Glass was breaking.
That was the one thing he could be conscious of, really. That glass was breaking and shattering and splintering to let in the light-and the water.
"Cinder!" He yelled, or tried to, at least. He moved him mouth and strained his throat, but no sound came out. "Cinder...please…"
The pain was too much. He gave up.
She hovered over him, hair wispy white from the moon. "So, you're awake. It took you a whole fifteen minutes longer than usual to get here."
"It's not like I left." Carswell stood, pulling off his shirt. Parts of it were damp with sweat.
"You were asleep."
"Yeah, here. In this bed."
"Was that where your dream was? 'Here, in this bed'?"
Carswell bit his lip, knowing Cinder was too stubborn to argue with. When she had an opinion, she would argue in circles until you forgot what your fight was even about. It wasn't like they got into many arguments when they were together, anyways. That's the thing about dating your best friend since kindergarten-you've already fought about everything there is to fight about.
He got down on his knees to search through a box for a calendar to mark the date, then remembered that he had no therapist now. Instead, he'd be talking to strangers on an internet support group.
A pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders. Not warm, not cold, just a light pressure. Almost a memory of the feeling. "What're you thinking about?" Cinder asked quietly. He couldn't see her, now, but knew from her touch that she was there.
"You. Me. Us. Remember when we got together?"
"You were terrified."
"I was not," he argued lightly, a small smile on his face. "Intimidated, maybe, but not scared. You just looked so beautiful that day."
"I was wearing sweatpants. No makeup, even."
"Well, you were."
And she had. Cinder had been sitting with her friends, that day. Winter and...Peony, he remembered. Or was it Pearl?
Either way, the presence of other people calmed him down if only a little. Sure, it meant more mouths to spread gossip of how badly he had failed, but it would make it at least a little less awkward to talk to her. One-on-one conversations with Cinder hadn't really been his thing since he realized his feelings for her.
He remembered walking up to her table and taking a deep breath. After that, there was only white and feelings. Nervous. Remorse. Then...Happy. So, so incredibly happy.
They both sat in silence. It wasn't an awkward sort of quiet; just lonely. Remorseful.
Carswell fell asleep at his desk that night, with the last conscious feeling he had being Cinder draping a blanket over his shoulders.