4338.209 · July 28, 2018 AD
The Uneasy Morning Routine
Sammy needs his other sandal. The toothpaste is on the mirror. Buffy wants attention. Just another Saturday morning getting ready for the doctor—except for the bruises Jenny can't explain, the nightmares that wake Sammy screaming. "Will the doctor make the bad dreams go away, Mummy?" She performs normality. But as she buckles him into the car, she feels it: the prickling sensation of being watched. A car across the street. Tinted windows. The routine continues, but something is very wrong.
Saturday morning. Jenny Triffett is running late.
Dr. Carmichael's appointment is in less than an hour. They can't be late. Not when she desperately needs answers about Sammy's nightmares, the bruises that appear without explanation, the shadows under his eyes that speak of sleepless nights.
"Is the doctor going to make the bad dreams go away, Mummy?"
She forces brightness into her voice. Performs normality. Because that's what actresses do—maintain the illusion even when everything is falling apart.
But as she buckles Sammy into his car seat, something shifts. A prickling awareness. Eyes on her. A car across the street she doesn't recognise. Tinted windows. Unmoving.
She tells herself it's paranoia. Stress. Nothing.
But Jenny knows what it feels like to be watched.
And she knows when someone is lying.
