"Do you know how to swim, Girl?" The evil man beside me asked.

I remained silent. I didn't want to do this. This made me feel sick. I didn't know how to swim.

"Speak!" He demanded, hitting me with his cane across my back.

I didn't speak. Not wanting to lie.

"Do you know how to swim, Girl?" He repeated.

"Yes, Sir." I lied.

"Good. Go in." He said to me.

I took a step towards the pool and looked down in to the water. I was cold, my teeth chattering with the vibration of my jaw.

"Go in!" He yelled, hitting me again.

I bit my lip, holding in the sob and going into the same pool I'd almost drowned in just one minute prior to this.

I took my first shaky step down the stairs leading into the pool.

"Show me what you can do, then." The man said to me once I was completely submerged.

The pool was deep. One more step and there'd be nothing beneath my feet but water.

I couldn't hold back the sob any longer, and I let it escape my throat, only to feel a heavy blow against my back.

"Don't cry. I haven't even done anything to you yet." The man laughed maniacally.

"Kiara! Swim!" Another man yelled from behind me.

My entire body was trembling and I felt my breath leave my body. My heart pounded against my chest like a huge hammer.

"Kiara!" I heard my name being yelled, but I didn't know where I was anymore.

"Kiwi." I heard, my hair being pushed back away from my face.

I felt a hard, warm chest against my front.

"Come back to me, Kiwi." I heard my favourite person say.

My breathing was still far too shallow and quick, I felt like I wasn't getting enough air in. But the assurance that I was safe, that I wasn't really back in that horrible place, only here with my Vivi.

"Come back to me, Kiwi." He repeated, his voice desperate.

I ran my fingers along his collar bone, my breathing steadying quickly.

I'm safe.

"Come back to me. Come back to me, Kiwi. Please." I heard him say, his lips gliding across my forehead as he kissed me repeatedly and his fingers fussing over the placement of my hair and running up and down my back,

"Hey. Kiwi. Baby. I'm right here, will you please come back to me now?" He asked, almost more panicked than me.

"Vivi." I said ever so softly, rubbing my cheek against his bare chest.

"What happened?" He asked me.

I'm safe.

"Kiwi?" He asked.

I'm home.

"Kiara, please talk to me." He begged.

I don't know how to swim.

"I don't know how to swim." I told him.

"Is that why you panicked?" He asked me.

"I-I.... I love you." I said to him, wrapping my arms around him.

I didn't understand why the question triggered the panic attack or the flashback. I've been playing in the water all day. Now I suddenly panic because of Vivi's question.

"That's why you panicked?" He asked in confusion.

"What? No." I said.

"Why did you panic?" He asked me.

"Because I had a flashback of being asked if I could swim and being forced into a pool. I almost drowned so many times." I told him.

"Why did they do that?" He asked me.

"They wanted me to know how to swim." I explained.

"Why?" He asked me.

"I d-don't know." I said tears falling from my eyes as I hugged Vidal tightly.

"So you can't swim?" He asked me.

"N-no...." I told him honestly.

"I'm going to let you go, but I'll be right here. Let me see you kick your legs and hands if you need them, it'll keep you floating." He said to me.

"N-n-no. I'm n-not strong enough." I said.

"You are. Remember the fifty squats you and I have been doing every day? I think you're more than capable of this." He told me.

"Hold me still." I said.

"Ok. I'll hold your hands so I can pull you right back into my arms if something happens." He said.

I nodded and he slowly let me go. I started to fall deeper into the water and I panicked, trying to grab him.

"Kick your legs down, Kiara, almost like you're climbing baby." He said to me.

I did as he said and my body started to rise a little.

"Good job. See? It's not too hard." He said to me, pulling me back to him.

He turned me slightly so he could carry me bridal style, but then he started lifting me gently so that I was laying flat on my back on the surface of the water.

"If you act like a starfish, you'll float." He told me.

I spread my arms and legs out and slowly, Vivi let me go.

"See." He smiled down at me. "You're floating."

I smiled and then took his arm and pulled my body to his again.

"Wanna try jumping off that cliff now?" He asked me.

"N-no." I said, looking up at the people who I now thought were completely out of their minds.

"Look, look, look." He said, pointing to a couple who had just jumped.

"We'll do that. I'll hold your hand the entire time, and even when we dive into the water, I'll be holding your hand, so I can make sure we both float." He said to me.

"I'm scared." I said to him.

"We don't have to. I just think it might be fun." He told me.

"But what if we get hurt?" I asked.

"I don't think it's that dangerous. We're probably not going to get hurt. But if we do, then we'll learn not to jump off cliffs into the water." He told me.

"You're crazy." I giggled.

"I know." He smiled.

"Let's do it." I said, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"Are you sure?" He smiled.

"Yes." I giggled.

"Alright. Now when I get too scared to jump at the top of that cliff, who's going to force us to just jump?" He laughed.

"Me." I told him.

"Are you sure about that?" He asked me.

"Yes. Let's go. Let's do it. Fear doesn't control us, right?" I asked him.

"Right! It's ok to be scared. But you can still push through and do fun things." He said to me.

This was more symbolic now. It meant more than just jumping off a cliff into the ocean for fun. It was about my entire life. How I wanted to live it. If I could do this. I could do anything really. I just had to put my mind to it and I had to push my fear aside.

"Let's go." I said, ready to face this cliff jumping task.

So we climbed up to the top of the cliff where a line had formed for jumping. We stood in line, watching as everyone jumped. Some people in pairs, holding each other's hands, others jumped alone. And slowly, the line in front of us got shorter.

