Re: [declan and clementine, marvel]
She sounds delusional. [And that was about as far as Declan ever got to speaking poorly of any of his siblings. This was said to Clementine with all the confidence of a church confessional, never to be voiced again outside of the cab of this truck. He certainly never would have said anything of such a negative degree to any stranger. He'd grown up with secrets and darkness and a whole plethora of things kept quiet. Regardless, Declan thought that turning ones back on their family, as Clementine said that this woman had done in the name of loving their brother, was fatuous.]
You haven't seen blue water yet. [His words were assurance earned in the paucity of civilization, the nothingness of saltwater surroundings and a skyline that gave up on distinguishing itself from the deep blue abyss. That was a blue that went on forever. That was a blue that got inside the head, sweet and inviting until it unveiled itself as a sickness. Cabin fever. That was a blue so unending that Declan hoped heaven was red. He remembered the ocean as something violent and beautiful, and he'd return to her one day.
He was surprised to notice that the prospect excited him. He knuckled the wheel like it made time pass faster, and he took the exit as she directed. A mile up, and she was right, it was impossible to miss. He straightened in his seat, finally attentive, and if she looked over at him just then, she might have seen a hint of a grin as they crested a hill and part of the bay came into view.]