A Pattern They Missed

Jake’s hand lingered at the door, but he didn’t move. The tension had shifted—not gone, but softer now, tinged with something they couldn’t name. On the monitor, the image remained unchanged. Ava slept soundly, her fingers resting near the snake’s smooth back.

Mia replayed the moment in her mind, not just tonight, but the past few weeks—how Ava had been waking less, sleeping longer, as if something unseen had settled in with her. They’d been too tired to question it. Too trusting of the silence. Now she wondered if that quiet had always meant safety… or if they’d missed the signs entirely.