In the days following our harrowing rescue, Charles and I find ourselves almost eerily quiet around each other. Gone is our usual playful banter - instead, we move about in an almost trance-like state, jumping at the smallest noises.
It's not until nearly a week later that the tension finally breaks. We're sitting on the couch, half-watching some mindless TV show when Charles suddenly mutes the volume. I tense instinctively, but he simply turns to face me with an inscrutable look.
"We can't go on like this, Cass," he says in a low voice. "That...experience... is always going to be a part of us now. But we can't let it rule or change who we are."
I open my mouth to respond, but he holds up a hand to stop me. "Just hear me out, okay?"
He rakes a hand through his disheveled hair, letting
