The Deep End

Samantha Lexington - played by XxLithiumWingsxX


Henry Windsor - played by Tessellation

@ Tessellation

The faint scars that covered Samantha Bernard's body only encased all of her failures of attempted suicide. Wrists. Thighs. They mocked her every single morning she awoke and stood in front of the mirror to the time she dressed to sleep in front of the mirror. Sometimes even her dreams reminded her of what she could never have - a peaceful death. She was always so close to obtaining nirvana, but someone always intervened at the last moment, bringing her back from the brink of death.

Her parents couldn't even care less about the poor girl since they were always too busy fighting about who would get what in the divorce. It was always material stuff like the television or the washing machine. Sure, they had saved her life a few times by finding her in the bathtub with her wrists slit, but they never did anything to help her depression. Her parents were only one of the many driving forces behind it. They never noticed that Samantha's grades started to slip or the fact that she never went out on there weekends anymore. All she did was hole herself up in her room, and even Samantha began to wonder what happened to that peppy, vibrant other girl.

But this time, she would do it correctly. Sneaking out in the middle of the night was no hard task, and she found herself on the dock in the middle of a lake. The moon reflected against the water, but it was impossible to have it mask the disgusting truth of her body. This time there was no one around to stop her from finally obtaining some sort of peace and quiet. Samantha had no idea how to swim either and that only reassured her that this would truly be the end. Looking down at the bottomless lake, Samantha whispered good-bye to the world before plunging herself into the dark waters below.

Henry whistled to himself, loving how the eerie tune carried across the lake. His boat was always a pleasant escape from the turmoil of his large family, and he often found himself out on the lake alone. It was so peaceful. He shifted, his back pressed against the unforgiving bottom of the small motor boat. The sky was incredible tonight, thousands of stars shedding their light on Henry and his boat. A yawn pushed through his mouth and forced his lips to stretch. Slowly, he sat up, deciding that it was time to start up the crappy motor and head back home.

He lifted the paddle from the bottom of the boat and gripped the smooth wooden handle. For a second, he closed his eyes, the calm silence of the night filling his ears and his heart. A violent splash jolted his eyes open, and he spun around in time to see a figure crash below the surface. "Hey," he called, the boat rocking beneath him. His eyes scanned the surface, searching desperately for the girl that he saw.

He waited, his heart thumping against his chest, his hands quickly turning his boat towards the ripples. "Hey!" He shouted at the unforgiving blackness of the water. Henry stood up and steadied the boat, dropping his paddle into the bottom. "Fuck," he muttered, taking his hoodie off and dropping it in the boat. Every second that ticked by, Henry became more certain of what he had to do.

He swallowed a huge gulp of air and summoned all of his courage. He dove cleanly into the water and forced his eyes open. He could see the sinking girl, she seemed so far away. The freezing water swallowed him but he kicked, fighting against the lake. He reached out his hands and grabbed her arms, struggling to pull her against him. Bubbles shot from his nose and his body started to panic from the lack of air. Wrapping his arms around her, Henry swam upward with everything he had.

Breaking the surface, Henry flailed for something, anything to relieve his body of the water. He groaned and grabbed the edge of his boat. It rocked madly in the water. Henry clenched his teeth as he looked at the soft face of the girl he held, knowing that she didn't have many minutes left. Henry squeezed her tightly against him. He reached his arm over the edge of the boat and yanked the cord to start the motor with all of his might. To his relief, it revved up. Henry held the edge of the boat as it pulled the two of them to shore.

Once on shore, Henry dragged the girl up onto the sand, slamming his palms against her chest. Water squirted from her mouth, but her eyes remained closed. Henry squeezed his eyes shut, fearing for her life. Quickly, he opened them again, and pulled her mouth open with his trembling hands. He pressed his lips to hers. Henry breathed air into her lungs as he pumped his hands against her.

Suddenly, he felt her body lurch, and he lifted his face from hers. Tears of relief pooled in his eyes. A single tear slipped down his cheek and dripped off of his chin. Slowly, he sat back against a tree, watching her as she woke.

