The Dry Well

Jacob grabs him by the front of his hoodie with the habitual motion — and the ritual fails: no trembling, the hand “closes on water”. And then the most honest feeling of the chapter breaks through — lack. For years he came not to hit but to collect the trembling: the other’s fear was his dose, his one way of feeling alive.

For such a person, the disappearance of the victim’s response is withdrawal in the clinical sense: irritation, disorientation, the search for a stronger stimulus than before. This is a dangerous moment for both sides — the addict escalates. Except that here the escalation is already being conducted by the other one, who suggests meeting “in private”.