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DAPHNE
I hear voices in my dreams.
A voice that’s like Emerson’s but not Emerson’s. In my dream there’s a mirror, I think, but it’s not very distinct. I’m not sure what I’m looking at. It gets dark, then light again. Mostly, it’s just sound.
“Jesus, Emerson.” Loud, echoing footsteps. “Are you—what the fuck. Say something. Come on. Words. Any fucking words, prick. Don’t lose your mind now.”
The silence lasts so long that it starts to worry dream-me.
Then—
A pained inhale. “Let go of me.” Emerson. I’m sure it’s him.
“Not until you’re breathing.”
“I’m breathing now.”
“I’m not letting go.”
“I can’t stay here. I can’t.”
“I know.”
The conversation fades out again, blending in with the lap of water on rock. They float back into my dreams like the tide. In and out. Sunrise over the ocean. Gray clouds. High waves. A paddleboard slipping out of my hands. My whole body feels heavy. Worn out.
When I finally manage to open my eyes, the cave is transformed.
There’s no looming archway filled to the brim with water. It’s more of a lagoon now. Winter sun cuts in through the cave’s opening. Cold, white sun and blue water. I could almost convince myself it was warm. But no—I’m warm. Dressed in big clothes and wrapped in silver blankets.
Emerson stands at the mouth of the cave, holding on to the edge of a fancy, lightweight speedboat. His brother, Sinclair, is behind the wheel wearing a parka.
“Say another word about her and I’ll take your head off,” Emerson snaps.
“Then who will drive the boat back?”
“I will, jackass.”
“You can’t do this to her,” Sin says. “And I don’t trust you to drive right now.”
“It’s a boat, Sin. Any asshole can drive a boat.”
They’re talking about me. Arguing about me, really.
“Love you so much, Em, but you’re not any asshole, you’re—”
“Shut the hell up. She’s not leaving.”
They’ve been fighting for a while, I think. Maybe this time, I can convince Sin to call the cops. Maybe this time, when we’re in the boat together, I can make my case to him. He’s seen me twice now. Could he really say no?
But then—
There’s a tight exhaustion around Sin’s eyes, too. He’s worried.
Emerson turns his head, and I feel him notice me like he’s reached out with his fingertips and nudged at my chest. Daphne. His mouth makes the shape of my name, but there’s no sound. He reaches into the boat and pulls something out, and then he’s striding back toward me.
It’s a comforter. Big enough to fit on a bed. I almost laugh at how huge it is, but it’s freezing out here. My teeth are already chattering. He wraps a coat around my shoulders, too. His coat. He carries the bundle of fabric with me inside out of the speedboat.
Sin backs it into the water and kicks it into gear. I burrow into the blanket. Emerson wraps an arm around me and holds me as close as he can get. It’s not very close, given all the fabric surrounding me. He’s quiet as we speed across the ocean. It’s not as angry now, in the daylight. Much calmer waters. I picked a bad time for my escape. A ridiculously bad time.
