Head Above Water

by C.E. Ricci

He pulls back for a second, letting his lips linger against mine as he catches his breath. “I just need an anchor.” I hear the unspoken request in his statement. It rings through my brain, loud and clear. Be my anchor.

I can already feel the pieces of who he used to be slipping away, and while I’m doing my best to grasp for them, hold onto them, I can’t seem to get them all. And all I can think about is how much I need him too. His smile and laugh and carefree attitude. Every part of himself that makes him Easton. Shatter, break, and fall apart first if you need to, I plead internally. But please, just come back to me.

“I know you’re not okay, so I’m not gonna bother asking,” he whispers. “But I just want you to know...it’s okay to not be okay, East. You can break. You can fall apart. I’m here to help pick up the pieces.”

Every piece of my heart. Every part of my soul. I give it all to him. I give him my everything. “You own me,” I utter through the gravel caught in my throat. “Every fucking inch of me.”