Growth pains (double chapter)

Whatever it was that Claire said as my exhaustion took over… 

Well, with my consciousness cutting off the moment my body performed an emergency shut-down, I could only try to guess. 

Yet, when my consciousness finally returned, the distinctive sound coming from just nearby quickly wiped the idea of guessing from my mind as I inherently focused not on the past, but on the present. 

'Is she still…' I thought as I slowly pried my eyes open, only to then start blinking them rapidly to get rid of the surprisingly painful itch on them. 

It felt as if someone forced me to keep my eyes open while having my face submerged in salty water before making me stare right into the sun for hours upon hours only to then throw a fistful of powdered pepper in my face at the end, just for a good measure.