Just Add Water
She was dehydrating – and she was going to die.
It may have seemed there was nothing he could do, but he wouldn’t accept that attitude from anyone and especially not from himself. He may have only known her for a few weeks and had the trust issues creating an invisible barrier between them. It wouldn’t stop Marvin from saving Tess.
He held her beautiful broken body in his arms, as he ran down towards the villa. He didn’t think anyone could become this weak. Had there been some kind of condition she failed to mention to him? Was the heat simply too much for her? They’d agreed that Spain was the perfect getaway to go and have some fun.
Two days in, Marvin may have had to admit to himself that it was never going to work out. Adding onto what it was that had Tess on her guard constantly, she had been disappearing at such random times and didn’t come back until late at night. He hadn’t been thinking of it much until she collapsed in the street ten minutes ago.
But the main priority at hand right now was to get her somewhere safe.
Unfortunately, the nearest hospital was ten miles out and only the old man that owned the villa they were renting could probably help them.
Marvin stopped at the fountain before them, pouring water over her face and the rest of her body. It may have seemed fruitless to others, but he thought that doing anything helped.
“Can you hear me, Tess?”
She inhaled and her eyes gradually fluttered open. Emerald glistened in the sunlight and met crystal blue. Tess’s breathing was slow and hoarse, indicating to Marvin that he had no time to dwell on what effect the water had on her. He had to hurry back to the villa.
When he started to run again, he swore under his breath. There was a Spanish festival blocking the road he wanted to go through. There had to be a shortcut somewhere. Oh God. If Tess died, her mother would cut him up into tiny pieces and feed him to her two Chihuahuas. He shuddered at the thought of those little barking horrors.
He turned left into an alley, pushing past everyone that was walking by. The odds against him were beginning to become ridiculously shortened. Tess was still gasping for water. Every second counted.
As he rounded around the alley, the villa was in sight. He dashed across the street, hoping that Miguel would be there. Marvin called out his name, shouted it, even screamed it. To strengthen the odds in his favour, he dashed to the pool and grabbed some water in his bare hands, spraying it across her face.
Marvin was going to kill Miguel.
He wasn’t answering his phone. He wasn’t anywhere in the villa.
When he came back to the pool, Tess was no longer there. He could see her body in the pool. Oh God, her mum was really going to kill him. She wasn’t going to dehydrate, she was going to drown! Without anymore hesitation, Marvin dived into the pool.
However, when he reached the bottom, Tess wasn’t there. Was he starting to see things here? He felt a hand tug on his own, bringing him back up to the surface. When his vision came into focus, Tess was floating beside him. There was a timid smile on her face, the one he’d often tease her for.
But he couldn’t tease her this time.
“Tess, when did you grow a tail?”
This is really good. You created a really good sense of urgency with all the details like the parade, Miguel not answering his phone, etc. Also, the flow of it felt really consistent--it didn't give too much detail for being a short story, but not too little either, it was just right. Nicely done 