Tom

I watched Tom glance to his right and grimace at a plain, blue painted wall. I knew he must have seen something, and I knew it wasn’t pleasant. But I also knew not to ask. Tom didn’t want to mix his real life with the grotesque visions his minds forced upon him, so I kept quiet and helped to keep him grounded in reality.

“We might have to reschedule the pick-up game,” I said drawing his attention back to me. “Weather channel says rain on Saturday.”

“What about Sunday?” Tom grabbed a chip from the bag that sat equidistant between us.

I shook my head. “Jules is out of town visiting her sister.”

Tom wrinkled his nose and crunched another chip. “Dang. That’s two weekends now. You and Jules should come over for a movie or something, then.”

I smiled at him, happy to be one of the few people Tom liked and trusted enough to invite over. His home was such a person space, directed and designed perfectly for his happiness that he loathed letting anyone with energies he didn’t mesh with into that space. My energy, he said, was like a soft, glowing lamp. Apparently, that was a good thing.

“That sounds good. Better than moping over another cancelled game.”

I grabbed some of the chips as he looked at the wall again. I had to admit to myself that there were times I really wanted to ask. It was hard not to be curious about something I knew peripherally. How bad could these visions really be if he knew they were fake? They were thoughts I would never share with him. Primal thoughts that bubbled unbidden and that I felt guilty about even though I had not shared them with anybody, let alone with Tom.

“We watching something from Netflix, or should I Redbox something else?”

“Netflix is fine. You don’t have to spend more money. Unless you’re buying snacks.”

I snorted. “Yeah, I can do that. Let me tell Jules.” I ducked my head toward my phone, typing up a quick text. She responded right away. “She asks how you are.”

Tom just shrugged. I told her he was fine.

“I have to get back to work. Thanks for lunch, Andie,” Tom said before pecking my cheek with a kiss.

“See you Saturday,” I said waving him off.

I don’t think I would ever ask him. I couldn’t bear to see him hurt.