sarahreesbrennan:

At the end of the day Nick smiled at Alan to show he was happy, Alan tucked him into bed and gave him a hot water bottle. Hot water bottles were hot and squashy and did not happen all the time. Nick thought that Alan meant the hot water bottle as a reminder that Alan was smiling at Nick when Alan had to go out of the room. He reached out his hands for it.

“Oh, is that your favourite hot water bottle?” Alan said, smiling. “I didn’t know. You can have it every time from now on.”

He put the hot water bottle close to Nick, the way he used to put a teddy bear in bed with him. Nick had not minded if Alan thought he should sleep with a teddy bear: Alan had said anxiously that it was nice and soft and comforting. Nick wasn’t sure what comforting meant, but the teddy bear was soft. It had struck him that the teddy bear’s eyes were hard, though, so Nick tore out the eyes and put them on the floor.

After that Alan took the teddy bear away.

There is a reason I am reblogging short stories. And that is… that the Unspoken short stories are coming. O they are coming!

Spent morning crying over fictional demonic preschooler. 2nd book is my favorite in the trilogy.