtered in to my chest. My head began to pound and tears pricked the back of my eyes. I reminded myself of my strength but a voice in the back of my head told me I was weak, and discouraged me. My mother’s voice. Telling me swimming could ruin my skin, could stop my breathing, could kill me. The same guilt and shame I had felt earlier that day in the salon started to creep under my skin. I could feel her disapproval, knowing she would never allow me to do this.

  “Jade,” Kyson spoke quietly, barely audible over the noise of the water as it echoed through the building.

  With a shaky breath I looked to him, and then to Pierce. Alex and Gavin were a ways away, but also waiting for me. Watching.

  I stopped my pacing. Everyone stood still, watching my next move. They had felt the shift in me. My resolve. Before I could think another thought, I took two steps and launched myself into the middle of the pool, tucking into a ball and letting my body completely submerge into the water.

  As my body sank down and water filled my senses, something inside of me changed. I opened my eyes, and untucked from the ball. My body started to float up but I held myself down.

  I did not feel a need to breathe right away, as I had expected. In fact, I was comfortable holding my breath. But what surprised me more was the sense of calm yet exhilarating power that washed over me. It was like my entire body had been plugged into a wall and was being recharged. As though the water was seeping in through my skin and bringing peace to my mind and power to my muscles. I relaxed even more, letting the feeling run from my toes to my head.

  I could have stayed down under the water longer, but decided to surface. As wonderful as I felt in the water, there was also confusion. I needed answers.

  As I swam up to the surface, I realized all four bodies were nearby. I pushed my head and shoulders out of the water and blew my breath out of my mouth. Wet faces, dripping hair, eyes full of questions, encircled me. We all floated easily in the water, not struggling to remain above the surface. It was as if the water held us where we wanted to be. When I wanted to be submerged, I stayed down with little effort. It was the same now that I was above the water.

  “What’s happening?” I ask. “Why do I feel this way?”

  Kyson’s eyes twinkled, Alex held a knowing grin. Pierce and Gavin remained impassive, yet pleased.

  “Better?” Pierce asked.

  I nodded quickly. “But how?”

  “We don’t know.”

  I looked to Kyson, “Nothing?”

  He shook his head. “This goes beyond typical human bodies. I don’t see anything in your body to explain what is going on. All I can see is that our heart rates drop, serotonin is released in our brains, our muscles lose all tension and the toxins disappear from our bodies. It's like the water cleanses our body from the insides as well.”

  “But more than cleansing,” I added. “Strength?”

  Alex leaned back into the water and let his body raise up so that he was floating on his back. “I don’t care what it is. It just feels excellent.”

  He closed his eyes and kicked his legs gently so that he moved away from us at an angle. I sucked in a breath and went beneath the surface again. I went all the way down to the bottom and then began swimming along the floor, to the other end of the pool. I kicked behind me gently, letting my hands stay by my side. My eyesight under the surface was not at all impaired by the water. I could see just as well under water as I could above it. As I swam, I could see one male figure submerged, watching me. The others began moving in their own directions.

  I tested my speed in the water. Using all of my limbs to propel me, I could reach one end of the pool in only a matter of seconds, and the effort did not tire me. I flipped, floated, and surged. Whenever I went to the surface, I never felt the need to gasp for air. My body felt stable, comfortable, at ease. Both mentally and physically. I forgot about my self consciousness. All fear and self doubt had vanished. Being in the water created the most exhilarating feelings I had ever experienced.

  Kyson and Gavin swam laps while I experimented and enjoyed the water. I swam over to where Pierce and Alex leaned against a wall.

  “Why didn’t you bring me here sooner?” I asked them.

  Alex scoffed, “Like you would have let us?”

  The corners of my mouth turned down. He was right.

  “You needed more time to adjust to us,” Pierce added. “And the timing just wasn’t right.”

  I nodded in understanding. I was about to push off and go under the water again when Pierce called out to me.

  I turned back to see him studying me. “I would like to see what happens when you release your energy under water.”

  My hands came up and I looked at them. “But how would I test it?”

  Pierce looked over to Alex and gave him a quick head gesture.

  Alex rolled his eyes. “Oh sure, use me as target practice.”

  I smiled, “I’ll go easy on you.”

  As he pushed off the wall and came closer to me, his face turned arrogant and his chin lifted in the air. “Sweetheart, from what I’ve seen so far, there is nothing you can do to me that I can’t handle.”

  I scowled, “Underestim
ate me. That will make this even more fun.”

