Closer

She smiled at her creaking bed as he climbed into it and pulled the blanket over them. He draped an arm around her, knowing, possessive, owning, their skin melting into the other as only one incomplete without the other can. She smelt the lingering remains of smoke on his lips and frowned. Yet, she couldn’t recognize him anymore without it. She snuggled up closer to him and slept, the only way she knew how.

He smiled as he pulled her closer to him, his comfort, his safety blanket, the one assurance in this menacingly sadistic world. He smelt her hair, reminding him of that scent that always lingered around her, constant, yet indistinguishable. He dozed off holding her, into a dreamless sleep, the only way he knew how.

As their alarms rang in the morning, separated by distance, physical and created, they stumbled out of their beds, without once reaching out to the empty space beside them, for they knew, it was as it had been for some time now, and would continue to be…empty.