Chapter 3 Callahan! Who’s the girl?

ARABELLA

Water rushed into my mouth so fast that for a second I genuinely forgot how to breathe, and panic hit me immediately because everything underneath the pool looked wrong and blurry and dark, my dress tangled around my legs while noise exploded somewhere above me in muffled echoes.

I kicked hard, desperate to get up, but my chest was already burning and I couldn’t tell which direction the surface even was anymore.

Then something grabbed me.

An arm wrapped around my waist roughly and pulled, fast and strong, and the next thing I knew cold air slammed into my lungs while hands dragged me onto concrete.

“Move.”

It was Ziven’s voice but it was not calm this time. It was sharp.

Somebody was crying nearby, music still blasted faintly from inside the house, people were yelling over each other while water spilled from my hair onto the pavement beneath me.

“Arabella—”

Rowan, he was here.

I coughed hard but nothing came out except another choking breath, my lungs kept tightening painfully while my entire body shook uncontrollably.

“Breathe,” Ziven snapped, kneeling beside me. “Come on, breathe.”

I could barely see him properly because my glasses were gone and everything looked smeared together under the flashing pool lights, but I still recognized his face, the water dripping from his hair, the way one hand gripped my jaw while the other pressed hard against my chest.

Pressure hit my ribs again.

Then suddenly water came rushing out of my mouth and I bent forward violently, coughing so hard my throat burned.

“Oh my God.”

“She’s okay.”

“Holy shit—”

The crowd around us erupted all at once.

I kept coughing into my sleeve while air scraped painfully into my lungs, and somebody touched my shoulder but Ziven immediately shoved the hand away without even looking.

“Back up.”

“Dude, we were just trying to help—”

“I said back up.”

Everything felt loud and messy and dizzying, phones already appearing around us while people whispered over each other.

“That’s Callahan.”

“Wasn’t that Rowan’s sister?”

“Did she almost drown?”

I pushed wet hair out of my face shakily and looked up just enough to see Tiffany standing near the pool with her arms crossed tightly over her chest, her friends beside her whispering nervously while she stared directly at me.

They were worried. They were angry.

Weirdly, that was the thing that made this suddenly feel real.

“Arabella.”

Rowan dropped down beside me so quickly his knee slammed against the concrete. “What the hell happened?”

“I slipped,” I croaked, my voice sounding horrible.

“You can’t swim?”

I looked away immediately because honestly that sounded embarrassing out loud.

“Jesus Christ,” he muttered, dragging both hands through his hair. “You could’ve died.”

The words settled heavily in my chest.

I could’ve died.

For a second the noise around me faded again and all I could think about was the feeling of sinking, the panic, the water filling my lungs while nobody noticed fast enough—

“Hey.”

Ziven’s voice cut through my thoughts instantly and I looked up.

“You’re okay,” he said firmly, like he needed me to believe it. “Look at me and breathe slowly.”

I didn’t even realize I was shaking harder until he grabbed my wrist. It was steady and grounding and honestly I needed that right now.

My heartbeat stumbled stupidly and someone nearby lifted their phone higher and the flash went off directly in my face.

Ziven looked over immediately. “Drop the phone.”

The guy laughed awkwardly. “Relax, man—”

“I’m serious.”

The guy lowered it fast.

Around us people were still staring openly now, whispering louder because Ziven Callahan was kneeling on the ground soaking wet beside me like the world had almost ended. 

And maybe for one second, to him, it had. That thought hit me so hard I almost forgot to breathe again.

“Can you stand?” Rowan asked carefully and I tried but my legs gave out almost immediately.

Before I could even react, Ziven caught me against him with one arm around my waist.

“Okay, no,” Rowan muttered. “She’s not walking.”

“I got her.”

Then before I could process what he meant, Ziven slid one arm under my knees and lifted me straight into his arms.

The crowd lost its mind.

“Oh my God—”

“Someone record this.”

