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take it with you, if you want.  I have lots more.  Part of a collection, I guess.”  He arched his eyebrows.  “There’s something magical about the ocean.”
    My fingers curled around the edges, and I gripped it hard as though it would save me from the black waters of my own body.  I wanted someone to give me the ocean to take back.  I clenched my teeth and exhaled softly.  I could feel a headache coming.  Not now, I thought .  I don’t want him to know.  I don’t want any pity.  I gasped and set the shell back onto the table.  My fingers clutched its surface so I wouldn’t lose my balance.
    “Kelly, are you all right?”
    My fingers probed my temple.  “Yeah, I just have a headache.  I need to go out to the car.  Fresh air.”   I winced and clenched my jaw, trying to ignore it.  The pain was blossoming, diminishing all other sounds.  No! I screamed inside, railing against what I knew was coming.  He can’t see me like this.  He can’t know.  He can’t pity me!
    “I have some aspirin.  Or Tylenol, if you prefer.”  Through the haze clouding my vision, I saw him walk to one of the cabinets and open a door.  He pulled out a couple of small pill bottles and offered them to me.
    “No, I’ll be okay.”  I turned and stumbled toward the door.  I managed to slide it open, even with the pain and blackness in front of me.  At every step I felt that much closer to vomiting from the agony.  I clambered down the steps, barely keeping myself from falling.  The world was spinning precariously.   A pain throbbed dully in my ankle,  weak compared to the hurricane in my head.  I can’t hide this.  I’m going to pass out.
    “Kelly?” Tyler’s distant voice yelled.  “Kelly, what’s going on?  Answer me, please.”  His voice sounded frantic.  Hands tugged at me and I pulled away.  At some point, I made it to the car and managed to get the door unlocked.  Then the blackness exploded in my head.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Four
    The blackness throbbed in my brain as I struggled with the sluggishness controlling my body.  In the distance, I heard someone calling my name.  Gary, I thought.  But that didn’t sound right.  Tyler.    I fought the suffocating stillness, trying to reach the surface, and wondered if this were what drowning felt like.
    I opened my eyes, and shafts of pain ripped through me.  I winced and licked my parched lips: my throat felt like sandpaper had been dragged across it.
    “Kelly?” Tyler asked.  The rising pitch of his voice suggested he knew I’d come back to consciousness.  “Kelly, can you hear me?”
    “Yeah,” I replied.  I tilted my head and noticed I was lying on his living room couch.  I grabbed onto the cushions and sat up hastily, immediately regretting it as the dizziness assaulted me.  My head wobbled, and I dipped backwards slightly.
    Tyler grabbed my shoulders and supported me.  “Hey, why don’t you just lie back down for a few minutes.”
    “I’m fine,” I protested.
    He gently pushed me back.  “Great.  You can be fine from a different angle, okay?”
    I stared at him, focusing on his ocean-colored eyes, searching for sympathy.  Unblinking blueness peered back.  “That must have been one helluva headache,” he said evenly as he sat in the recliner across from the couch.  He leaned forward and clasped his hands together while staring.
    You have no idea, I thought.  “Yes, it was.”
    Tyler’s eyebrows knitted together, and he frowned.  “Ever pass out like that before?”
    Now he’ll never offer to take me sailing again.  My fingers curled deeper into the fabric of the couch.  “Yeah, occasionally.  It’s no big deal.”  My voice sharpened with each word until my speech sounded rude.
    “Have I said something wrong?” Tyler asked softly.  “I don’t mean to pry.  You just gave me a scare, that’s all.”
    “No,” I replied more kindly tone.  “It’s not you.  My