First night back, I ditch duffel and boots and fall asleep on the floor by his bed.

A click in the dark wakes me. Beside me he sits, Nerf gun in hand.

“What’s up?” I ask.

“Keeping you safe,” he says. Tilts his head at the darkness under the bed.

Graham Robert Scott’s stories have appeared in Pulp Literature, Nature, Barrelhouse, and others.