Dave staid with me even after I had reassure him that I was ok, it wasn't until later when Rodger and mum came home that he even considered going home, but by then it was late and persuading mum that he could stay in Connors room didn't take much. She liked Dave, he was earthy and safe and he had made me happy when I'd been sad.
We ate dinner, talking about mundane things that happened all the time. Connor called later in the evening and Rodger and mum curled on the sofa watching an old t.v soap that mum loved while me and Dave where in my room. Their was a hush silence over us though.
"Sapphire." Dave muttered, breaking the calm around us. he didn't look up, his brow was furrowed as if in thought, he looked a lot older then. It seemed like how granny Carne could one moment look old then young and his use of my full name, not just Sapphy, it was like when mum would tell me or Connor off.
"Yeah?" I asked, trying to keep the edge of fear from my voice. What was it that was wrong?
"I was thinking…" he paused he still didn't look at me but his gaze turned to the sea. "Why… why where you so far out… and why did you have you're clothes on?"
I blinked, I had no response, the water was cold, but I had a wet suit that I could have easily worn. That didn't leave me any explanation for swimming that far out into the cove either. It's dangerous with riptides that can easily suck you away never to be seen, in ingo those aren't a problem. In air, I forget that they are, my hesitation seemed to urge him on though. "I thought… after the last time when you got wiped out, you where scared of water, but now your swimming out really deep. You could've drowned… " he paused and I still didn't have anything to say to him, he looked up finally though and even if I did have something to say I doubt I would have been able to say it.
"Sapphire, you… you weren't trying to…" he struggle with his words like a fish trying to breath air. "You know you can tell me if anything's wrong? You would tell me if you where unhappy? You wouldn't just-" my mind finally clicked with what he was saying.
"No!" the automatic answer was honest and he seemed reassured, I quickly clambered next to him pushing my arms around him. "No. I wasn't trying to do that, I'm not unhappy. I love you and I couldn't never leave you, or Mum or Rodger."
He sighed and I felt his arms close around me, grinning and pulled myself closer. "I didn't mean to scare you, I just, I got caught by the water."
"I should have known that wipe out must of scared you more than I realised." He muttered. "You've always been part of the sea sapphire." He gave a small laugh, it lightly filled the room and wiped away the tension. "When we first meet, the way you stared out at the sea every day, went to the water every day… could do you believe I was jealous of it." I pulled back only a fraction, to look at his face.
"What?"
"I was jealous of the sea. I wanted you to look at me like you do at it, stupid I know." He sighed. "but you where fascinated by it… or longing for it. whatever, you love the sea sapphire, everyone knows it. Then, I wanted you to love me like that."
"But now you have me, and I do love you." I murmured and I pulled him tightly against me burying my head in his chest, but I had a nagging feeling at the back of my head.
Dave glanced down at the beautiful girl curled up in his arms, trying to reassure him. Telling someone your first thoughts on them wasn't easy for him, but right now, even with her curled up against him, even with her reassuring him even with her voice, he still knew.
'Do you love me Sapphy?... maybe. But I don't think you'll ever love me like you loved the sea.'
At first, you think water is easy to move through, its sleek and thin. Look closer and you see that it's thick and much more difficult to move through than air. It can lift you up, make you float, hold you gently. But it can also force you down, pull you deeper and deeper and eventually it can kill you.
The way the water changes so quickly was how he felt. For a moment it felt like his heart was being lifted floated up to the silver lining of the surface water, before being crushed and pulled back down. Like being pulled into the deep. Like going to find the Kraken, but even that memory made it hurt more.
Rather than thinking about it, Faro pushed along with his strong sleek tail, wandering. He could do whatever he wanted, find his sister… though she'd had gone to the north. He missed her, but even that wasn't the same, his sister was gone and it left a hole, but it wasn't the same as leaving her.
It wasn't as if he wanted to either, their had been so much to do, if he'd simply forgotten. No, he hadn't forgotten, the debulk on his wrist told him that, he looked at it every day, the twines of hair that are so similar they look like they came from the same head.
Still, though unlike the people in air, he could do whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted, he found himself not particularly wanting to do anything at all. He sighed and flipped over, and over and over making a continuous stream of bubbles, making it look like he was just one continuous circle as if by doing so it would help. Would make something better. All it did was remind him of how much that would make sapphire laugh, and for a moment he could enjoy that memory, but it still faded away when he stopped. Sighing he floated in the clear water for a while, there was only one place he could think of to go…
Do you really notice when you're going to sleep? Because it seems that only a moment ago I couldn't sleep, tossing and turning, yet as soon as I felt Dave warms arms around me, comforting me. Obviously slipping down from Connors room when he heard I couldn't sleep, I didn't even notice I was, until the faint sun light hit my eyes from the next morning.
I was glade slowly blinking open my eyes to look around, and moving Dave's arm from over me. he muttered in his sleep and I smiled for a moment. Last night I hadn't been crowded with haunted dreams of falling deeper and deeper into an abyss I couldn't get out of. I had, had dreams for the deep before, but I didn't think I feared it. I feared the Kraken, I didn't like the crushing pressure, but it was still Ingo, it was where The whale was. It may have been dark and confusing but it wasn't scary.
Now, though the dark, deep in my dream weren't like that thought. They where more like an empty hole. I guessed. Like a black hole that pulls everything, even light into it. It was like that, like the deep, it was confusing. I couldn't tell what was up or down or left or right. I didn't know where I wanted to go, even if I did know. I didn't know if the pressure was from the water or from something else. The only thing I could remember in those dreams was longing for something familiar, like Sadie or like the dolphins. Some to hold onto, but both seemed to be so far out of reach.
I brushed hair from my eyes, before grabbing a brush to comb it away from my eyes before heading down stairs. I could hear Mum and Rodger talking over the Kitchen table. Sadie jumped up as soon as she saw me though.
"Hey girl, good girl!" I murmured stroking her thick Gold coat. "Dave's still asleep." I told mum glancing down at Sadie.
"Mhm, Looks like see wants you to take her on a walk Sapphy." Mum said, picking up a mug of tea and taking a sip. She would have to go into work later today and Rodger would have to go in only a few minutes.
"Yeah… maybe I should wait for Dave to get up…"
"I don't think she can wait Saph." Rodger said, with a small smile. But glancing down I knew he was right. Sadie was almost vibrating with excitement, she understood the word walk and her tail was beating heavily against the air. She reminded me of when she was a puppy again. I smiled.
"Ok, I'm just gonna write a note for Dave." I muttered rushing to grab some scrap paper, and jotting it down. Just as my mum was putting down a carton of orange juice I slammed the note to the table… not really meaning to before grabbing Sadie's lead.
"Come on girl." I called and she followed. "I won't be long Mum!" Sadie bounded out the door, already smelling out new rabbit smells and earth smells as she bounded along and I darted after her. To hard to keep the smile from my face.
a/n 1, happy easter - more time to write ... i mean... study. 2, yay, next chapter, 3, yay faro. 4, yes it's short, i was going to combine it with the next one but thought... nah. 5, anyone can guess where Faro is going gets a virtual cookie, 6, there is pole open to vote for whose best so far, Dave or Faro! ..... (or connor... if he get any i might bring him in somewhere....)