@ Tessellation

Submerging underneath the water, she felt the freeze of the midnight water against her skin, slowly claiming her as its own. Samantha opened her eyes and viewed the world as she slowly sunk further and further towards the bottom of the lake. The trail of bubbles that marked her last breath in the world with the moon as her only witness. It brought a sense of clarity and reassurance for the young girl that this would truly be the end. She would finally be able to close her eyes for the final time without a care. It would be the end to all of her endless misery that never seemed to have a solution.

Samantha started to feel her body reacting to the lack of oxygen in her system with her body's frantic movements. Needing more air, she gasped, but it only sped up the process further with the intake of the water. Her body didn't take too kindly to the water filling her lungs as the edges of her vision starting to blur. Soon, it would all be over. She closed her eyes to allow the lake to finish up its job once and for all.

That was when she felt a pair of arms surround her body, taking her into the person's embrace. The heaviness of the water decreased, signaling that she being pulled to the surface. She wanted to cry out for the person to leave her alone and that this is what she wanted, but, alas, the water in her lungs prevented any of this. This person was taking the only thing that she seemingly had control of in her life.

Hearing the sound of an engine, she hoped that the amount of water in her lungs would make it impossible to revive her. It would only take a few more moments for it all to be over, but this person was quick. Samantha remained motionless as they moved back towards the shore, soon feeling the grains of sand press against her back. She wished that she could fight against him or push him away or do something to prevent him from saving her life.

With the hands of the person pushing against her chest, her lungs obliged by pushing the water out of her mouth. She didn't want this to happen. This wasn't supposed to be the way her plan had worked. With the person's second attempt, she felt her body fighting for its life, allowing the fresh oxygen to fill her lungs. The last pump against her chest produced at least of gallon of water from her lungs, causing her eyes to shoot open. Turning onto her side, she coughed up the rest of the water while completely gasping for air at the same time. Samantha looked up to view her savior, silently cursing him for actually caring to save her life.

After a moment of pulling herself back together, she broke down completely, curling into a ball as a puddle of tears. She was completely pathetic. She couldn't even commit suicide properly without having someone save her life. Samantha pounded her fist against the sand in frustration as her sobs filled the silence between the two of them. "Why? Why? Why?" She mumbled to herself with her voice starting to break.

Henry got to his knees as she woke, pushing his sandy, wet hair from his face. The look she gave him startled him, as it was far from thankful. The adrenaline had finally stopped rushing through his body and he was able to really look at her. Henry saw the scars displayed on her skin, the battle showcased on her wrists. He realized for the first time that she hadn't wanted to be saved.

Flashbacks crowded his mind, images that he had buried resurfaced. He'd always felt at fault for the death of his older brother, he'd always feel like he hadn't done enough to help. Henry suddenly knew that he would do anything to pull this girl back from the ledge, if he could make up for his past somehow.

He watched her as she curled up, crying, completely unprepared for a situation like this. Seeing her body shake with sobs made his heart ache. Not knowing what else to do, he crawled closer to her and laid down next to her, taking her angry fist and squeezing it in his hand. "Hey," he murmured.

"Please," his single word was flooded with emotion. He blinked back tears and tried to regain his voice. "Look at me," he asked softly. Sand stuck to his wet, shivering body, and he held her little fist tightly.

Henry squeezed his eyes shut, not knowing what he could possibly say to her. "I'm sorry," he croaked, apologizing for saving her life. "I'm sorry." Struggling with the right words, he searched her soft face, tightening his grip on her as she shook.

@ Tessellation

The sand clung to her wet skin as she continued to bury her face into it in complete agony. Even though most people would be grateful, Samantha only felt sorrow, because he had taken her away from eternal peace. Sobbing, the tears mixed together with the droplets of water on her face before soaking into the sand below. This plan had become a complete, utter failure.

Now, she would have to go back to that place called her home with her parents too busy to even realize she had left. They wouldn't even question why she was soaking wet or an emotional wreck. It was always about the money. Maybe they would have been relieved to hear that she was gone. It would have been more money from insurance in their pocket anyway.

