A page of 4 different scene overlay illustrations printed in clear acetate and made by the author, each representing a peak moment of the book.
“The tip of my tongue caresses my upper lip, and I smile because I know the inside of my mouth is not bleeding yet. The night is off to a good start.
With a smile and my eyes closed, I slip into the crowd. Here, feeling things is much more important than seeing them. Everything seems familiar and utterly alien at the same time.
I can’t remember how I got here, but I don’t think it matters. For all I know, I could have fallen down a giant hole and ended up in the center of the Earth.
Things are different here; my body recognizes the sensations.
It’s like I belong here.”
“Instead of battling the liquid that threatens to make me stop breathing, I open my mouth and let it fill up.
I bring my hand back and wrap it around his neck, applying pressure with my fingernails. He howls.
“You should have seen this coming from the beginning,” he whispers, pulling up the fabric of my shirt. I hear my own laugh before I even think to do so. I turn.
My hands find his face, but it’s like he’s already waiting. Smiling. Like he is already inside my mouth before I part my lips. The water slips between us. We drink it. We breathe it. We drown in it together.
My dress spills to the floor, liquid, intangible, running down the drain. I run my hands over him, feeling every curve of his spine like tracing a map to somewhere it would be good to get lost in.
“I’m not an idiot, Nikky,” I mock the way his friends call him, barely moving my lips.
He closes his eyes and chuckles, then lunges at me like a starving beast.”
“Then, silence. The wrong kind.
Silence that stretches like gum that has been stuck on your foot for way too long.
That drills on your ear until you pass out.
I heard the same kind of silence all the times the pink water kept me company.”
“I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late.
We stumble down the twisting hallway; with every breath I take, I feel my lungs filling with something other than oxygen. Instead of my heels hurting, my wrists ache. And my throat is still dry.
Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back.
Where did Nick go?.”
A page of 4 different scene overlay illustrations printed in clear acetate and made by the author, each representing a peak moment of the book.
“The tip of my tongue caresses my upper lip, and I smile because I know the inside of my mouth is not bleeding yet. The night is off to a good start.
With a smile and my eyes closed, I slip into the crowd. Here, feeling things is much more important than seeing them. Everything seems familiar and utterly alien at the same time.
I can’t remember how I got here, but I don’t think it matters. For all I know, I could have fallen down a giant hole and ended up in the center of the Earth.
Things are different here; my body recognizes the sensations.
It’s like I belong here.”
“Instead of battling the liquid that threatens to make me stop breathing, I open my mouth and let it fill up.
I bring my hand back and wrap it around his neck, applying pressure with my fingernails. He howls.
“You should have seen this coming from the beginning,” he whispers, pulling up the fabric of my shirt. I hear my own laugh before I even think to do so. I turn.
My hands find his face, but it’s like he’s already waiting. Smiling. Like he is already inside my mouth before I part my lips. The water slips between us. We drink it. We breathe it. We drown in it together.
My dress spills to the floor, liquid, intangible, running down the drain. I run my hands over him, feeling every curve of his spine like tracing a map to somewhere it would be good to get lost in.
“I’m not an idiot, Nikky,” I mock the way his friends call him, barely moving my lips.
He closes his eyes and chuckles, then lunges at me like a starving beast.”
“Then, silence. The wrong kind.
Silence that stretches like gum that has been stuck on your foot for way too long.
That drills on your ear until you pass out.
I heard the same kind of silence all the times the pink water kept me company.”
“I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late. I can’t be late.
We stumble down the twisting hallway; with every breath I take, I feel my lungs filling with something other than oxygen. Instead of my heels hurting, my wrists ache. And my throat is still dry.
Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Don’t look back.
Where did Nick go?.”
