“I don’t know why I let you talk me into this,” Hanna whined as she looked over the cliffs edge. The height alone made her stomach flip, but it wasn’t the height that had her palms shaking. It was the water.

The monstrous waves beat against the cliff face with a ferocity that paralyzed Hanna, but her friends hadn’t seemed to notice. In fact, out of all the teens, none seemed to have the same reservations as her.

Anthony had assured her time and time again on the drive over how safe it was. He’d explained that this was the place everyone jumped at. Even going as far as to say no one had ever been hurt before, but was that true?

Surely it couldn’t be, not with the violence in which the waves slammed into the rock below. A hand pushed her shoulder, startling her from her thoughts, and Hanna released a blood curdling scream as she swayed, nearly falling over the edge. She whipped around incredulously and glowered at Jacob who stood right behind her with a cheeky grin on his face.

“Don’t do that, asshole!” Hanna hissed, shoving a finger in his face. Jacob mumbled an apology but she caught the way he rolled his eyes as he stepped back, giving her space. In fact, as she looked around her group of friends she noticed they all wore similar looks to Jacob. She was the last one to go, after all. Jacob’s messy blonde hair was already dripping water down his cheek and his bare feet were still dirty from his hike up the cliff after. She glanced at the rest of their friends and saw they all looked wet and tired of waiting for her to find her courage.

Hanna locked eyes with her twin and her twin glanced at her boyfriend Lyle before giving her a pleading look.

Lyle, like Anthony and unlike the twins, were seniors at their school and the scared girl’s cheeks grew hot as another emotion over took her. Embarrassment. She sighed before turning her attention back to the cliff’s edge.

It was always like this.

Anna was the brave one of the pair. She made the friends, got the boyfriend, joined the cheerleading team, and Hanna just followed along. This was not the first time Hanna had embarrassed her sister but as Hanna looked over the edge and remembered all the times she’d failed her, she found she had to jump.

Memories of Hanna getting her sister in trouble and embarrassing her played in her mind as she took a tentative step towards the edge. As she peered over she saw, not a thirty foot drop, but Anna as she cried locked in their room, unable to go to Prom because her mother didn’t want Hanna to feel left out.

Hanna swallowed the emotion in her throat as for the first time she truly realized what a hinderance she was in her sister’s life.

‘Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if the waves swallowed me whole,’ Hanna thought. A male laugh, who she immediately recognized as Anthony’s, solidified her feelings and Hanna didn’t think. Didn’t even breathe.

She just jumped.

The fall into the sea was unlike anything Hanna had ever experienced. Her long dark hair tangled in the wind but she hardly noticed it. Hardly noticed anything beyond the pounding of her own heart that seemed to travel into her ears.

She hit the water with a jarring splash that knocked the breath she’d so carefully held right out of her. Hanna kicked to the surface with all her might but thanks to the harsh landing she couldn’t tell if she was swimming up or down anymore.

Waves crashed into her, throwing her body around, and panic became a living breathing beast deep inside her chest. Hanna’s lungs began to burn. She needed air more than she needed the blood in her body, but the world seemed to be fresh out of it and breathing in now would be certain death.

She clawed to the surface, thinking she might even see the light, but her body was growing tired and her lungs were begging for her to draw in a breath.

Suddenly, slender fingers wrapped tightly around her arms and she was being dragged up towards the surface. Hanna broke the surface spluttering and coughing up water that she hadn’t realized she’d swallowed. She turned to her rescuer, expecting to see a cocky Anthony, but found herself coming up short when she looked into the eyes that were so much like her own.

“Anna,” she whispered as a mixture of emotions bubbled in her chest. Anna smiled at her sister as she wiped long brown curls from Hanna’s face. Before Anna could reply, a splash sounded from their right. Both girls turned to find Lyle swimming towards them and Hanna found a small smile play at her lips. Another splash sounded and Anthony resurfaced a few yards away. He swam to them easily and then looked up the cliff side.

The twins looked up as one just in time to see their other friend, Delilah jump. She squealed with glee as she fell to the water and quickly swam to the group where they treaded water.

“I’m sorry, Anna,” Hanna mumbled sheepishly, realizing she’d once again ruined her better half’s fun.

“For what?” Anna asked seriously as she cocked a brow at her sister. A tear slid down Hanna’s cheek unbidden and her sister gently wiped it away. “Listen, I’ll always be here to pull you up. That’s my role. I’m the buoy and you’re the anchor. You keep me steady, I keep you afloat.”

Hanna stared dumbly at her twin, her bottom lip trembling. “Really?” She asked.

“Of course, you’re the strongest person I know.” Anna said smiling at her sister with all of the sincerity in the world.

Tears of joy streamed down Hanna’s face because for the first time in forever she felt that way.

Strong.