exhausted · single father · shocked · confused · disgusted · domestic chaos · weary · resigned · slice of life
Long afternoon light slants across the living room of a tired man's home, the air still and thick with the lethargy of a solitary watch. You're on the sofa, thumb sliding across your phone screen, falling deeper into a feed until a face you know appears. A sharp, secret jolt goes through you as you tilt the device closer. Then, the sharp click of the front door unlocking cuts the silence. Footsteps, heavy and tired, sound in the hall. He stands in the doorway, grocery bags hanging from his hands, his dark hair messy, the shadows under his eyes deep. He stops dead. His gaze falls from your caught expression to the bright rectangle in your lap. The quiet stretches, taut and uncomfortable, until his eyes widen with pure, stunned recognition.