Him and I

This is a short story about a boy and a girl, I am new and this is my first post. hoping for feedback be it bad or good. i will be putting more up. eventually

I found him huddled by the sink, clothed in crimson flesh and mumbling a song under his labored breath. Rocking back and forth on his tail bone, he showed no signs of acknowledgment as I helped him to his feet. It wasn't until I splashed his face with water that he appeared to come to his senses.

His eyes were copper coins as he began to gasp for air, huge and terrifying swallows that gave me shivers. He turned to face me with a look of wonder, shaking my hand up and down with the vigor of a newly hired businessman. He asked me how long I had been a lifeguard, and I prompted him that I didn't know how to swim. He failed to register my response as he thanked me profusely for saving his life. "I could feel the liquid rising in my lungs and the sting of brine on the lining of my throat," he whispered. "I thought I was a goner, for sure." I told him that it was only tap water and the closest thing to an “ocean” that she had ever seen was the leisure center. He responded by throwing up on my sandals.

The rest of the evening was spent in silence as I wiped him down and changed his clothes. The only time he spoke was when he took me by the chin and slurred, "I never understood why people romanticized mermaids when there are plenty of people drowning on land."

He found me on the river banks at the witching hour with a flask of whiskey in one pocket and pebbles in the other. He was pensive for a while before asking me why I quit my job. I replied by explaining to him the difference between quitting a job and being laid off. "No, not that job," he shook his head and waved the idea off with his hand. "Your job as a lifeguard."

I laughed at him and asked him what pills he had taken because he should know by now that I was nothing but a coward when it came to water. My voice cracked on the word, coward, and he winced on my behalf. I didn't stop him as he emptied my pockets and moved me away from the shore. We stared at each other for a solid three minutes, and I could see my unsaid anxiety reflected in his irises. Somehow his understanding made me feel more isolated, and I relapsed as I ran towards the river current away from his overbearing empathy. He bolted after me, anchoring me down with his arms until my facade shattered in his embrace.

We held each other until dawn. No sex, no kissing, no romance of any kind. Only two friends that never realized loneliness affected others as much as it did themselves.