Desperate, Alex retreated to the bathroom. He stood under the shower, letting the scalding water beat down on his head. The roar of the water was a dull, percussive thud, but it did nothing to clear the clogged feeling. He tried the old trick: pinching his nose and gently blowing. A tiny, pathetic squeak. Nothing.
He sat up, and the simple act of his head moving upright felt like a submarine changing depth. A soft, crinkly pop echoed deep inside his left ear, followed by the sensation of being underwater. His own breath, loud and ragged in his head, was the only clear sound. When he swallowed, his ears answered with a tiny, protesting squeak. ears stuffy from cold
He didn't hear every syllable perfectly, but he heard the melody of her voice, the shape of her love. It was enough. He hugged her tighter, the stuffiness in his ears suddenly feeling less like a wall and more like a temporary, annoying curtain. A curtain that, with the next dose of decongestant and a good night's sleep, would eventually be drawn back. Desperate, Alex retreated to the bathroom
She turned in his arms, her face full of sympathy. She brought her hands up, framing his face, her thumbs tracing the circles under his eyes. Then, she leaned in, her lips almost touching his ear, and spoke. Slowly. Deliberately. Each word a carefully launched life raft across the muffled sea. He tried the old trick: pinching his nose and gently blowing
"He. Loves. You. And. So. Do. I. It. Will. Pass."
"What?" he asked, for the third time.