Chapter Twenty — “Expiration”
403 Words
Owen sat on the couch, half-watching the news.
Leia hadn’t left the bedroom once since he got back.
He was just starting to enjoy the silence
when he heard it —
the retching.
---
He stayed seated for a long minute, savoring his beer.
The noise continued —
gagging, coughing, the dull thud of her elbow hitting the bathroom wall.
Owen sighed heavily, tossing the bottle onto the coffee table.
If she drowned in her own puke, someone would eventually ask questions.
And he wasn’t in the mood for paperwork.
---
He found her slumped in the hallway bathroom.
Kneeling by the toilet, trembling, one arm limp over the seat.
She looked up at him with watery, bloodshot eyes.
"Owen," she rasped.
Her voice was a shredded whisper.
"Can you... just bring me some water?"
Owen leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed.
"You need a doctor or something?"
Leia shook her head weakly, wincing as the movement sent another shudder through her.
"No... just... water. Please."
He exhaled through his nose.
"Fine."
---
He got her the water.
Left it on the counter without handing it to her.
She crawled to it like a dying animal.
He went back to the living room.
---
By the time she staggered back to bed, Owen was already half-dozing.
He heard her fumbling with the blanket, coughing, muttering to herself under her breath.
He rolled his eyes when she started talking louder.
"You never check on me," Leia slurred.
"You don't even care if I'm dying."
He said nothing.
Rolled onto his side, away from her.
"You just... sit there... like a goddamn statue," she gasped.
Owen pulled the blanket higher over his shoulder.
Let her keep talking.
She rambled on —
half-delirious, half-accusing, her words blurring into background noise.
All he heard was the ugly tone behind it.
Nagging.
Even now.
---
Finally, she coughed so hard she cut herself off, wheezing and gasping against the pillow.
Owen smiled to himself in the dark.
For the first time in months, he felt light.
Weightless.
The bed creaked slightly as Leia flopped onto her side, facing away from him, a trembling heap of breathless exhaustion.
The room went silent except for her broken breathing.
Owen stretched out, claiming the cool side of the bed, feeling the tension melt from his muscles.
He closed his eyes and fell asleep with a smile still lingering on his mouth.
- Writer
