And The Rock Cried Out, No Hiding Place
He writes their story in her shadows and dark places. Slowly, cautious of every imperfection, he tattoos his words into her skin. His fingers burning into her. Marking them both.
"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created..."
(The smell of gunfire in the rain. The taste of metal between her teeth. Fear. Anger.)
His beard tickles her collarbone. She runs her fingers through the coarse hair at the nape of his neck, and he sighs, the hot air pulsing against her shoulder. Her skin is flushed and humid, and her leg sticks to his side. She kisses the top of his head.
She can feel him smile.
"...that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness"
(Duck and cover. Tremble. Hide. Her necklace snapping apart. Everything falling to pieces. That moment, the noise, that terror. Exploding. Crashing. When all the world was a reign of fire.)
The air conditioner died two weeks ago, and she hasn't had a chance to have it replaced. The air is heavy and fertile, making everything about this moment surreal. The light wavers. He kisses her neck. Bites, ever so gently, and swipes his tongue against the mark.
The phone doesn't ring. For once, the phone doesn't-
(How does it feel How does it feel How does it feel?)
"Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves..."
The screaming in her head fades to a harsh whisper as his hand traces the curve of her hip. Dulls to a soft hiss as it moves up her torso, finally ending its journey in the hollow between her breasts. The air weighs them down, and she is content to lie still under his touch. Feeling his fingers against her flesh.
And she knows this is not the answer. The solution. The world continues to revolve, and the sirens echo in her head. But his lips are hard against her breast and soft as they nip around the shell of her ear, and that, for now, is enough.
More than enough. She turns to kiss his cheek.
Presses her secrets under his skin, tucking them under his bones for safekeeping.
(Everything a blur, a haze, and the moment before the moment after the moment. Counting, one two three four, where is he where is he where... oh where oh where did my little dog go oh where oh where can he. The moment after the moment before. The moment.)
"To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World."
The stars fall. The sun beats in through the window, angry and hot.
"Turn on the fan."
She lifts her arm, then lets it flop back down. Draws circles on his chest, endless and unending, as she decides, "Nope, can't. It's too far."
He kicks at the sheets twisted around his feet. Holds her close. Closer.
(A crash. Bang. Everything shatters, in the end.)