The Apparent Junction of Earth and Sky

The Apparent Junction of Earth and Sky, Part II

He could smell nothing but the mixture of her shampoo and the saltwater air. She was breathing heavily next to him, both of them staring into the black ceiling. The moon was full again. It shone through the dirty window bright enough to light the dancing dust that they kicked up together from the bed.His heart was still racing. Hers was, too. She was pressed close enough that he could feel it.

The window was open. As his heart began to slow down, he could hear breaking waves over the sound of the blood in his ears. Inevitably, his eyes grew heavy and he fell into the first images of a surreal dream. He saw fluorescent lights again and felt the rage build up in his chest. Then the crashing water outside was joined by the thump of loud music from somewhere down the beach. It woke him up just enough. He forced himself to sit up on the edge of the bed. She traced a finger up his spine and he smiled.

"Brendan," she said quietly.

"Hm?"

"Make me some food."

A laugh escaped from his clenched teeth. He ran the palms of his hands over his eyes and stood up. He walked out of the sliding door and across the back deck connected to his room. Brendan stood naked in the sand where the deck met the side of the house and peed. Behind him, close to the water, a young couple walked hand-in-hand, giggling. They were drunk. She stumbled and went down to her knees. Her friend helped her back onto her feet and they moved as one away from that distant music. Brendan shivered and walked back into the house.

She was standing now, too,as naked as him. They kissed for a while. Her lips were always hesitating, always secretly wishing he was someone else. She was in love with somebody before all of this. He wasn't. When he kissed her,it was because he wanted it. He couldn't be sure what she wanted. Like so many other people who lived there, she often talked about how things were better now. Unlike everyone else, he didn't think she meant it. But it made sense. He knew what she lost.

They heard the front door of the small beach house open. It was followed by the sound of hushed, excited chatter. Brendan pulled away from her and sighed.

"Guess I'll be making a lot of food," he said.

She kissed him once more and they dressed. Inspired by the giggling couple outside, he grabbed her hand in his and pulled her into the living room. Ciaran was sitting on the couch with a half-empty beer bottle in his hand. He wore swimming trunks that were still dripping with water. It soaked into the couch cushions. His hair, bleached by the sun, was spiked up in all directions.

"Long night?" Brendan asked him.

Ciaran only grinned. There was a rattle in the kitchen. Natalie, a friend of Ciaran's, stepped into the living room with her bare feet. She held a plastic yellow cup in her hand. Water dribbled down her chin. Brown hair was splayed out across her shoulders and back over the top of a white tee. She was nineteen and caused Ciaran's eyes to double in size every time she walked into the room.

"You staying over?" Brendan asked her nervously.

She answered in a slur that was barely recognizable as English. Ciaran laughed and said she had to be home soon. Brendan offered to cook them all a meal before she left. He thought that her response was in the affirmative, but he couldn't actually be sure. She collapsed on the couch next to Ciaran and put her head on his shoulder. Brendan assumed that meant she was sticking around for a while.

He stepped into the kitchen with Mika, her hand still in his.

"When did that become a thing?" she asked, meaning Ciaran and Natalie.

"Couldn't tell you," he said. "He doesn't really tell me much anymore."

He thought about his night down south with Ciaran a month before. Since then, the boy seemed to talk less.