Submerge

C R Y

All I could focus on was the image of my brother—broken, silent, and lost.

M A S O N

When I woke up, everything hurt.

Not in the vague, dull way it had before, when the drugs made everything distant and fuzzy. 

This was sharp, immediate, and overwhelming. A suffocating weight pressed down on me, making it impossible to think, to breathe, to exist without feeling every single inch of my body scream in agony.

My leg was the first thing I felt. 

It pulsed with a deep, agonizing throb, like something heavy was crushing it, again and again, without stopping. 

The splint they'd put on didn't hold back the pain; it was like my bone was still breaking, over and over, splintering with every breath I took. 

Every small shift sent a fresh wave of agony shooting through my thigh, up into my hips, and down into my toes, making my whole leg twitch involuntarily.

But it wasn't just my leg. My ribs felt like they were caving in, like someone was standing on my chest. 

Each breath was a struggle—sharp and shallow, because trying to take in a full breath felt like my ribs would snap and pierce through my skin. 

The bandages wrapped tightly around my torso didn't help. 

They pressed down on the bruises, on the breaks, and every inhale made my entire chest feel like it was being ripped apart.

My head pounded in sync with my heartbeat, the thudding in my skull getting louder and louder until it felt like my brain was slamming against the inside of my skull. 

The light from the ceiling was too much, making the pain behind my eyes even worse, like needles driving into the back of my head. 

I wanted to close my eyes, to block it all out, but the pain followed me there too.

I could feel everything—the jagged cuts across my arms, the bruises blooming over my skin, the deep ache in my ribs, my fractured bones, the raw sting in my throat where I had screamed and fought until my voice gave out. 

The air itself seemed to press down on me, smothering me in the weight of the pain.

And then there was the burn, deep inside, a humiliation I couldn't put words to. 

That shame ran so deep, it felt like it was part of me now, like the violation had left a scar that went all the way to my soul.

The tears came without warning. Silent. Hot. Rolling down my cheeks, soaking the hospital pillow beneath my head. 

Nathan shifted beside me, his chair scraping against the floor as he leaned closer. 

I could hear him breathing shallow and fast like he was trying to hold it together, but I knew better. 

I could feel his anxiety, his fear, pressing down on me, making the room feel smaller, more suffocating.

"Mason?" Nathan's voice was soft, trembling, like he was afraid that speaking too loudly would break me even more. "Can you hear me?"

I didn't answer. I couldn't. I could barely breathe, let alone speak. 

The pressure in my chest made everything too tight, too painful. My ribs felt like they were collapsing in on themselves, and every shallow breath sent another sharp spike of pain through my entire body.