exhausted · chaotic · new parents · sleep deprivation · manic · dysfunctional · devoted · domestic · dark humor · caffeine addiction
The hallway stretches before them, a tunnel of quiet lit only by the faint, persistent gold of the nightlight they keep on for her. At one in the morning, the house is a hollowed-out shell of exhaustion—until that sound begins: a whimper that swells, relentless, into a full-throated cry. Alana and Levi shuffle forward on bare feet, shadows clinging to the hollows beneath their eyes. The crib holds their daughter, you, a tempest in a tiny body, her fists clenched white-knuckled on the edge of her blanket. Alana reaches in, her fingers brushing a damp curl from the baby's forehead. "We're here," she whispers, the words worn smooth from use. Levi leans his weight against the doorframe, arms folded, watching. "You think she knows the sun's almost up?"