Bedding & Entering

Night hangs still over the empty living room. Avery Black slips in anyway, knapsack riding light on her shoulder. She lifts a silver trinket, weighs it in her palm, drops it inside; a polished vase follows. Task done, she vanishes down the hall. Moments later she steps across the bedroom threshold. Amari Anne lies asleep, lashes low against smooth cheeks. Avery keeps stealing forward, gathering a ring here, a slender necklace there, when Amari shifts. Avery halts mid-reach. The room holds its breath. The woman settles. A soft exhale lifts Avery’s ribs; she inches on. Then a floorboard sighs beneath her toe. Amari’s eyes flare open. She reaches, smiling, yanks back the sheet, and pats the mattress—invitation clear. Avery swallows. Hard.