Page 71 of Under the Waves

“Shut up, it so is!”

“What is she doing back here?”

“Wait, isn’t that the Orca?”

“Dude, I thought she left for good.”

“I thought she drowned, man. What the fuck is she doing here?”

“I heard she drowned her brother, too. Like how mentally deranged do you have to be to do something as awful as that?”

“Ha. She’s crazy!”

“Yeaha crazy psychopath, more like. I bet she slits her wrists too. They all do, man.”

“Maybe she’ll go deeper this time. If she doesn’t, you hold her down and I’ll slice her up good. Then she’ll learn that we don’t fucking want her here. God, she makes me sick.”

Keep it together Poppy.

Don’t let them see you break.

Don’t let them see.

Breathe, you fucking idiot.

BREATHE.

B R E A T H E.

My skin burned.

I wanted to scratch it off me.

I wanted to shout at them all.

I wanted to run home and cry until my throat scorched.

Knuckles pressed into my palm, fingers picking at my skin. I massaged them, rubbing over my knuckles, tracing the thin bone of my wrist. I scratched my elbow, then my neck. And Ibreathedas I looked around.

All their faces blurred.

Everything blurred.

I should’ve eaten.

I shouldn’t have come here.

One hundred and eighty-seven.

TOO HIGH.

FUCKING BREATHE.

COME ON POPPY.

BREATHE.

I couldn’t gulp it down fast enough.