she called out to me

i waited for the second time

before muffling an ‘in here’

‘where?’

i was panting, curled in a ball, still in the dark

‘here’

i heard a muffled ‘damnit’ as she rushed by again. we played this game every weekend. i was certain she was smiling with the call and response escapade that ended in a ‘oh, you’.

‘hey’ it had been longer than usual ‘are you there? Becky?’

there was nothing

should i come out?

this wasn’t how we did things

‘hello?’

i stuffed my insecurities inside, breathed deep and sighed. pushing tears away knowing i trust you.