A SECOND CHANCE AT FOREVER Chapter 82: CHAPTER EIGHTY-TWO

ASHLEY

The sun had barely begun its descent when I locked up the store, the soft click of the door settling into place signaling the end of another day. Business had been steady—not overwhelming, not slow, just… normal. And for now, that was enough. My personal line of scents had started selling in retail stores like Haven Boutique, which meant fewer direct sales for me, but that was the goal, wasn’t it? Growth. Expansion. Stability.

Still, there was a strange sort of quiet that came with it. The thrill of watching people walk in and out, testing samples, leaving with small bags of carefully crafted scents—it was different now. More routine. Less personal. It left me restless in a way I couldn’t quite name.

I needed something to shake it off.

And that was why, instead of heading home, I found myself  going to the pool

The one I had trained in before.

With Kyle.

The ride to the pool was quiet, save for the occasional hum of the radio playing softly in the background. I leaned my head against the cab window, watching the city blur past in streaks of orange and gold as the sun began its slow descent.

I wasn’t sure why I had come here.

Maybe it was the restlessness that had settled in my bones lately, the feeling of something unfinished. My store was doing fine—better than fine, actually. 

But there was still something… off.

Something unsettled.

And somehow, I ended up here.

When the cab pulled up outside the familiar facility,

I hadn’t been here in a long time.

Not since Kyle.

I swallowed hard, pushing the thought away as I walked toward the entrance.

I wasn’t here because of him..

I wasn’t going to relive memories of his hands guiding mine through the water, his voice low in my ear as he corrected my posture.

I was here because I wanted to be perfect.

That was all.

At least, that was what I told myself.

The pool was mostly empty when I stepped inside, the overhead lights casting a shimmering glow across the water. My fingers tightened around the strap of my bag as I took in the sight of it—the calm, endless blue.

For most of my life, water had been something to fear.

The thought of being submerged, of losing control, used to terrify me.

But then Kyle happened.

I let out a slow breath as the memories rushed in.

I squeezed my eyes shut, willing the memory away.

It didn’t matter now.

Nothing about Kyle mattered anymore.

And yet, as I walked toward the edge, my gaze flickered to the far side of the pool—the spot where it happened.

Where we kissed

.

The memories crept in before I could stop them.

Kyle.

His touch. His voice.

His lips.

I sucked in a sharp breath, but it was too late—the moment unraveled in my mind, vivid and unrelenting.

I could still remember the way he had looked at me, his eyes dark with something I hadn’t been ready to name. The way the air had shifted between us, thick with an unspoken pull neither of us had acknowledged—until we did.

Until he kissed me.

Soft at first. Tentative. Like he wasn’t sure if I’d let him.

Then deeper, rougher, like something inside him had snapped.

Like he had needed it. Needed me.

I had felt it everywhere—his lips moving against mine, the heat of his skin, the way his hands had curled around my waist, pulling me closer.

The way I had let him.

My heart clenched.

I shook my head sharply, forcing the memory away.

That was the past.

This was now.

I changed quickly, slipping into a sleek black one-piece before stepping onto the deck. The water was still, waiting, and for a brief second, the old fear tried to claw its way back.

But I wasn’t that girl anymore.

I wasn’t afraid anymore.

I took a deep breath, closed my eyes—

And then, I dove in.

I cut through the water, the cold shocking against my skin, but I kept moving. Stroke after stroke, I pushed forward, letting the rhythm consume me. The pool was empty, silent except for the sound of my arms slicing through the surface, the steady ripple of my movements echoing in the still night air.

This was what I needed.

A distraction. A reset.

The past few days had been a storm—Kyle, the memories, the way everything I had buried seemed to be clawing its way back to the surface, picnic with Ethan. But here, in the water, I had control. Here, I was weightless, unburdened.

I swam faster.

The water rushed past me, each stroke stronger than the last. My body moved instinctively, muscles remembering everything Kyle had taught me. How to balance. How to breathe. How to trust myself.

He had helped me conquer my fear.

I hated that I still thought about that.

I hated that his presence was woven into moments like this—into the things I had fought to claim as mine.

I reached the end of the pool and turned, pushing off the wall with more force than necessary. My breath came harder now, but I welcomed it. The burn in my muscles, the ache in my lungs—it made me feel alive. It reminded me that I was more than just a mess of memories and regrets.

Stroke. Breathe. Stroke. Breathe.

But then—

Something shifted.

My chest tightened suddenly, a sharp squeeze that stole my next breath.

I missed a stroke, faltering, and before I could regain control, panic slammed into me.

No. No. Not now.

I tried to steady myself, but my arms felt heavier, my legs sluggish. The water that had been my sanctuary only moments ago now felt suffocating, pressing in on me from all sides.

I forced myself to kick, to move, but my rhythm was broken, my control slipping through my fingers like sand.

The old fear clawed at me, brutal and unrelenting.

I had beaten this. I had conquered it.

But right now, it didn’t feel like it.

Right now, I was drowning.

I gasped for air, but water rushed in instead, burning down my throat, filling my lungs with liquid fire.

No.

I thrashed, desperate, but it only made things worse. My vision blurred, my thoughts scattering in every direction.

I was sinking.

Everything was slipping.

Kyle.

His voice echoed somewhere in the chaos of my mind. “Trust yourself, Freckles.”

I tried to.

I really did.

But the panic had already taken hold.

The water swallowed me whole, dragging me down into its depths. My lungs burned, screaming for air, but no matter how hard I tried to reach the surface, I couldn't. My limbs felt like lead, the strength I had once relied on now useless against the weight of my own fear.

This is how I die.

The thought struck me with a terrifying finality.

Not in some grand, dramatic way. Not in a moment of meaning or consequence. But here, in a pool I had once conquered. In the same place I had learned to trust myself.

How ironic.

I opened my mouth, instinct taking over, but the moment I did, water rushed in, filling every space it could find. It burned—God, it burned—searing down my throat like fire and ice all at once. My chest tightened painfully, every nerve in my body screaming for oxygen.

But there was none.

My vision blurred, the dim glow of the pool lights above warping into hazy, distant orbs. My arms flailed, reaching for something—anything—but the water was endless. No surface. No air. 

This is it.

This is how I die.

The thought came fast, sharp, sinking its claws into my already frantic mind.

No one was here.

No one would save me.

The pressure in my chest turned unbearable. Spots danced in my vision. I reached out blindly, grasping for something—anything—but there was nothing except the endless stretch of water above me, getting farther and farther away.

A sob choked out of me, swallowed instantly by the depths.

I didn’t want this.

I didn’t want to die like this.

Alone.

Helpless.

But then—

Something strong wrapped around me, yanking me upward, pulling me out of the abyss.

I felt it—the warmth, the strength—cutting through the cold abyss. Arms wrapped around me, firm yet careful, holding me close as I was pulled from the depths.

Familiar.

The sensation sent a jolt through me,Recognition pushing against the fog in my mind. The steady, unyielding grip, the way my body fit against it

Kyle..

I wanted to hold onto that thought, to grasp at it with everything I had left. But the darkness was faster. It wrapped around me, dragging me under even as I was lifted out.

The last thing I felt was the press of a body against mine, the rapid thudding of a heartbeat so close to my own.

And then—

Nothing.