She had been so close yet so far all thanks to this guy. She grit her teeth, letting out a muffled cry of sadness. Squeezing her eyes shut, she heard his sympathetic words pleading her to look at him. She couldn't find it within her to respond since she was too choked up by her grief let alone look at him. Even despite taking her hand, Samantha proceed to pry her hand out of his, wanting to hit him instead. This was all his fault. If he hadn't been on the lake, this would have never happened.

"You.. should have let me go." She barely proceeded to reply through her tears, starting to feel the anger settle in. It was too late for him to feel sorry. It was too late for him to take back what he had done. There was nothing he could say to make things right.

After a few more moments, Samantha couldn't find another tear within her to shed. She was completely out of the will to cry, to shake, or to even be upset. She was just there, taking up space in the world.

"No," Henry shook his head. He looked at the beautiful, broken girl in the sand. She sounded angry with him, for saving her. He knew he wouldn't understand how she felt, but he would try his best to help her, regardless. For a long moment, he let her cry angrily. "Why would I ever let you go?"

Henry was weak from the swim. He laid back on the sand and sighed. The sky still shone on, somehow, even though the beauty of the night had been shattered. "Look," Henry spoke. He pointed at the sky, even though he knew she wasn't looking. "That's Mars." He murmured, staring at the bright spot. He tried to calm himself down a little. "A few nights ago, I could see Jupiter, too." Henry looked over at her.

She wasn't crying anymore. Henry bit his lip hard enough to make it bleed. "I don't know...I don't know what made you do this, but you can come with me, okay? Please look at me," He rubbed goosebumps from his arms. Reaching over to her, Henry touched her frail shoulder gently. "Please come with me,"

@ Tessellation

"You wouldn't understand." She quietly mumbled back in response to his question. There were too many reasons why she believed that he should have let her go. Rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands, Samantha sniffled then turned to look up at the sky above them. All she saw was a bunch of stars that only shined brighter than she ever could despite being millions of light years away.

Without saying in a word, she blankly started up at the stars, feeling just as empty as she had when jumping into the waters. She could feel his eyes on her, but she refused to look over at him. She was confused and upset as to why he had saved her. Why couldn't he have just believed that she was a fish that had jumped out of the pond for a moment?

The gentle breeze of the wind blew over them, sending shivers down her spine. She never really realized just how chilly it was until now. When he touched her shoulder, she impulsively moved away as if his touch were poisonous. Samantha didn't know how to react to his offer, knowing that she would only be a burden to him. "Why are you being nice to me?" She simply asked, completely devoid of emotion, as she continued to blankly stare up into the sky.

Henry shook his head. "I know I wouldn't understand, but I could try," he said. He watched her as she rubbed her eyes, as she looked up at the stars.

Henry drew his hand back when she cringed at his touch. He took a deep breath. "I don't fucking know." he said softly. Why did he suddenly feel so strongly for this poor girl? The he realized - it was because she needed someone to care. She had wandered out here alone, and tried to drown herself. It had been a long while since he had first seen her, but nobody had come looking for her. "Because you deserve it." he murmured.

He wrapped his arms around his bare chest, the freezing night biting his skin. He forced himself to sit up, and then brought himself to his feet. He looked down at the defeated girl and offered his hand to her. "Come with me, just for tonight." He bit his lip and added slowly, "I want to keep you safe,"

@ Tessellation

She wasn't too convinced that he would understand it, especially since it took her years to understand herself. Taking in a deep breath, she looked past the boy to view the waters of the lake once more. It was unfortunate that she wasn't at the bottom of that lake.

Hearing his words, her eyes shot over to him while her eyebrows furrowed into a confused expression. Because she deserved it? Samantha didn't believe for one moment that she deserved his kindness, especially since she made it clear that she disliked him for saving her life. That wasn't something that merited this amount of kindness. "That's a weird reason." She stated with a hallowed, pitiful laugh.