“Callahan—”

Camera flashes exploded around us instantly while my brain completely stopped functioning because I was cold and exhausted and humiliated and somehow still devastatingly aware that Ziven was carrying me against his chest.

My wet fingers curled instinctively into the front of his shirt.

“Everybody move,” Rowan snapped at the crowd while walking beside us. “Move.”

The second we stepped outside the gates, things somehow got worse.

Bright lights flashed directly into our faces and people started shouting over one another immediately.

“Callahan!”

“Who’s the girl?”

“Is she your girlfriend?”

“Was she drunk tonight?”

“Callahan, look over here!”

“Another post-game fling?”

“Did she fall into the pool?”

My chest tightened again.

Too many voices and too many lights.

Somebody shoved a microphone too close and I flinched hard enough for Ziven to notice immediately.

“Back off,” he said coldly.

“Callahan, are you dating her?”

“No comment.”

“Is this why you left the game early?”

“She almost drowned,” Rowan snapped. “What is wrong with you people?”

The cameras kept flashing anyway.

I buried my face against Ziven’s shoulder because suddenly breathing felt difficult again, my hands trembling violently while panic crawled up my throat.

“Hey,” Ziven said quietly, looking down at me immediately. “Stay with me.”

The car door opened beside us and he slid inside with me still shaking against him while Rowan climbed into the front seat muttering curses under his breath.

The second the doors shut, silence crashed over us and my breathing still sounded horrible.

“Arabella.” Rowan twisted around in his seat. “You good?”

I nodded automatically even though I obviously wasn’t.

Ziven pulled off his blazer and dropped it over my shoulders before I could argue. It smelled exactly like him, clean, sharp and familiar in a way that made my stomach twist because I recognized it immediately.

He wore the same cologne in half his interviews.

God, I needed psychological help.

“You’re shaking,” he said.

“Breathe slower.”

“I am breathing slower.”

“No, you’re panicking.”

I opened my mouth to argue but another shaky breath betrayed me immediately.

“Okay,” he said calmly this time. “Look at me.” And I did.

“Again.”

I copied his breathing slowly while the car moved through the dark streets, Rowan still ranting quietly from the front seat.

“I told you not to come to this party,” he muttered. “I literally told you.”

“I wanted to socialize.”

“You almost died socializing.”

“That’s dramatic.”

“You were unconscious!”

Despite everything, a weak laugh escaped me.

Rowan stared at me like I’d lost my mind.

“You think this is funny?”

“No,” I coughed. “Maybe a little.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

By the time we got back to the dorm, my clothes were still damp and freezing against my skin.

The room felt strangely quiet after everything that happened.

Rowan disappeared into the bathroom to grab towels while Ziven walked toward the small kitchen area.

A few minutes later he came back holding a mug toward me.

“What’s this?”

“Tea.”

I blinked at him suspiciously. “You made tea?”

“You sound shocked.”

“You look like someone who survives entirely on energy drinks.”

For the first time all night, his mouth twitched slightly.

It was tiny and barely there but it was still enough to completely ruin me.

I wrapped both hands around the mug, letting the warmth sink painfully back into my fingers while Rowan finally returned tossing a towel directly at my face.

“You scared the hell out of me tonight,” he muttered.

Something about the way he said it made guilt settle heavily in my chest.

“I’m sorry.”

“You should’ve stayed home.”

“I know.”

The room went quieter after that.

My hair was still damp against my shoulders and I pushed it back weakly before mumbling, “Maybe I should fall into pools more often if this is how nice Ziven gets.”

“Don’t say that.”

The response came instantly and all three of us went still for half a second.

Ziven looked away first, jaw tightening slightly while he leaned back against the counter.

Then suddenly someone knocked hard against the dorm door.

Rowan frowned. “Who is it?”

The door opened before anyone answered and one of Ziven’s teammates stepped inside looking tense.

“Callahan,” he said carefully, “coach wants you. Now.”