Page 45 of Grimstone

His fingers track each exhale down my arms.

My skin sparks beneath his touch. The breath and the sensation are one and the same, and everywhere the air goes, the feeling goes, too.

His voice isn’t in front of me anymore. It echoes on both sides in my ears. It floats through my brain.

“Deep breaths…deep breaths…everything is black…see the ocean, black and empty all around you, in front of your eyes…”

His hands are on my shoulders now, warm and heavy, weighing me down.

“Sink in…embrace it…inside your head and all around…”

I feel myself sinking deeper into the couch cushions. I might be falling back, too, everything is soft and dark, above, beneath, behind…

“Let go…let go and drift…and listen to the sound of my voice…”

* * *

“You’re awake.”

I blink.

Dane sits cross-legged on the couch, looking into my face.

I can feel the air in the room like water in a pool. When Dane speaks, the sound floats in waves.

“How do you feel?”

I’m not sure how to answer that.

I’m not experiencing most of the usual emotions. I don’t feel happy. I don’t feel sad. I don’t even feel stressed—that constant red noise has disappeared, like a droning sound you don’t entirely recognize until it’s gone.

“I feel light,” I say at last. “Clear.”

The lightness isn’t my body. It’s inside me and all the way through, like I’ve become transparent. A feeling of stillness everywhere at once, like the world is holding its breath.

“What did you do to me?”

“I didn’t do anything.” Dane’s dimple flashes. “You did.”

* * *

I stumbleout of Dane’s house and into the Bronco without a glance at his fence. The clock on the dash reads 10:40. I arrived at 7:00 p.m.

The sky is an endless black ocean. I don’t remember a moment of the sunset.

My phone shows two missed calls and fourteen unread messages.

Emma

The bonfire’s on Crow Beach. If you park close to the Fog Cutter, you can go down the steps. I’ll prob head over around ten!

Tom

Do you want me to pick you up for the bonfire?

I’m heading over now if you want a ride

Lots of people here, tons of beer, don’t worry about bringing anything

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