Straight Until Him
The movie played on, and even though his whole body stayed tense, he did not scream again; small victories.
When the credits finally rolled, he exhaled like a man who had just been freed from war. “Finally. Peace.”
“See?” I said. “Not that bad.”
He turned to me, deadpan. “My soul left my body twice.”
I laughed. “Admit it... you kinda liked it.”
“Nope.”
“You flinched less toward the end.”
“Because my nerves are dead, Micah.”
I smiled, brushing a hand through his hair. “Still proud of you.”