Member-only story
Drown
Jesse woke up with a start, gasping for air. His long hair was plastered to his skin, and his eyes darted around the dim room. He pulled the blankets back, and sat up in bed. One hand on his chest, Jesse tried to focus on his ragged breathing, tried to get it to even out.
He reached over, and switched on the small lamp by his bed, and his room was suddenly filled with warm, yellow light. The change from darkness to light helped a great deal. Jesse hugged his arms protectively around his lanky frame.
He had been dreaming about being out on the lake, again. It had been months since that terrible evening, when he’d gone out on the lake for a short excursion with his friend, Matt.
They had both been drinking heavily, and halfway across the lake, they had started to bicker. Arguing about stupid, unimportant stuff. Matt had clambered to his feet, red-faced, as he shouted at Jesse. Closing the short distance between them, Matt had stumbled. The boat had rocked dangerously, and when Matt tried to get to his feet, the boat overturned — throwing them into the lake.
Jesse could still feel the frigid, dark lake water rising over his head, getting into his mouth, his lungs. He had never been a strong swimmer, and the water had been choppy from the strong winds. He could still recall how dark the water was, as he’d sunk below its depths. The fear he’d felt, as he’d…
