Chapter Nineteen
I spend the next few days in a kind of stunned purgatory. My mind replays that kiss over and over again, recalling the silver flecks in his eyes I could only see that close, the slightly mint flavor of his breath. A thousand details my mind catalogued for me to look through, hour after hour, minute after minute.
And every daydream ends the same way.
With the nightmare of me in that black pool, fighting to breathe.
Avery has downloaded these books on her phone about PTSD and repressed memories. She reads them out loud to me, but I’m not really sure if they’re for me or her.
It takes days before her worry level starts to rise.
Breaking out of this gilded cage will require more than ordinary worry.
Over a breakfast of oatmeal and grapefruit slices I say, “He’s not comi
