Between the Land and the Sea - By Derrolyn Anderson Page 0,95
kissed him back harder and held onto him like I was drowning. I looked down and buried my face in his chest.
“I don’t want to go with them,” I said into his shirt, thinking about how close I’d come.
“Just don’t,” he said, lips brushing my cheek.
I turned my face up for another kiss, wishing it was that simple. It was getting to be pretty clear that the decision wasn’t entirely up to me.
We walked back slowly, arms wrapped around each other. We stopped at the top of the stairs for more kisses, clinging together tightly. It felt so good to be pressed up against him I forgot all about my problems for a few minutes. My head was spinning and my cheeks were flushed.
When we walked in the door I was sure Abby would notice something different about us, but we found her and Dutch even more flustered than we were. Dutch got up and thanked Abby, telling her to come by early so they could take the boat out. We walked the guys out the door and watched them drive away.
“That went well,” said Abby with a big glowing grin, “Dutch has really good energy.”
“Yeah,” I couldn’t help but return her smile even as I started worrying about the night ahead. Abby gave me a joyful hug and practically floated off to bed.
I was in a darker place as I repositioned my furniture, afraid I might drown myself in my sleep. Now I was certain that they were calling me to them, and I was pretty sure that if they got me into the water I wouldn’t be getting out alive. I prayed to be allowed to get some rest, but I kept my clothes on just in case. Despite my fear of facing the night ahead I was feeling excited, looking forward to seeing Ethan again.
I drifted off to sleep, thinking about the way his lips felt on mine.
CHAPTER TWENTYONE
HARBOR
It must have been the pain that woke me up.
I was in a dark undersea cavern one second, and the next thing I knew I was standing on the pavement leading up to the pier. It was a moonlit night, and I glanced down to see my bare feet standing in a pile of broken beer bottles. I looked around, but found myself alone. As I came fully awake the horror of my situation began to crystallize in my mind.
Blood started pooling around my feet as I hobbled to a nearby curb to sit. At least I had pants on this time. I tried to pick the glass shards out of my feet in the moonlight but the dark blood obscured everything. For a second I was tempted to go and wash them in the sea, but the prospect of crossing over the sand made me shudder. I was going to have to get home like this, and I walked painfully on the sides of my feet, leaving a bloody trail on the pavement. I passed a garbage can where I was able to find some old newspapers.
Paper sticking to the bottom of my feet, I climbed each step in excruciating pain. Clinging to wooden rails silvered by moonlight, I fought back waves of nausea as I tortuously made my way back home. When I got to the bathroom I looked in the mirror to see a face so pale it was ghostly. I think I was starting to go into shock as I rinsed my feet in the bathtub, wrapped them in towels and limped into my room. The desk and chair had been shoved aside; I tried to imagine myself moving them unconsciously.
It was four in the morning when I found myself digging tiny pieces of glass out of my feet with tweezers. Now I was almost grateful for the pain; it kept my mind focused on the task at hand and away from what might have happened. I dressed my wounds as well as I could with cotton balls and masking tape, and curled up in bed.
I tossed and turned for a while, nodding off for a few minutes here and there. I wondered if I should call Ethan and cancel our plans. I knew he’d think I didn’t want to see him, and I couldn’t bear the thought of that. I spent the whole day in bed, and when Abby came to say goodbye I pretended I was reading. I showered and redressed my swollen feet, putting socks on over all the tape.