WIPpet: Shorts part 3, Bedtime

Happy Wednesday! My big news for the week is that I’m getting a new laptop. I’ve settled on the MacBook Air, which suits my needs perfectly. I need to go test it out in person before I make a final decision, so later this week, I’m off to brave the store and try it out. I’d already decided to go with a Mac when I knew I needed to replace my laptop, so I don’t have much to do for the transition except make sure I have access to all my passwords.

So far this week, no snow days. I’ve been catching up on all the things I couldn’t get to while everyone was home. My checklist for the week:

• Beta read three chapters of a suspense/romance
• New editing job, over halfway through
• Reading two pre-release novels
• Read one short story (it was…weird, but good)
• Skimmed a freebie novel someone recommended and decided it was definitely not for me
• Wrote roughly 3k on Drumbeat (the next Notes from Boston novel)
• Wrote about 1k on a short story for submission
• Revised LR’s story

It’s LR’s story that I’m continuing to share from today. I’m still not happy with it. I don’t know why, but I feel like she’s very difficult to write about. I understand where she’s coming from, but it’s hard to capture it. If I keep posting from it, I’ll eventually get around to what’s under the surface. But today’s snippet should at least help clear up what’s not going on.

WIPmath: 3/22 = (3 x 2) + 2 = 8 paragraphs.

LR’s door creaked open, and she opened her eyes. She’d left a beside lamp on, knowing Cat would sneak in like they used to do when they were younger. It amused her. Their parents wouldn’t think it was strange, and it wasn’t as though they had a bedtime they were breaking. Cat probably should have been getting sleep, since he had to work in the morning, but LR wasn’t going to tell him that. He would be annoyed with her, and then they wouldn’t talk.

He peeked in, and she looked up. “Hey,” she said.

“Hey. Can I come over there?”

“How do you know I won’t make you sick?”

Cat rolled his eyes. “If you were really sick, I’d have known already.”

That was a fair point. LR motioned for him to join her. A moment later, Cat’s cold toes were on her leg. She squirmed, and he giggled. Deciding not to shove him out of the bed, she pulled the covers up over both of them and snuggled down.

“Why are you really home?” he asked. He certainly didn’t waste any time.

LR thought about lying to him the way she’d half-lied to Mom, but it would save time if she told Cat the truth. “My life right now is kind of a mess. I couldn’t go away because I have too much work to do, and it’s stressing me out like you wouldn’t believe.” She sighed. “I seriously thought I was pregnant, but I’m not.”

Like what you read? Be sure to check out the other entries and add your own. Just post a bit of your WIP, connect it to the date, and link up with us. Many thanks to Emily Witt for giving us this space. Happy reading and writing!