The night was freezing, the kind of cold that settled into your bones and refused to leave. Adrian adjusted his coat as he walked toward his car, his breath visible in the icy air. He had stayed late on campus, grading papers in his office. It was a quiet night, but something about it felt… off.
As he approached the parking lot, he noticed a figure near the pool. His steps slowed, his sharp eyes narrowing. It was a woman small, frail-looking in the dim light and she was fully clothed, standing dangerously close to the edge of the icy water. Adrian’s stomach twisted with a feeling he couldn’t quite place.
“Elena?” he called out, his voice echoing in the stillness.
The figure didn’t move.
His heart dropped. It was Elena.
“Elena!” he barked, his tone sharper now, his steps quickening as he moved closer.
Before he could reach her, she stepped forward, her body plunging into the water. Adrian froze for a split second, the sight searing into his mind. And then he ran, faster than he thought possible, throwing off his coat as he reached the edge.
The icy water hit him like a slap when he jumped in, stealing the breath from his lungs. But he didn’t care. His focus was on her on the lifeless way she sank beneath the surface, her body limp, as though she had given up completely.
“Damn it, Elena!” he growled, his arms cutting through the water as he grabbed her. “What the hell are you doing?”
She didn’t respond, her body cold and still against his. Panic gripped him as he dragged her to the surface, his mind racing. She was light, too light, and her pale face sent a wave of fear through him.
“open the fucking eyes Elena ,” he muttered under his breath as he pulled her out of the pool and laid her on the ground. Water dripped from her hair and clothes, pooling around them.
Elena’s eyes fluttered open, but they were distant, unfocused. She shivered violently, her lips trembling.
“Are you insane?” Adrian shouted, his voice trembling with a mix of anger and fear. “What were you thinking?”
She didn’t answer. Her teeth chattered too hard to form words.
Adrian ran a hand through his wet hair, frustration boiling inside him. He wanted to yell, to shake her, to demand answers but the sight of her, fragile and broken, stopped him. She looked like she had been carrying the weight of the world, and it had finally crushed her.
“I’m taking you home,” he said firmly, scooping her into his arms.
“No,” she whispered weakly, her voice barely audible. “I… I don’t want to…..”
“You don’t get a choice,” Adrian snapped, his jaw tight as he carried her toward his car. “You’ve lost that right when you decided to jump into a freezing pool in the middle of the night.”
Elena didn’t fight him. She didn’t have the strength. Her head rested against his chest, her body trembling from the cold.
Adrian’s mind was a whirlwind of emotions as he drove, his grip on the steering wheel tight. He couldn’t stop glancing at her in the passenger seat, her wet clothes clinging to her and her eyes staring blankly ahead.
“Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?” he asked, his voice low but tense. “You could’ve died, Elena. Do you even care?”
“I… I don’t know,” she admitted softly, her voice cracking.
Adrian’s grip on the steering wheel tightened even more. He wanted to be angry, but her words broke something inside him.
“Damn it,” he muttered under his breath, shaking his head. “Why didn’t you call me? Why didn’t you talk to me? You think doing this is going to solve anything?”
She didn’t respond, and the silence that followed was deafening.
When they reached his house, Adrian didn’t wait for her to protest. He opened her door, scooped her into his arms again, and carried her inside.
“You need to get changed from these wet clothes,” he said, his tone brisk as he set her down on the couch. “You’re going to get sick.”
Elena just sat there, her arms wrapped around herself, her eyes staring at the floor.
Adrian clenched his fists, fighting the urge to yell. He grabbed a blanket from the nearby chair and wrapped it around her shoulders.
“Do you even care about yourself, Elena?” he asked, his voice softer now but filled with frustration. “Because it doesn’t look like it.”
She flinched at his words, her eyes welling up with tears.
“I’m trying,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “I’m trying, process, but I don’t know how to anymore. Everything feels… hopeless.”
Her words hit him like a punch to the gut. He knelt in front of her, his hands gripping her arms gently but firmly.
“Listen to me,” he said, his voice low and intense. “You’re not alone, do you hear me? Whatever you’re going through, you don’t have to go through it alone. But you have to let me in, Elena. You have to let someone in.”
Her tears spilled over, and she shook her head. “You don’t understand,” she said, her voice trembling. “It’s not that easy. My father, my life… it’s all a mess. And I don’t want to drag you into it.”
“I don’t care,” Adrian said fiercely. “I don’t care about the mess. I care about you.”
His words hung in the air, heavy and raw. Elena looked at him, her tears falling freely now.
“I don’t deserve that,” she said, her voice cracking.
“Stop,” Adrian said, his hands moving to cup her face. “Stop saying that. You’re worth more than you think, Elena. And I’m not going to let you give up on yourself.”
She closed her eyes, her shoulders shaking as she cried. Adrian pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly as if he could shield her from the weight of the world.
“You’re staying here tonight,” he said firmly, his chin resting on top of her head. “I don’t trust you to be alone right now.”
Elena didn’t argue. She was too tired, too broken to fight him.
Adrian’s jaw tightened as he held her. He was furious at her, at himself, at whatever had driven her to this point. But more than anything, he was scared. Scared of losing her, of not being able to help her.
He pulled back, looking down at her tear-streaked face.
“We’ll figure this out,” he said, his voice steady despite the storm raging inside him. “I don’t know how yet, but we will. You’re not alone, Elena. Not anymore.”
She looked at him, her eyes filled with a mixture of fear and hope.
“Promise me,” Adrian said, his hands still holding her face. “Promise me you’ll let me help you.”
“I promise,” she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Adrian nodded, his chest tightening. He didn’t know what the future held, but he knew one thing for certain: he wasn’t going to let her face it alone.
As he helped her upstairs to the guest room, his mind was already racing with plans. Whatever it took, he would make sure Elena found her way out of the darkness. Even if it meant breaking every rule he had ever followed, he would protect her.
But deep down, Adrian couldn’t shake the feeling that this was not only the thing she was holding.