COMPLEMENTARY [GxG]

Chapter 16 | Codependent Enemies

Smoking was a bad idea. It amplifies the dry heat, the edges of my vision turning to static, like I'm able to see every atom making up the air. I can't get over the fact my mouth touched the same joint Eris' mouth touched. What if she has mono or something? I can't afford to go to a doctor; I can't afford to lay in bed for weeks, overcoming the sickness she infected me with.

I'm acutely aware of the physicality of my body, the tension in my upper back because I haven't been able to wind down enough to do yoga for a week, the towel too soft against my skin. Most of all, I'm aware of her. She takes a few more hits, each puff of smoke smaller until the ember goes out on its own. Then she leans back, raising her arm to pull at her hair, her jewelry reflecting the sun. My first delirious thought is that I want to paint her, fragment her into geometric shapes and calculate her proportions.

While her eyes are closed, I let the towel drop and walk to the edge of the pool, my legs numb, the Lugo mansion looming so close by. What if Iker or Axel walk out? I'd never live down the embarrassment of them seeing me like this. They probably accept that Eris is a lost cause stoner, but I want to portray a better image here.

Then I hear it: "Carajo, Ef, didn't think it would be this hot to have you in my clothes."

I hide myself in the water. Cold assaults me from all sides, reminding me of the time me and Fitz swam in an icy mountain stream during a hike so many years ago; I lasted all but five seconds while he meditated for several minutes until I dragged him out of the water, afraid he'd freeze to death. The hazy memory gives me something to focus on other than the insanity of what Eris has just said. When I emerge, I ask her, "Is that supposed to be sarcastic?"

"Partially."

My stomach lurches, doing one cartwheel after another as she steps into the pool. She's more than a metre away, but it's too close—my nerve-endings are sensitive, and I feel every pulse and heartbeat. I close my eyes and imagine myself growing larger than the pool, the neighborhood, and soon enough the entire earth, forcing my mind to be as still as the vacuum of space.

But what I end up saying is, "Do you tell that to all your little girlfriends?"

Eris leans her elbows back against the edge of the pool, her chest against the sun. I can see every curve of her body, the shapes I never noticed even with all her tight clothes. Her collarbone is sharp enough to cut me.

"Why do you care?" she asks, and a slow smile spreads across her lips. "You jealous?"

"I'm sure you'd love it if I was."

"You already know no one does it for me like you do."

When I don't respond, frozen in the water as my brain goes into overdrive attempting to decipher what the hell she's on about, she clarifies: "Now that was sarcasm."

She dives under the water, and I watch her pale form move underneath like a shark. When she emerges, black eyeliner and mascara are running down her face.

"All that money and you can't buy waterproof makeup?" I ask, grateful that my capacity to insult her hasn't been compromised. "You look crazy."

She doesn't even wipe it away, looking like one of the skulls on her altar. "Not crazy enough to stop you from being obsessed with me."

"Obsessed with you?" I scoff. "Where did you get that from?"

"It's obvious, bro. Even at school, you're always staring at me. It's been the same thing for years. Tell me I'm not the most interesting part of your day."

I sink lower into the water, the shorts too tight between my legs, the top pressing my breasts together. At least the water keeps me steady while the high amplifies every splash, the contrast between the turquoise pool and the backyard trees.