AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Auggie made a sleepy noise.
Lying down again, Theo discovered the bedding was soaked through with his sweat. He thought about getting up to lay a towel down. Then he thought about closing his eyes.
Auggie’s hand came to rest on his belly. He wiggled his thumb back and forth a few times.
“Go back to sleep,” Theo whispered.
“If you’d had a mind-blowing orgasm like me,” Auggie murmured, “you’d be sleeping just fine.”
A quiet laugh escaped Theo.
“What’s up?” Auggie asked.
“Nothing. A bad dream. Go back to sleep.”
But Auggie propped himself on one elbow. It was hard to make out anything but an outline in the dark. “We’ve made a lot of progress in the last few years,” Auggie said, and the tone was teasing, but there was something hard underneath it. “How about you don’t throw it all away by going back to bad habits?”
In the living room, the TV was on—not loud, but in the silence, Theo could hear the low buzz. He tried to think of what to say, how to say it. The dream was still there; he could feel it breathing down his neck: the devouring heat, the smoke, the white scream of it.
Throat thick, Theo said, “They were here, Auggie. In our house. Our home.”
Auggie was quiet for what felt like a long time. Then he let out a breath that seemed to be agreement.
“I don’t care what John-Henry says,” Theo said, the words pouring out of him now. He sat up. “I don’t care if he thinks they’ve got a line on the Cottonmouth Club, or if they think the four of them can handle it while we stay safe at home. Someone was here, Auggie. Someone came here looking for something, and I don’t think they found it. And if I’m being totally honest, I don’t know if any of this is connected back to the Cottonmouth Club. Something is seriously wrong, and I’m not going to sit here while someone comes after our family.”
Auggie was an outline cut from the darkness of the room. Like paper. Like velvet.
“What do you think we should do?” Theo asked. “Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”
Auggie’s laugh screwdrivered through the void. “Come on.”
“What do you mean come on? I’m not repeating bad behaviors. I’m asking you, aren’t I? We’re partners. This is a joint decision.”
“I don’t know.”
“You have an opinion, and I want to hear it.”
“I said I don’t know.”
“Then I want to hear the points you’re weighing on each side.”
Auggie made a vexed noise. “You know that’s annoying. I know you know, and you do it anyway.” He hooked his arms around his knees. “I don’t like what’s going on with you.”
“What?”
“I don’t know; that’s the problem.”
“I’m fine, Auggie.”
“You slept—” They both looked at the clock’s glowing display. It read half past ten. “Less than two hours, and you woke up from a nightmare on the verge of a full-blown panic attack.”
“It was a bad dream. I’m fine.”
Auggie made that noise again.
“But?” Theo asked.
“But what?”
