The Deep End.

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. It was a constant reminder that her parents never wanted her or cared about her. Sometimes even her dreams reminded her of what she could never have - a life filled with love. She was always so close to obtaining a peaceful death, but someone always intervened at the last moment, bringing her back from the brink of death. Samantha was convinced that her parents merely kept her alive to spite her, merely using her as an emotional punching bag.

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, reminding her that she was an accident. They never noticed that Samantha's grades started to slip or the fact that she never went out on the weekends anymore. All she did was hole herself up in her room and avoid all human interaction.

But this time, she was going to do it properly. 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 just a few blocks down. The moon reflected against the water. It was serene and beautiful, but it was impossible to have it mask the disgusting truth of her body. She wanted to crawl out of her skin and start over again. 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. "Fuck you, world," She angrily muttered before plunging herself into the deep waters.

Henry whistled to himself, loving how the eerie tune carried across the lake. He had been drifting in and out of a gentle nap for hours now. 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, to truly enjoy your own company.

He shifted, his back pressed against the unforgiving bottom of the small motor boat. His eyes glittered, like the lake, like the sky, like the metal on his boat. A yawn pushed through his mouth and forced his lips to stretch. He noticed that his clothes had been wet by the muddy water that collects within boats and his hands were numbing with the cold. Slowly, he pushed against the frame of the boat and lifted his body up, sitting, blinking drowsily.

For a second, he closed his eyes, the calm silence of the night filling his ears and his heart.

A violent splash stole away his serenity, jolted his eyes open, and spun him 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 too fast, and fought for balance as his boat rolled against the water.

"Fuck," he muttered, taking his hoodie off and dropping it in the boat. A girl just...did she jump? Fuck. Henry yanked his shirt over his head and tossed it next to his hoodie. He didn't even think, he simply swallowed a huge gulp of air and summoned all of his courage, diving cleanly into the black water.

Forcing his eyes open, Henry 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. Her white clothes rushed against him, illuminated by the moonlight. He tucked her against his chest and swam upwards with the power of terror.

Breaking the surface, Henry flailed for something, anything to relieve his body of the impossibly heavy water. He groaned and grabbed the edge of the dock from which she had leapt. Henry clenched his teeth and his entire arm shook with the burden of his exhausted body. 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, pulling her through the waters to the shore, using the dock to support them until it was shallow enough for his trembling legs to push against the sand.

Once on shore, Henry dragged the girl up onto the sand, slamming his palms against her chest. Water bubbled from her lips, but her eyes remained closed. Henry squeezed his eyes shut, fearing for her life. He was rushed with pain and incredible fear. Quickly, he collected himself, and pulled her mouth open with his shaking 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 upwards, and she began coughing violently as the lake left her lungs.

Tears of relief pooled in his eyes and streamed down his face, hot against his icy cheeks. He looked as her and smeared them away with his palms. He caught his breath and parted his lips, dizzy with happiness. He couldn't think of what to say to her.

@ banks of roses

Submerging underneath, she felt the freeze of the midnight water against her skin, slowly claiming her as its own. She knew that it would only be moments before she would become numb to the chill and eventually the world. Samantha opened her eyes and watched everything disappear 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. Samantha almost found it beautiful. No one would be able to stop her this time. 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 leave her alone.

However, the process wasn't as amazing as she had thought. Samantha started to feel her body reacting to the lack of oxygen in her system with its 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. A few moments of discomfort for a lifetime of bliss. 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 man pressed her securely against his strong chest and began to pull her to the surface. She wanted to cry out for the person to leave her alone and explain that this is what she wanted, but the water in her lungs prevented any of this. Her body betrayed her as her arms grasped onto the meddlesome person. Once again, this person was taking the only thing that she seemingly had control of in her life. When she broke the surface, tears started to spill from her eyes and joined the droplets of water that cascaded down her cheeks. No, no, no! I can't even kill myself properly. Pathetic. Worthless.

Hearing the sound of an engine, she hoped that it was too late. Maybe 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. Whoever this was truly believed that he was saving her. Samantha remained motionless as the individual moved back towards the shore, soon feeling the grains of sand cling to her back. She wished that she could push the person away or anything to prevent him from saving her life. She didn't want this. God, she was just as shameful as her parents made her feel.

As the man's hands pressed against her chest, her lungs obliged by beginning to push out the water. She didn't want this to happen. This wasn't supposed to be the way her plan went. Again, he pushed against her chest. He wasn't giving up. Around the seventh pump, she spit up a portion of the water from her lungs, causing her eyes to shoot open. Turning onto her side, she coughed up the rest of the water while gasping for air at the same time. Samantha looked up to view the meddlesome person, silently cursing him for actually caring enough to save her life.

As soon as her lungs filled with pure oxygen, she broke down completely, curling into a ball as a puddle of tears. She was completely pathetic and angry. She couldn't even commit suicide properly without having someone save her life, and this had happened multiple times. Samantha pounded her fist against the sand in frustration as her sobs filled the silence between the two of them. "Why? Why? Why?" Her voice was hoarse and frail, cracking as she spoke. "You weren't supposed to save me."