Chapter 48

“Are you…are you suicidal?”

The word hung in the air, almost visible. Darren could picture it: looping calligraphy, glittery blue, gleaming in the gloom. And then it would spark out, one end to the other. Probably starting with the ‘l.’

“Sometimes,” he whispered, and the word winked out. Jayden’s grip tightened painfully for a moment, and Darren brought a hand up to clasp at the wrist lying across his collarbone. The grip eased fractionally when he squeezed it.

“Have you tried? To…do that?”

Darren swallowed. The lump in his throat was bigger and scratchier than the pills had been. And there was no breeze in here, not like the wind that had yanked at his hair. The drop beneath his feet right now was measured in inches, not metres. The numbness in his fingers meant he’d never written down a word.

“I…I think you know the answer to that.”

He felt the shuddery breath that Jayden took. “How…how many…?”