Chapter Text
After police reports and recriminations and the world turning upside down and against him, Richard is happy for the peace of his own home. He closes the door against the world and leans against it, drinking in the silence.
Until the quiet seeps into his bones and he realizes he’s alone. Forever. No loud music from Charlie’s room. No swish of Coralee’s socks across the floor. Richard’s come home to an empty house full of everything they left behind.
He spends hours on the kitchen floor, finding solace in the constant hum of the refrigerator.
Until it, too, is gone.