#earwugs

             ❝        you  really  don’t  need  to  do  that  .      ❞          even  as  she  says  it  she  knows  objection  is  fruitless     —     already  he  has  risen  from  his  stool   ,   pointedly  ignoring  her  as  he  closes  the  gap  between  the  kitchen  island  and  the  fridge  in  three  short  strides  .      clearly  ‘  no  ’  isn’t  an  option  here  .      not  that  wren  can  say  she  minds  too  much     —     much  as  she  detests  feeling  like  any  sort  of  inconvenience   ,   she’d  be  lying  if  she  said  she  wasn’t  touched  by  the  show  of  kindness.      chin  lowers  to  rest  in  her  palm   ,   gaze  locked  ‘pon  lanky  frame  as  spencer  busies  himself  opening  and  closing  each  cupboard  to  take  stock  of  what  she  has  .    lips  curve  into  an  appreciative  smile   ,   affection  warming  green  hues  as  she  offers  a  compromise  .           ❝        at  least  let  me  help  .     —     we  can  make  something  for  us  both  .      ❞     

“shouldn’t i be saying that to you?”     except you have the tendency to stop calling back,   float back into absentia uttering insanities no one believes—    you’re not sure he does but he doesn’t call you crazy,  a kid who lived in a world of make believe.   sometimes dreams leak and cement themselves into your reality,  still your shrink thinks it’s your anxiety manifesting itself into the physical.   a neverending haunting—     if you squint,  you swear you see Her over his shoulder,    molars bite into fleshy cheek  ..  is your heart even beating?    urge yourself back before the concern can set in,  force yourself into the present as that saccharine smile is painted back onto lips.      “out there,  fighting monsters?   tougher gig than the drive back to california.”