Page 114 of Next to Everything We Wanted

I rolled my eyes. “You guys are ridiculous.” Though ridiculous conversations were way better than deep conversations. I didn’t want to bask in my worries, even if they still pounded at the back of my head.

“At least the rest of our brains don’t consist of gross make-outs and ice cream,” Forrest said with a teasing grin.

“Hey!” Ellis splashed him.

“You know it’s true.” Forrest splashed him back.

They kept going back and forth until Celeste crept behind them and knocked their donuts over. Ellis and Forrest fell face-first into the pool, water splashing in their wake.

Phoenix and I burst out laughing, trying to breathe through snorts.

“Man, I needed that laugh,” I said as Forrest and Ellis rose to the surface.

Forrest spit out water and narrowed his eyes at Celeste. “Oh, it is so on.”

Celeste smirked. “What are you going to do, take me out of the pool and throw me back in?”

“Dang it,” Ellis grumbled, flipping his soaked and shaggy hair. “That was my idea.”

“Good luck,” Celeste sang before getting on her floaty again. She seemed the happiest she’d been in a while, and warmth spread through my chest.

A few minutes later, Ellis and Forrest snuck up behind Celeste. They grinned at each other before pushing her floaty forward. She screamed, her sunglasses flying off as her face submerged in the water.

“Take that!” Ellis shouted before high-fiving Forrest.

Phoenix and I laughed again.

I expected Celeste to jump up and complain, but she stayed face down, floating around.

Forrest snorted as his gaze went to her. “Stop being a baby, Celeste.”

Ellis’s brows furrowed before he swam over to Celeste. He lifted her head from the water, and her eyes and mouth were closed. “Um, guys, I don’t think she’s playing anymore.”

Forrest’s smile fell as he rushed over to them. “Celeste, stop messing with us.”

Phoenix and I swam over as they flipped her onto her back. Her chest slowly rose and fell, but her eyes and mouth stayed closed. Celeste wasn’t the best actor, so it usually wouldn’t take long until her face broke out in a smile.

After a few moments of letting her float, her smile never came.

“She has to be acting,” Forrest said. “She’s breathing just fine.”

“She could still be unconscious,” Phoenix said as he put his fingers to her neck. “Let’s put her on the patio.”

We carried her over to the edge and pulled her out of the pool. My muscles ached, reminding me that it’d been a hot minute since I’d gone to the gym.

“Um, what do we do first?” Ellis asked, blinking at Celeste. “Put her in the recovery position?”

Panic rising in my chest, I grabbed my phone from the patio table and searchedhow to help someone unconscious but breathing. “Lay her on her side with her head, neck, and spine aligned. It’s supposed to open the airway.”

The boys nodded and rolled Celeste onto her side. Her eyes and mouth stayed closed, though her breathing was normal still.

“What’s next?” Forrest asked, panic edging his voice.

“I-It says to monitor her breathing and . . . call an ambulance.” I swallowed, memories of last week filling my mind.

“Gosh, I’m not going down this road again.” Forrest lay Celeste on her back again before shaking her. “Celeste, get up now!”

“Ouch!” Celeste’s eyes opened as she shot up. “I’m fine, I’m fine!”