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She didn’t talk about the other type of breathing, the kind where it’s quiet Like when so to die They haven’t eaten, or drank anything in days When they stopped e their stomachs When they just lay there, and you can’t help theo away You can just lay there with them, and listen for the next soft breath because when they stop breathing, that’s when you know you’re lying next to a dead child

She didn’t talk about that sound because it was the worst of all

Jonah ently, "A buddy of htmares He always knew to just expect theot hih him like a scorned tornado"

Scorned tornado She felt her mouth curve up at that "What happened to him?"

"A kid went under He tried to save hirasp The body had ot to him, it was too late He said when they found the body he couldn’t get the eyes out of his head They were glossed over"

He wasn’t looking at her, but staring out the screen to the water Thesht now? I him? Or was his buddy actually himself? Jonah must’ve seen more than his fair share of dead bodies, but it was true OneNo life No soul Nothing A person would keep looking, expecting them to suddenly become alert, life would coone, they were gone

Her voice dropped to a hoarse whisper She was holding onto her beer like it was a life preserver "They stopped breathing They stopped ers were the only things thatI couldn’t bring myself to look in the eyes after a while"

She’d never admitted that before, not even to herself

"Can we not…" Her voice was hoarse "Can we not talk about this anyet piss drunk instead?"

"Yes"

That hat they did She reot sleepy She re, "Boone would hold my hand so, "Did that help?"

She didn’t remember what she said after that, except he stood up and held out his hand "Come on"

He pulled the bedcovers back Dani crawled under the covers, and she re her He rapped all around her

She re this?"

"I don’t really know" He pressed a kiss to her shoulder "Go to sleep"

And she reers around his

Dani slipped out fro They’d slept for a few hours Not long, but enough for her After the bathrooainst the counter

She hadn’t had the nightmares, but she dreamt of Erica instead Her little sister had been at the end of her bed She s the love fro, and it felt pure When Erica turned and left, that hen Dani woke up And the weird part was next--she wanted her sister to be there

It felt so real