Her eyes moved down to the outstretched hand, debating on whether or not to take it. She had no where to go other than her house, and she definitely did not want to go back there. Pulling herself off of the sand, Samantha stumbled to her feet without reaching out for his hand. She wasn't sure if she wanted to feel the warmth of human interaction, especially since his kindness was already enough. "One night." Samantha agreed with a slight nod as the wind blew, causing her to shake once more.

Henry sighed softly. "Everyone deserves someone who cares," he stated firmly. He was relieved when she agreed to coming with him.

Even though she hadn't accepted his hand, he reached out and took hers in his, leading her to the boat and helping her get inside. He pushed it off of the shore and hopped in, turning it to face the dock of his house. Once they were in the middle of the lake, he picked up his hoodie and handed it to her. He couldn't stand the way she was shaking.

He sat down as the boat slowly slapped against the water, looking into her eyes. "I'm Henry," he said slowly. "What's your name?" He asked politely, eyeing the dock as they approached.

The boat came up next to the dock and he turned off the engine, tying it to the posts. He hopped up onto the dock and helped her out of the rocking boat, slowly taking her hand again and tugging her gently along the path to his house.

When they got there, he was relieved to see all the lights were out. This meant that nobody had noticed his absence. He was glad he hadn't caused his parents any worrying. Henry opened the back door and guided the girl inside, leading her to his bedroom.

"You can sleep on my bed," he said, beginning to search in his closet for his sleeping bag.

@ Tessellation

She found it impossible to wrap her mind around the statement. Even her parents never cared about her, so who could?

When his fingers wrapped around her chilled ones, she felt another wave of sadness pass through her as she was dragged along. The warmth that she had wanted to avoid completely. She didn't need it to touch her heart and make her actually thankful for her life.

Getting onto the boat, Samantha watched it rock underneath her added weight, balancing herself out. She blinked for a moment at the outstretched hoodie before realizing that he had wanted her to take it. Looking away, she took the hoodie from his hands then pulled it over her head. Samantha then pulled the hood up to conceal her damp hair from the freezing air. It warmed her a little and stopped her from shaking.

"Samantha." She mumbled back while they passed over the lake, looking down at the murky waters below. Henry could try to care for her as much as he wanted, but she doubted that it would change anything. Once they neared the dock, she glanced over at him still wondering if this had been the best idea. She was going to be a burden for him, and she was sure that his parents had no idea.

Stepping out onto the firm ground, she felt a little wobbly and stumbled slightly but pulled herself together on the way to the house. It was hard to see as they passed through in the dark, and she squinted as if it would help. Moving into the bedroom, Samantha sighed before pulling off his sweatshirt to give back to Henry.

Looking down at her clothes, she could see that she was thoroughly soaked but didn't want to ask for a change of clothes. "I can take the sleeping bag. It's your bed." She stated since it wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be the first time she slept on the ground either, so it wasn't a big deal.

Henry shook his head as he accepted his sweatshirt. "You get the bed," He simply stated. He wasn't going to argue about it, either. The best thing he could do for her right now was to give her a comfortable place to sleep. He'd already accepted the fact that his body would ache from sleeping on the floor. She was well worth the small sacrifice.

Henry looked her up and down, realizing that they were both starting to make puddles on the floor. He immediately pulled out some clothes that he thought would work okay for her to wear. "Here, Samantha," he said with a small nod. "The bathroom is across the hall," He added gently as he handed the dry clothes to her. Then he pulled out some dry pants for himself, waiting for her to go before he started changing.

He felt a lot better once he was in some dry clothes, and busied himself with unrolling the sleeping bag onto the floor. What a weird night. He'd never guessed something like this would happen. Hell, he was glad he had been there for her, though.

She seemed so fragile, so beaten. He wondered what had finally pushed her to this point. He couldn't even imagine being brave enough to purposefully drown yourself. Henry personally thought that suicide took a hell of a lot of bravery. He wondered why she'd been so surprised that he was acting nice to her.

@ Tessellation

Samantha decided to drop the argument since she was too tired to even defend why she should sleep on the floor. If he wanted to sleep on the floor that badly, she would allow him. It was his house anyway, and she was merely the guest. Glancing behind her to look at the bed, she could feel the sleep beckoning her.

