Grayson's Body

Obsessive

Chapter 27: Obsessive 

Obsessive

ob·​ses·​sive | \ äb-ˈse-siv , əb-\

Definition of obsessive

1a: tending to cause

b: excessive often to an unreasonable degree

"May God defend me from my friends: I can defend myself from my enemies."

― Voltaire

I am twelve.

I am twelve and at the Jefferson Indoor Pool.

The water is a perfect clear consistency, the tile floor a pure white, the air warm and set at a calming, decent temperature. Mrs. Clark is on one of the chairs they have. You know the ones. It's a light blue pool lounge chair. Her hair is down for once and she is reading a book. She has it propped against her thighs, and her eyes are moving across the words on the thin white page. I wonder how many she is comprehending, or if she is just that quick at reading.

The life guard, a young man probably in his mid-twenties, is in a high chair overlooking the pool. But he has his body twisted around in the seat slightly, looking the other way to the chairs lined up against the wall. He really isn't paying attention to Grayson and I and the one other family at the pool.

They catch each other's eyes, and she bites her lip.

They both smile.

It is raining outside. A person can turn their head and see it through the long panes of clean glass. The droplets lazily slide down its clear form, and I watch it as I feel a presence move close to me. There is a ripple in the water, and a word.

"Needy," he says, and I feel a splash at my back.

The scent of chlorine burns in my nose: sharp, distinct. Did you know that the liquid chlorination is usually 20% sodium hypochlorite put in enough concentration for 1% free chlorine?

Do you know what the whole point of chlorine is?

It's to eliminate all the bacteria and contaminates from a pool.

A chlorine solution breaks down into a number of chemical compounds that mainly include hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and hypochlorite ions. It's to make pure, to make clean.

I turn in the water and there is Grayson: hair dripping wet, a smile on his mouth. It's not the most enjoyable experience having my glasses off, but I'm managing. It's so strange, honestly, not to be able to see properly.

I smile, and push away in the water, going on my back, feeling the slight, comfortable chill grace it. I float for a second, looking up at the high ceiling, the bright floresant lights above. They almost give a hue of blue, if not subtly. When I feel that presence of Grayson again, I move my legs back under. He's about a yard away from me.

"Cross out, Needy," Grayson says with a grin, using his hand to make a cross out sign, and ducks under.

I didn't know I had ever been a part of his hit list.

I still in the water as I watch him swim towards me, his body moving in a precise, skilled motion under the clearness of it.

But I am quicker.

I kick my legs and move to the side, the water rippling out like a stone being dropped into a pond out in the wilderness, far away from Kettle.

It's far away from any concept of reality.