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“No! Fuck! No!” I scream in terror as one wave of heat and fire after another washes over me. “Goddammit, no!” More screams of protest rip from my throat, and I can feel it getting sore.
I feel myself panting rapidly between screams before something presses against my back. It’s soft and warm like a blanket, and I don’t know where the hell in this war zone it came from, but it seems to be slowing my erratic heart rate. Something is squeezing me tight, like a soft vice or safety harness too, like it’s keeping the warm blanket strapped to my back.
It moves against my back slowly, and I feel this unconscious desire to slow my breathing to match it. In and out, the blanket moves with me. I breathe in with it and blow out with it, slower and slower. And then it starts raining… just a mist, and then a gentle sprinkle. The air cools, the flames dissipate. And for the first time in this recurring dream, it fades out with a sense of peace.
34
KALEB
“Where you headed?” I grumbly ask Luna over the rim of my coffee cup as I push my hair off my face to take in her get up of yoga pants and sporty tank top.
“To the gym in West Bridge,” she tosses over her shoulder as she fills her water bottle. “Do you want to come with me?” She asks, her back to me again.
“What would I do there?”
She raises a bare shoulder. “You could do some weight conditioning. Your PT said you’re ready for that now. Maybe go on the bike or the treadmill. The endorphins might feel good.”
“Hey, since when do you work out?” I ask curiously, leaning my head against my fist.
“I…” she shakes her head, her ponytail swaying with the movement as she twists the top on the bottle. “Just got turned on to this fun kickboxing class,” she explains before turning around to face me.
“That’s cool, I guess,” I note before draining what’s in my mug.
“So do you want to come along?” she asks, grabbing her hoodie off one of the kitchen chairs and slinging it around her shoulders.
“I don’t know…” I release a breath out through my nose as I get up gingerly to rinse out my cup.
“You don’t have to do anything, K,” Luna softly prods as she zips up her hoodie. “Just come for the sake of getting off your ass and out of the house then.” She sweetly tilts her head to the side, and for a split second, looked like the ten-year-old version of herself I fell in love with.
I look around for a minute, trying to figure out what the fuck else I’d do with my day, and when I come up with nothing, finally concede with a reluctant nod. “Alright, fine,” I moan as I start ambling behind her when she grabs her gym bag.
* * *
The gym Lunaapparently attends now is situated in an outdoor galleria of sorts. I’ve driven by it plenty of times, but never checked out what it had to offer. The white brick buildings are lined up in a horseshoe formation.
The air is a bit crisp as summer is still a few weeks off, and I lower the bill of my head against the breeze as I slide out from behind the wheel. Looking around, I see a couple of boutiques, a juice bar, several cafes, and of course, the token coffee shop. There’s even a bar right next to a law office, and I can’t decide if it’s hilarious irony or just smart marketing on the bar’s part.
I glance over at Luna who’s preoccupied with her phone, subconsciously minding the curb as she steps up on it.
“You know, I think I’m going to check out what’s around here for a bit and then I’ll be in.”
“Okay,” she looks up and nods before looking back down to her phone and strolling in the direction of the gym.
* * *
My pilgrimage tooka lot longer than I thought it would, but when I make my way back to the gym, I don’t see Luna anywhere. She must still be in her class. It’s probably too late to get into anything, but I might as well stop at the desk and see about memberships.
“Shane?” The guy in the bright yellow polo looks up from his computer to verify the last name I just gave him.
“Yeah,” I nod, leaning an arm on the counter.
“Your wife got a family membership when she signed up. You’re all set,” he says and tips his head with friendly affirmation.
“Oh,” I raise my chin, surprised. “By the way, do you know what class she’s in? I’m just curious when it lets out.”
“Uh, yeah she’s in…” he squints his eyes like he’s going through a mental catalog. “Power strike,” he finally settles on. “It’s just got a few more minutes.”
“Alright then, thanks.” I tap my knuckles on the counter and wander away, unsure what to do with basically no time left. I find a hallway that looks like it hosts a row of classrooms, so I venture down it to see if I can find Luna. By the time I reach the third door on the right, my thigh is screaming in protest and I can feel it turning my demeanor sour. The one thing I hate more than the pain is not having the means to quell it, as my prescription ran out last night.