Taking the clothes from him, she gave a nod of thanks. She brushed past him to go out into the hallway, following his instructions down the hallway. As she walked, a trail of water followed her to the bathroom. Samantha pulled off the soaked clothes and pulled on the fresh ones that he had given her. It was clear that they were baggy and over-sized, but at least they could keep her warm. She started to ring out the clothes in the sink, getting out as much water as possible.

She then left the bathroom and returned back to Henry's room, unsure of where to place the wet clothes. "I wasn't sure where to put these.." She announced when she walked back into the room, softly closing the door behind her. All she really wanted to do at this point, was get some rest and sleep. Maybe she could actually get some rest though. The past few nights had just been nightmare after nightmare, not allowing her to truly relax.

"Oh, here," He spoke gently. Henry got up and took her wet clothes carefully, hanging them in his closet next to his drying jeans. He slowly returned to his sleeping bag as he gestured towards his bed. "Go ahead," he said warmly. "If you need anything tell me, I'm here for you," he added. He walked towards the light switch and waited until she seemed settled to flick it off.

Carefully, he slid into the sleeping bag and squirmed around until he was somewhat comfortable. "In the morning," he said softly, "just ignore my family. It gets kind of crazy around here since there's nine kids," He spoke through a yawn. Henry was grateful that it was the weekend and he didn't have to worry about returning to school exhausted. "I'll make sure the little ones don't annoy you too much." He mumbled, shifting and switching sides.

For a while, they were silent. But Henry couldn't sleep. His mind buzzed with questions that he knew were intrusive. He thought about the events of the night, and realized he'd changed a suicide into an attempted suicide. Images of the scars on her body were burned into his head, and he tried to blink them away. She was beautiful, in a sad sort of way. He didn't know how she could do that to herself. He didn't understand, just like he'd never understood his brother.

"Samantha?" His voice broke the darkness, inquiring softly if she was still awake.

@ Tessellation

Upon the gesture, she silently moved towards the bed, hearing the creaks of the springs as she climbed onto to. Samantha slid underneath the covers to face away from Henry and blankly stared at the wall before her. Soon, there was no more light in the room, which left her looking into the darkness instead.

Laying there for a few moments, Samantha attempted to close her eyes and relax, but it was impossible to find a way to sleep. It was always the same awful feeling that settled into her stomach. Although, she couldn't quite place why she felt it or what it actually was. There was no point in even tossing and turning to find some comfort since she knew it wouldn't do much. The darkness was her only companion.

Samantha gave nod after he finished speaking despite knowing that he would not be able to see it. Laying there in the darkness, she wondered what it was like to have siblings. She was an only child and that already seemed to much for her parents to take. Maybe it would have been pleasant to have a brother or sister to keep her company. Maybe she would have been less poisonous to herself. "It's fine." Samantha quietly mumbled back, wanting to experience the annoyance for herself.

With the silence filling the air, her mind wandered back to the lake and her savior. The boy named Henry was a complete enigma to her. He seemed to be determined to take care of her and make her feel grateful for her life. Samantha was so sure that she would never love herself that she would bet her life on it. Running the pad of her thumb across the most recent scar on her wrist, she bit her tongue in disgust.

She paused for a moment, almost missing his voice. "Henry." She responded back, letting him know of her restlessness. Samantha wasn't quite sure why she had decided to respond since she could have easily ignored him.

Henry smiled a little bit when she said his name, grateful that she was still awake. He wondered if she was still angry with him, for saving her. He stifled a yawn before he spoke, his words stumbling out of his mouth. "Samantha, if you wanna tell me anything, I'll listen, I swear," He covered his mouth and suppressed another yawn.

Blinking his eyes, he snuggled himself inside the sleeping bag, twisting and finally finding a comfortable spot. "And if you ever need me, or a place to stay, or anything, I promise I'll be there for you," Although he was almost positive she wasn't looking, Henry drowsily crossed his heart. He closed his eyes and sighed. Sleep began to claim his body, but he urged himself to stay awake.

