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Mila Jaroniec
The wind blew in through the cracked window, mixing in layers of cold air with the space heater’s even warmth. He rolled off of her, sweating, onto the other side of the mattress. The room had gotten dark. They lay still for awhile on opposite ends, cooling their skins under the raspy buzz of the heater and muffled wail of distant traffic.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked. She was always asking that.
“Nothing,” he said. He was always saying that.
“Oh.” She slowly circled a finger around her belly button, watching a trail of tiny bluish bumps pop up in its wake. She ran silently through different combinations of words. He continued to lie on his side, face planted in the crook of his elbow.
“Are you lonely?” she asked after some time.
“Yeah,” he said faintly. A car horn screamed distantly and the mattress groaned as he shifted his weight. The word dropped on her like a rock through wet paper and she suddenly felt intensely fatigued.
She stretched her fingers out through the darkness to touch him but couldn’t reach far enough and felt only space. Aren’t I enough? She wanted to ask but her tongue felt slack. What’s enough? Who?
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Mila Jaroniec
The wind blew in through the cracked window, mixing in layers of cold air with the space heater’s even warmth. He rolled off of her, sweating, onto the other side of the mattress. The room had gotten dark. They lay still for awhile on opposite ends, cooling their skins under the raspy buzz of the heater and muffled wail of distant traffic.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked. She was always asking that.
“Nothing,” he said. He was always saying that.
“Oh.” She slowly circled a finger around her belly button, watching a trail of tiny bluish bumps pop up in its wake. She ran silently through different combinations of words. He continued to lie on his side, face planted in the crook of his elbow.
“Are you lonely?” she asked after some time.
“Yeah,” he said faintly. A car horn screamed distantly and the mattress groaned as he shifted his weight. The word dropped on her like a rock through wet paper and she suddenly felt intensely fatigued.
She stretched her fingers out through the darkness to touch him but couldn’t reach far enough and felt only space. Aren’t I enough? She wanted to ask but her tongue felt slack. What’s enough? Who?
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