the horizon in my eyes

Mateo

champagne, cocaine, gasoline
and most things in between

Feeling his heartbeat start to slow as Ever is able to fill in all of the necessary blanks, Mateo lets out a sigh hard enough to puff his cheeks, rubbing at the stubble on his chin while they make it to the edge of the hotspring. Ever becomes a little hazed in the steam, but his voice is still clear enough at least, and Mateo has to take a second to smile at the couple as they pass before he gives his friend his full attention again.

"I like having you around when I am scared, too," he says, resisting the urge to give Ever a gentle nudge in case it hurts any of his still-present-but-no-longer-life-threatening-apparently injuries. "Maybe we should have... I don't know. A compass, like my dads have? Or something that lights up to tell the other person we are in trouble and need help."

Still thinking hard about this - and how to loosen the knot of dread in his stomach to think that Ever could have died and Mateo might not have known - the botanist slips into the hot water without nearly enough preparation, and the heat is enough to steal his breath for a second.

I roam the city in a shopping cart
a pack of Camels and a smoke alarm