Blaise exited the house and turned, not toward town and her hotel room, but up the hill toward the bluff and the path to the beach. She fumbled blindly down the sloping dirt path which led to the shore, the only light in the sky snuffed out as clouds covered the moon. She got caught on a half-buried rock and tripped the final few feet to the beach, stumbling into the sand and landing on her hands and knees. The sand and little bits of stone scraped open her palms and the dull, burning pain was just what she needed to take her mind off of Nick.
She rocked back to a sitting position, one leg curled under her, and looked at her scraped hands, small drops of blood welling up in some places. She waved them in the air, the cold helping to alleviate some of the stinging, then stood, making her way to the water on slightly unsteady legs. Blaise dipped her hands into the salty water, wincing at the additional pain, but then sighing as the cold water numbed it away, cleaning out the gravel and sand.
Once satisfied the dirt was gone, she stepped back from the water and plopped down into the sand, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, hands clasped together, numb and throbbing. Her perception of time had been completely swept away, so she sat, not knowing how long she watched the waves.
In Diana's living room, Nick sat staring at the carpet, eyes wide and unfocused. Diana snatched a tissue from the box on the nearest table and shredded it, the bits falling into her lap as she watched her friend, worried about him. "Nick?"
He did not stir from his realm of silence, so Diana resumed shredding the tissue. After a short expanse of time, he began to rub absently at one palm with his thumb, then the other. They felt itchy, uncomfortable. He clenched and unclenched his fists feeling a dull thud crawling up through his nerves – pain. "Diana? My... hands hurt."
She looked up at him, grim amusement on her face. "They hurt and you haven't done anything to them?" He nodded an answer and she sighed, "Then Blaise probably hurt hers somehow." Hearing "Blaise" and "hurt" in the same sentence was enough to make him move. He stood from the couch in one fluid motion, heading for the door immediately. "Nick," Diana called from the living room.
"Yeah?" he turned to face the doorway through which he'd just exited the living room.
"She headed toward the beach. Don't push her, okay? She'll come around."
He nodded again, a quick silent answer which he wasn't sure Diana even saw. He left the house and turned up the road toward the bluff, hurrying along the sidewalk. Nick stopped at the overlook and searched the darkness of the beach, straining his eyes trying to find her. A glimpse of glowing skin by the water showed him where she was and he clenched his fists again as the burning returned, followed by blessed numbness. He watched as she retreated away from the water and sat to follow the waves with her eyes.
