Prove It

Chapter 12

Just then, Sierra finally looked over and spotted him, stopping his thoughts in their tracks. His body reacted immediately and, with that one look, the list was instantly narrowed down to one girl. Tristan cursed inwardly. He was screwed. Maybe they both were.

Sierra said something to Reggie and excused herself, then she approached him cautiously, her smile long gone. He watched her body sway invitingly as she walked over to him. His gaze strayed momentarily and landed on Reggie who was also watching Sierra walk. It was hard to miss the longing in his eyes. I think I know how you feel, bro, Tristan thought.

That vanilla scent he’d become so used to wafted through the air as Sierra came to stand next to him.

“Thanks for coming. I wasn’t sure if you would,” she said softly.

“I will always show up if you need me.” Her smile returned slightly at his answer.

“So, you’re not mad about yesterday?”

“No, I’m not mad. I’m just confused. I still don’t understand what I did wrong.”

“You didn’t do anything. I… umm… ” she took a calming breath and went through her bag pulling out what looked like a piece of paper. “I want to show you something.”

She handed the item to him. Her hand trembled slightly as they made the exchange. What was she so nervous about? When he looked at it, he realized she gave him a photograph. The picture was of a woman with caramel colored skin, huge kind brown eyes, and a warm smile, her hair was a big curly mass around her pretty face. It didn’t take long for him to identify who the woman was considering her carbon copy was standing right in front of him looking like she wished she was anywhere but here with him.

“This is your mom?” Tristan asked just to be sure. Sierra nodded, looking unusually pale. “You look just like her,” he said.

“Thank you." She paused. "She died six years ago.”

The shock of her words gripped Tristan and held him as shck The simple statement illustrated just how little Tristan knew about Sierra. How could he not know this about her? What else didn't he know about her? And why was she telling him this now?

“Sierra, I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

“That’s because I don’t talk about it. Ever.” Tristan kept his mouth shut while his mind raced. He didn’t know what to say. He’d never lost anyone, unless you count Jessica, and that shit just didn’t compare. “Sometimes I feel guilty for not remembering certain things about her. My dad has so many memories, but when he brings them up, I can’t remember.”

“You were pretty young when she died. You can’t feel guilty about not remembering every detail. All you can do is honor her memory the best you can and keep a special place for her in your heart.”

“One thing you’ll come to know about me is that I’m extremely illogical when it comes to certain things. One of those things is my mother.”

He let her words settle in his mind. He had so many questions, but he didn’t know what was okay to ask and what wasn’t. He decided to take a chance.

“Can I ask how she died?”

Sierra moved slowly to a nearby tree and leaned her back against it.

“She drowned,” she answered. She watched him closely as he began to put the pieces together. She never looked more vulnerable than she did right now. “My mom was an architect, like my dad, and she worked with a lot of nonprofit organizations designing and building homes and schools for people living in third world countries, so she travelled a lot for work. She was in Mexico when it happened. They had really bad flooding that year, it washed away most of the houses, flooded roads, and destroyed bridges, including the one my mother and her crew were driving on. She was swept away in a tide, trapped in her car. She never had a chance.”

Tristan was silent for a long time. His heart broke for her. This explained so much. Even being as good a swimmer as he was, he doubted he could have survived something like that.

“That’s why you’re so scared to go swimming? Because of what happened to your mother?”

“I know it’s irrational, but I just can’t shake the feeling I get when I’m in deep water. At the mention of getting into the pool with you, all I could see is my mother’s face full of fear, knowing she was going to die. I hope you understand that the way I acted the other night didn’t have anything to do with you.”

“Shit, Sierra. I wished you would have told me sooner. I feel like such an ass.”

“Don’t. There’s no way you could have known.”

Tristan’s resolve was now stronger than ever. He knew what he had to do.

“Sierra, you have to let me teach you how to swim.”

“Tristan – ”

“No, hear me out. We’ll take it slow. And I’ll be right there the whole time. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“Wait, I thought you understood,” she said, confused.

“I understand better than you think. I understand that you’re okay letting your fear control you for the rest of your life.” He knew that what he said would hurt her, but she needed to hear the truth.

Sierra’s face contorted with pain and anger. She snatched the picture he was still holding from his hand and turned to walk away. “Who are you to judge me?” she spat at him before she stomped away. Tristan followed, keeping up with her easily.

“I’m someone who cares about you. I’m the one trying to help you.”

“I don’t want your help.”

He grabbed hold of her. “Sierra, stop.” She struggled to pull away and he just held on tighter. “Don’t you trust me?”

She stopped thrashing, seemingly thrown by his question.

“You know I do.”

“If that’s true, then let me do this for you. Besides, who better to teach you than a former swim champion?” She smiled at that. “Are you really that scared?”

“I never said I was scared.”

“Then, prove it to me. Show me how brave you are. Let me help you.”

He gazed into her eyes. They revealed everything she was thinking. He glimsped the fear she was trying to hide and it was making her question her ability to do this, but he knew she was strong enough to overcome this and she knew it, too. She didn't want to be scared anymore.

“You can teach me to swim like you?” she asked.

“Well, maybe not like me, but I can teach you how to move comfortably through the water. I can help you to not be afraid.”

She thought it over, keeping him on the edge. He was surprised she was even considering it.

“Okay. You win, I’ll do it. I’ll let you teach me how to swim. I just have to tell my dad.”

He was tempted to grab her, pick her up and twirl her around in a circle. He couldn’t believe she agreed.

“Sierra, you won’t regret it. With my help and a little bit of practice, you’ll be a mermaid in no time.”

She smiled weakly, nowhere near as excited as he was.

“We’ll see,” she mumbled.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: I just want to take the time to thank everyone for commenting and voting for my story. Never in a million years did I think I would have so many followers who want to read my crazy ramblings, so Thank you!!!! I have some other stories in the works, but I want to make sure Tristan and Sierra get the attention they deserve before I publish the other books, so be on the look out for some new stuff. Until then, I have a lot of plans in store for these two. Next installment coming soon...