  “You know what would be really fun? How about you-”

  I stopped him mid sentence when I released a pulse of energy just under the water surface that pushed him back a few feet.

  His mouth hung open and he gave an involuntary grunt.

  I smiled in satisfaction.

  “I think that’s the first time I’ve seen Jade smile.”

  I turned to see Gavin and Kyson watching me. I thought about Kyson’s comment, saddened to think I hadn’t smiled in 3 days. Had there been anything to smile about? But then, I didn’t smile much at home either.

  “How much energy did you release?” Pierce asked, drawing me back to the present.

  “Not much,” I answered.

  Pierce nodded towards Alex, “Again.”

  I looked towards Alex, knowing this was going to hurt. The water was feeding energy into my own that was making me work less with greater output.

  I released a surge of energy with very little effort that managed to not only push Alex backwards but also made him disappear into the water.

  I heard low chuckles behind me from Gavin and Pierce. They didn’t seem worried about Alex.

  “The water makes your ability stronger?” Pierce asked.

  “Yes. Almost like it adds energy to my own. I don’t even have to try very hard.”

  Kyson and Pierce looked at each and I turned back to look for Alex. He had not come back up yet and I felt a pang of worry. Had I hurt him?

  I was about to go under the water to look when hands suddenly wrapped around my ankles and yanked me under. The action had caught me off guard and I ended up sucking in some water when I went down instead of air.

  I tried to kick upwards to go above the water for oxygen but Alex grabbed my ankles again. My nose was burning and I was starting to choke on the water I had inhaled. He was trying to hold me down and was pretty successful. Until I brought my hands up and shot energy at him again. It knocked him off of me and slammed him into the cement floor of the pool. The action freed my feet and I shot to the surface.

  I sputtered for air, spitting out water while I quickly swam to the edge of the pool and heaved myself out. My nose still burned and I coughed repeatedly to clear my chest.

  “You okay?” Pierce asked,

  Alex shot up and out of the water before I could answer. He glanced down, as light red liquid trickled over his left shoulder.

  “Is that blood?” Gavin asked.

  Alex looked down at himself, wiping at his shoulder. “Um. Yes?”

  “Did you just answer that with a question?”

  Pierce turned to me, “What did you do?”

  I coughed again and started to walk away. “Dumb ass,” I mumbled. “Nothing he didn’t ask for.”

  “I was just playing around!” Alex defended. He reached up and touched the back of his shoulders, his fingers came away with red liquid. “Didn’t have to knock my head off.”

  I ignored him and walked over to a large stack of white towels. I grabbed one and wiped at my face.

  Alex hopped out of the pool and began walking towards me, letting water droplets rain off of him. “I think I liked you better when you were scared.” He reached around me and grabbed his own towel.

  “I think I liked you better at the bottom of the pool.”

  He gave a knowing smile as he ran the towel over his hair and back of his neck. I spied reddish streaks on the towel and instantly felt ashamed.

  I sighed, “Turn around.”

  “What?”

  I made a turning motion with my hand, “Let me see.”

  He held my eyes for a second longer and then turned around. His lean shoulders led into his slim back and muscles rippled under his skin. Water beaded on his skin and dripped down his sides. In the middle of his shoulder blades was a large patch of skin that had been ripped off. I sucked in a breath at the sight. Blood slowly beaded through the scraped flesh. I could see the edges lightening, the wound shrinking quickly.

  “I’m…”

  He turned back around quickly, going back to drying himself. “Did you want to kiss it and make it better?” The corner of his mouth came up and his eyes danced.

  My mouth clamped closed but I couldn’t respond. Not even to glare at him.

  His face changed when he saw my expression. His mouth turned to a gentle smile. “It’s fine,” he said softly, “It will be all healed up before we get to the truck.”

  His words didn’t make me feel any better. Regret still burned in my chest and I felt terrible. “But it must have really hurt. I’m sorry.”

  His eyes softened and lost their humour. His arms stopped drying his body and he took a step closer to me. I looked down, ashamed at hurting him. He had only been playing, and I had overreacted. I hadn’t been careful with my power. Memories of a similar mistake and the consequences made me burn with regret. I should have been more careful.

  I didn’t move away from him as his body came closer. He took his towel and wrapped it around me, tucking it around my sagging shoulders. I opened up my 6th sense to him and felt his calm presence. And desire. I let his peace wash over me and I took in a heavy breath.

