Page 252 of Eternal
“You’re the one who put your mouth where mine was,” he says with a tilt of his head.
I narrow my eyes. “Ex-partners shouldn’t be so possessive.”
“Good thing I’m still your partner.”
“Still possessive.”
“Loyal.”
“Jealous much?”
“Definitely.”
“Dramatic too?”
“Everything.”
I laugh. It’s stupid and warm and slurred, but it’s real. “At least you’re honest,” I whisper.
“You’re drunk.”
“Thanks for the update.”
“You need to stop for tonight.”
“Too bad I’m halfway down the hole again.”
He doesn’t answer right away. Just watches me. “Don’t,” he says eventually. Quiet. Like a hand on a wound.
“I wish I could stop.”
He takes the cigarette from me again, finishes it, flicks the butt into the gravel, then leans in, just a breath away, his voice right against my ear.
“I’ll help.”
I blink slowly. Then, without looking at him, murmur, “Aren’t you supposed to take me out or something?”
“I am.”
There’s a pause. Long enough to ache.
“Guess I’m really bad at my job.”
“Guess you are,” I say, softer now.
But I don’t move.
And neither does he.
73
DAMIR
“Fear Of The Water” by SYML
Present
Blue and Green. Light and dark. Half of it soft, the other angry.
