THE MAN I LOVED 9 TIMES

Scarlett's Pov I was sixteen when I first fell in love with Liam Carter. It wasn't the kind of love they write in fairy tales. It was messy, desperate, and it started with me almost dying. It was Jake's pool party. End of sophomore year. My best friend forced me to go. I told her I don't do pool parties because I can't swim, but she said, "Scarlett, no one actually swims, we just stand there and look hot." So I went. I wore a black swimsuit I hated. I stood at the edge of the pool, holding a red cup I wasn't drinking from, watching everyone else have fun. The music was loud. The lights from the pool made everything look blue and fake. Liam Carter was there, of course. He is always there. Captain of the basketball team, straight A's even though he never studies, smile that makes freshmen girls trip. He was laughing with his friends, shirtless, perfect. He didn't know I existed. Why would he? I was Scarlett Monroe. Quiet girl. Library girl. The girl who always sits at the back. Then it happened. I don't know who pushed me. Maybe it was an accident. Maybe someone was drunk. One second I was standing, the next I was in the deep end. Water everywhere. I panicked. I kicked, I waved my hands, but I don't know how to swim. My mom never let me learn because she was scared of water after my dad... I was sinking. I could hear people laughing, they thought I was playing. My chest was burning. I opened my mouth and water rushed in. The lights above the pool became blurry. Is this how I die? At sixteen? At a stupid pool party? Then - a splash. A strong arm around my waist. Someone was pulling me up. Hard. Air. I gasped. Coughed. Water came out of my nose and mouth. I was shaking so hard. "Breathe, Scarlett! Breathe!" A voice shouted. I opened my eyes. Liam Carter. Soaking wet. His face inches from mine. His hands holding my face. His eyes - God, his eyes were so worried. "Are you okay? Can you hear me?" Everyone was crowded around us now. Silent. My best friend was crying. I couldn't speak. I just stared at him. Water dripping from his hair onto my face. He picked me up. Like I weighed nothing. He carried me out of the pool and sat me on a lounge chair. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around me. His hands were shaking too. He saved me. Later that night, my mom picked me up. I didn't tell her what happened, I just said I was tired. I went to my room, opened my old pink diary, and wrote with wet hair still dripping: "June 12th. I think I love Liam Carter. He saved me today. No one has ever looked at me like that before." I underlined his name three times. That was the first time I fell in love with Liam Carter. I didn't know there would be eight more times. I didn't know that the boy who saved my life would also be the boy who would ruin it. If I knew, would I have let myself drown?