Page 476 of Coal Hearts

I hope he’s okay...

I frowned.

He was mean, and you’re worried about him?

The room swirled as I nodded.

Krish sometimes used tetchiness in lieu of pain. His anger came from an inability to express whatever feelings consumed him. When words failed him, he sank deep within.

I hope Henri’s not sinking...

My fuzzy eyes locked on the closed bathroom door.

He’s been in there a while.

Maybe I should check.

I flinched.

He’ll just yell at me again...

The urge to curl into a little ball came swiftly, followed by a morbid giggle.

Keep it together, Il.

The fuzz in my head cleared a little.

I sighed.

God, what a mess.

What an awful, agonising mess.

The giggles were back.

I snorted.

I snickered at how absurd everything was. How I was a thing not a someone. How I’d almost died in a cave today.

I helped toss a body over a cliff—

A loud laugh spilled free.

Oh no.

Henri appeared from the bathroom. His left side looked like a scribbly, abstract mess—as if an artist had squirted every pigment of purple and blue onto him, then decided it wasn’t worth the trouble to paint. A few other smudges marked his bare chest, leading my eyes down to the white towel clinging valiantly to his narrow hips. The V of his cut muscles pointed directly to the bulge between his legs.

My stupid heart fluttered.

My greedy body hummed.

He’s so pretty.

Pity about his soul, though...

I scowled.

He’s not ugly inside.