It couldn't last forever though. His skin still felt chilled from the lake, there was still sand all over his body. But he hardly even noticed. Tonight, he'd saved a life, a beautiful girl. She was broken, but Henry knew he couldn't try to fix her. She had to find that power within herself. His thoughts slowly became muddled and unclear, so he decided it was time to shut down. Before he slipped off, he was sure to say "Goodnight, Samantha,"

@ Tessellation

Samantha was unable to suppress a frown that eventually made its way to her face. Again, he was concerned about the way she felt. "There's nothing to say." She simply stated, not finding the words to express her emotions. It would not be easy bringing down the wall that guarded her feelings and thoughts.

Wrapping her arms around her frozen body, she curled slightly in an attempt to warm herself. Her hair still smelled of seaweed from the lake water and dampened the pillow beneath her head, in addition to the grains of sand. "Okay." Samantha glanced over her shoulder to take a peak at Henry on the ground. He probably just felt pity for the broken girl who had just tried to commit suicide.

"Mhm." She attempted to sleep once more but to no avail. Slowly sitting up in the bed, Samantha lightly swallowed to realize just how parched she was. It must have been from having the coughing fit when her lungs produced the water. Glancing back down at Henry, she tip-toed out of the bedroom since she didn't want to wake him.

Henry was a light sleeper - it was hard for him to get a good night's sleep. Before seeing his brother swinging from a noose, Henry had always slept soundly. But ever since that night, it had been impossible for his soul to recapture the tranquility he'd once enjoyed. His body often became agitated with the creations of his own brain. His dreams and nightmares often left him with sore muscles because they made him toss and turn. Except tonight, his face had melted into serenity.

But the initial peace couldn't last all night. Henry's hand clenched into a fist around the edge of the sleeping bag, his head torturing him with visions of a hellish reality. His jaw tightened. As a child, Henry's response to his brother's death had been denial. Henry had tried to erase it all from his mind, everything he'd seen. Occasionally he had therapy sessions because as a fifth grader, he had somehow interpreted that suicide was in his genes. He'd thought there was something wrong with him.

Henry's unconscious body groaned softly and flipped onto its stomach. Tonight had reminded him of things that he was positive he'd hidden away for good. The nightmare built until he couldn't take it anymore.

His body jolted and he sat up slowly, wondering why he wasn't in his bed for a moment. Henry caught his breath and laid back down, wishing he could just sleep like a regular person. The nightmares that plagued him - nobody knew about them. He'd tried a thousand different things to make them go away. The one solution that he had worked out was an hour or so of silence out on his boat.

Henry forced his eyes closed, yawning. He rolled his shoulders and tried his best to fall asleep again.

@ Tessellation

Samantha moved forward past Henry, pausing at the slightest creaks in the wood beneath her. Glancing over her shoulder, she sighed with relief to see that he was still asleep. This was how her journey towards the door went for the next few moments. She reached out to grab the doorknob but froze at the sound of a groan. She silently cursed to herself for waking up the poor guy and turned around to face the bombardment of questions. That was when she realized that he had been dreaming or having a nightmare.

Continuing on with the quest for water, she left the room but realized how this was such a horrid idea, weighing out the pros and cons. The family probably would think that she was an intruder and call the cops, which would only land her back in that place. It would only make more trouble for Henry, too. Glancing back over her shoulder, she reasoned that she could wait for the morning to get some water. Entering back into his bedroom, she heard gasp followed by the sound of heavy breathing, witnessing his whole entire ordeal.

Squinting her eyes to see through the dark, she could tell that he was in pain, writhing inside of the sleeping bag. It was a look that adorned her face and body far too often for her to count. Samantha frowned slightly not understanding the source of his pain. It could be a reason as to why he cared so much for her, which intrigued her.

"Henry?" She quietly questioned the darkness while moving over towards him carefully. The least she could do was make sure he was alright, considering he gave her a place to sleep for the night. Kneeling down beside him, she reached out to lightly place a hand on his shoulder.