As we got nearer and nearer to our turn, I started to shake, the excitement and nerves getting to me a little bit.

"Maybe this is too dangerous?" Vivi said as we got closer to our turn.

"It might be, but everyone else is ok." I said to him.

"Ok... after we do this. We're never doing anything like this again. I didn't know I had enough of my parents in me to do something this insane." He said to me as the person in front of us in line ran towards the edge of the cliff and launched themselves off the cliff. We heard the splash and then waited.

Vivi looked down and when he saw that we could jump now, he took my hand.

"Ok. Let's do it! Come on!" I said and a lady to the side cheered us on.

"Alright. On the count of three, we run and jump." Vivi told me.

My heart was pounding hard against my chest and I could hear the blood rushing in my ears. I tightened my grip on VIvi's hand, both of us shaking from the adrenaline.

"One..... Two..... Three!" He said, and both of us broke into a run.

I couldn't even pinpoint the last moment that my foot was on the edge of the cliff and the moment I began to fall. Vivi's hand tightened in mine and I took a deep breath, bracing myself for the impact of the water and before I knew it, I felt the slap of the water against my feet.

The water rushed up against my body, it almost felt so hard that it stung my legs. Then I was wrapped in a pair of strong arms and the water no longer surrounded my head. I let the air rush into my system and I laughed.

Vivi pulled us out of the way for the next person, panting and wrapping his arms back around my waist.

"Oh my god." I giggled.

"That was incredible." He laughed.

"It was." I smiled, looking into his Hazel eyes. His long, red eyelashes wet from the water. He was still panting, his chest heaving against my own. He was a work of art. Everything about him was just so beautiful.

I wished I could kiss him, maybe give the excess adrenaline in my body a purpose. But I knew I couldn't do that. Not now. Not yet. But one day. One day, I'd feel his lips on mine. I'd let us share that intimacy we were missing out on.

This was the man that saved me. The man that made me into the person that I am. I didn't have a family before him. I just had a stuffed bunny and myself. Then he came into my life and made himself my family. He is my family before anyone else. Everyone else is important to him, they're his family and that makes them special to me, it makes them fill a gap in my heart that otherwise would be empty. But if everything in the world fell apart and all that I was left with was this beautiful, redheaded man. I would be perfectly alright.

"You ok?" He asked me, his eyes darting between mine and occasionally glancing down at my lips.

"I love you." I said to him, tightening the grip of my arms around him.

"God, you're just so perfect.... so damn perfect." He said, kissing my forehead.

I smiled at him. There was no way on this earth that I was perfect. But the way he said it, it was like he truly believed it. He really saw little old me as a perfect person.

"Can we do it again?" I asked him.

"One more time, only once." He said to me.

I smiled and nodded, the adrenaline coming back. He brought us back to land and then we climbed all the way back up the cliff and lined up.

The line was much shorter now. So we were able to jump after three people before us did.

"Ready? One... Two... Three!" Vivi said again, and we ran and jumped off.

The way my heart raced and my hands shook in excitement. It was something I'd never forget.

And when I landed, the water surrounded me for a few seconds before I felt Vivi's chest against mine.

Again, he swam and pulled me along with him. Moving us out of the way for the next jumpers and straight back to land.

"One last time, Vivi. Just one time, I promise." I said to him.

"Ok, Kiwi. Once, then let's head home. I have something I want to talk to you about." He said to me.

"Is it what you've been working on, on your laptop?" I asked him.

"Yeah. Kind of. But there's a lot involved." He said. "Not just what I've been working on."

"Alright. Let's go jump one last time and then I wanna hear all about what you've been working on and the other stuff." I said.

So that's what we did. We jumped off the cliff one last time, solidifying my newfound love for this kind of adrenaline rush and then heading home with my papas. They drove us home and then they just hung out with me while Vivi finalized his so-called plan.

Papa Teo was the funniest man ever. I now knew were Daddy got his sense of humour and also where Romeo got it. And Papa Devan was the cutest, sweetest man ever. He was shy and sensitive but super supportive. I loved them both with all my heart. They were just too cute.

"Ok. I've gotta get going before my little queen shoots me." Papa Teo said with a smile, getting up and kissing my forehead, making his way towards the door.

"Thanks for dropping by, Papa!" I giggled.

"Of course, Papa Teo to the rescue.... always." He laughed, waving goodbye as he left.

"Oh... Lucky is texting me too.... I think I also have to go before I get killed. It was amazing to get to know you, Kiara" He said to me, getting up and giving me the biggest bear hug ever.

"Thanks for rescuing me too." I giggled.

"Aw, don't mention it, Sweetheart." He said to me, waving as he joined Papa Teo at the door.

"Love you guys." I laughed, watching Papa Teo push Papa Dev away while he tried putting his shoes on.

"Love you too!" They said at the same time.

They eventually got themselves through the door without pushing each other over and then Vivi came and sat next to me. He looked like an excited toddler. He was adorable.

The next thing he did was melt my heart with just a few words.

"Alright. You're the first person I'm going to tell about all this, you ready?" He asked me.

"W-what? I'm the first person to hear this?" I asked in complete shock.

"Of course. Who else would I tell before you?" He asked as if this was perfectly normal.

I had the urge to mention lots of people that he would logically tell first. I just looked at his face while he pulled up a bunch of documents on his laptop. He was completely serious that I was the first one to know about this. But it seemed so important. He'd been typing things up for days.

He could have told his mother, father, brother, Theo, his Uncle who he looked up to. His entire family who he grew up with. Why would he tell little old me first?