6-
We spent the rest of the night in bed, wrapped in each other’s silence, a movie playing quietly in the background. I don’t remember what it was. I don’t think either of us were watching.
Eventually sleep took us—not restfully, but in that jagged, deadweight way where your body shuts down before your mind can follow.
The alarm blared. Shrill. Unforgiving.
I jolted up, groaning as I flailed blindly across the bedside table. “Where is it,” I muttered, ready to hurl the thing across the room. Before I could find it, Sandy began licking my face, soft and persistent.
She needed to go outside.
I swallowed my exhaustion, sat up, and nudged Caden. “Get up,” I whispered.
Sandy didn’t wait—she clambered up and licked him too, snorting as she nudged at his cheek. He groaned but peeled his ey
