27 Haunted Heart Kara Sinar I was drowning in the sounds of classic rock as I danced through the club. The skirt of my electric blue dress flared out a bit as I twirled, though at a length I’m sure my mother wouldn’t have entirely approved of. I was just tipsy enough. I felt Felix watching me and grew warm because of it. His eyes scrunched in the corners as he laughed and his fluffy blonde hair gleamed like a full moon in the neon lights. I turned to face him, waving him toward me, still dancing. He approached and wrapped his arms around me from behind, nestling his head on my shoulder as I reached back to fiddle with the baby hairs at the base of his neck. This was the nicest I’d felt in a while. When the song ended, he took my hand and pulled me back to the bar counter where his blue Hawaiian and my whiskey and ginger ale had just arrived. Before I could take my first sip, I felt his eyes on me; and that was when I heard him. Well, more like watched his lips as he formed a short sentence. Felix had uttered the three words I had never wanted to hear again. All of the words withered on my tongue, dead and shriveled like the leaves of autumn that clung too long to rough and twisted branches. Winter had come in the gust of cold air that entered my lungs as I opened my mouth. It descended in biting, freezing, numbness as I struggled. Time seemed to slow and run with gelatinous thickness as it passed me by, in direct opposition to the elevated speed of my heart. It was pounding so loud I swear he could hear it across from me. Felix tilted his head and reached a hand out toward me, asking for mine. I think he was asking if I was ok. My ears rang as I crashed back to the moment, and everything was too loud, too big, too real, too close. When had it gotten so hot in here? The music was deafening and the strobing lights assaulted my senses. I drenched my dry mouth with whiskey and ginger ale, relishing the sweet fire in my throat that warmed me from the inside, hopefully thawing me out enough to respond. My mouth felt dry despite my empty glass, so I stretched my face into what I hoped was a smile and I nodded toward the bathrooms, hoping that he would understand. I barely waited to watch him nod and release my hand. Pushing my way through the sea of bodies, I attempted to ignore the sticky squish of the carpetbeneath my heels—God only knows what kind of mystery substances had mixed on the floor or when it had last been cleaned. I squeezed past the pool table and entered the warm, steady, incandescent light of the bathrooms. As the door swung closed behind me, the jumble of big noise was muffled somewhat, and I let out a breath I didn’t know I had been holding. I glanced around, and seeing no one else, I moved to stand in front of one of the sinks. I forcefully turned both of the knobs to release a harsh stream of water, teasing it with my fingertips to ascertain a temperature—cupping my hands to quickly collect shockingly cold water. I splashed it on my face and rubbed my eyes before I placed my wet hands on the corners of the sink and leaned forward,
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