  His flat stomach was in my line of view and I would be lying if I said I didn’t enjoy looking at it. But then his hand came up to my chin and tilted my head up to look at him. His eyes bore into mine.

  “If I did something that made you react in such a way, then I deserved it.”

  I swallowed and nodded, my eyes trailing from his eyes down to his mouth, and then back up to his eyes. He smiled in a way that said he hadn’t missed the small action. He dropped his hands from his my chin and rubbed both hands on my towel wrapped shoulders. Breaking the moment between us, I stepped back and went to find my clothes.

  As I watched the four guys drying off and putting their shirts back on, I realized I felt more relaxed then I could ever remember. My muscles felt loose yet strong. My mind clear. I looked over the still water and slipped my own sandals on. The experience in the water had cleared my heart mind and body, but I worried how long it would last.

  CHAPTER 13

  Morning light slipped through the slats of my blinds, burning into my eyelids. I buried myself deeper into my plush cave of white blankets, ignoring the knock on my door for the 3rd time.

  After swimming my body had relaxed into state of complete bliss and I fell asleep quickly on the drive home. I woke up when we pulled into the driveway, Kyson helped me up to my room, where I had quickly shed all clothing and fell into bed.

  I looked forward to swimming again.

  The knocking increased and I heard Kyson’s voice as he opened the door. I kept my eyes closed and played dead.

  “Jade, seriously, you have to get up. You’re coming to campus with me and we have to leave soon.”

  “Go away,” I mumbled into my pillow, pulling my covers tighter. I didn’t want to be babysat. I wanted to be left alone to sleep half the day.

  “Jade,” Kyson’s voice had dropped in warning, “I will pull you out of bed.”

  My eyes popped open at the threat. “Don’t you dare.”

  “Your swimsuit is on the floor, does that mean…”

  “Yup,” I clipped. Surely this would deter him for bothering me anymore. The knowledge of me being naked under my covers would most certainly force him into behaving like a respectful and proper gentleman that included leaving me alone to sleep.

  My eyes were drooping shut as the seconds ticked by and I began to forget about Kyson. The soft fibers of the sheets wrapped around my skin in a luxurious way. I hugged a pillow to my chest and let out a deep sigh.

  Suddenly I was being shifted around in my bed, blankets, sheets and all. My eyes flew open and I yelped in surprise as my body became airborne with my bedding wrapped around me. My bed disappeared and suddenly I was in my bathroom.

  “Kyson!” I hollered in protest. I tried clutching the blankets to my chest and prayed nothing slipped.

 
Kyson lowered me into my bathtub, blankets and all. I peered up at him, with my rumpled hair twisted around my face. He was crouched down still, his body close to mine. His lips tipped up as he began reaching for the shower knob.

  “No!” I pleaded, still clutching the comforter as I sat up straight. I kept the blanket chest height and reached out with my free hand, pushing his hand away. “I’m up, okay? I’ll get up.”

  Kyson’s blue eyes twinkled in delight at my defeat and left the bathroom.

  After I put all of my bedding back onto my bed, I quickly showered and brushed my teeth. I tried looking around for any form of make-up, hoping that maybe someone had bought something for me but was disappointed at my empty drawers. Not able to find any hair products either, I quickly dressed in jeans and a deep purple shirt, and went in search for some hair gel. When I stuck my head out my door I looked both ways, unsure of which way to go. There were doors on both sides, and no bathrooms in view from my standpoint. Someone was moving around downstairs, and I sensed someone upstairs as well. I walked down the hall, passed a couple of closed doors, until I found the bathroom.

  I had never been in a guy’s bathroom before, so I didn’t know what was considered normal. But the scene before me seemed ridiculous. Brushes, deodorant sticks, razors, q tips, toothpaste smudges; the counter was a cluttered mess. Empty packages littered the floor around the trash can, and I wasn’t even going to open the shower curtain. My eyes rolled at the sight, sure that I had been brought here purely to clean up after these guys. Not knowing what possessed me to do so, I did just that. It was like a deep instinct inside of me pushed me into action. A desire to care for them in some way. It was subtle, but undeniable.

  I quietly shuffled things around, opened all the drawers and found the right places for their supplies. Empty bottles went into the trash, along with empty toilet paper rolls and other various offending items. I lined up counter top items like toothbrushes and cologne bottles, and grabbed some toilet paper to wipe away dried toothpaste smudges and little black hairs that littered the counter. It wasn't perfect, but it was much better.