Prompt: You’re watching someone sleep (284 words)
He knew she was waiting for him in their bedroom, but he couldn’t bring himself to look away from Nora. Watching her was helping keep the unwanted thoughts at bay.
“Dyaln?”
He startled and turned towards the doorway, where Alice was leaning, arms folded over her stomach. “Dylan, you can’t avoid it forever.”
“I know.”
“We need to talk about it—“
“I know, Alice.” He finally faced her, but when he saw the way she moved a hand from her stomach to her mouth as her eyes glazed over, he wished he hadn’t. Dylan moved from Nora’s bedside and over to Alice, who fell into his chest and tucked her head under his chin. “I’m sorry. I’m just…I just don’t want to think about it right now.”
“I know you don’t want to,” she said, talking into his shirt,” but you have to. If Nora had seen that—“
“But she didn’t—“
“But she could’ve, Dylan. She could’ve seen that body, and then what would we have done?” Alice raised her head up to meet his eyes. “I don’t think we can risk staying here, Dylan.”
“We’ll figure it out,” he said, pressing a kiss to the top of his wife’s head. He looked back over his shoulder at Nora, her mouth open and hair fanned out across her floral-printed pillow. Her stuffed orange bear, Wilbur, had been knocked to the floor. Dylan disentangled himself from Alice and retrieved the bear, placing it in the curve of Nora’s outstretched arm. She smacked her lips and crushed Wilbur to herself in a chokehold. Then Dylan took his wife’s hand and led them out of their daughter’s bedroom.
“We’ll figure something out. I promise you.”
Allison Sobczak 