The Affair

Chapter 26.1 - Succumb

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Fallon's vision blurs to white before her eyes close from the loss of consciousness. Random memories sporadically project in her mind, interrupted only by a few moments in which her eyes open to the world around her. Each instance was short-lived, and only provided her with glimpses of her surroundings: fleeting lights in the ceiling, voices of strangers with blank faces, and an open room with odd beeping noises. She had no sense of time, nor sense of body, and could not ascertain what was real as the scene around her continues to contort and mesh into recognizable moments.

Eventually, the chaos within her head settles and Fallon finds herself in a child's bedroom. With only a lamp positioned upon a white nightstand by the bed and a small cartoon-wolf nightlight plugged into a light socket near the doorway, the room held a dim glow against the pale pink walls, various assortments of stuffed animals, and princess-themed decorations. Fallon could not explain her feelings in the moment but she at least felt comfortable in the space she was in. She approaches the twin-sized bed positioned outwards from the right-hand wall and sees Falcor sitting upon the pillow.

"Falcor!" she exclaims, grabbing her wolf and cuddling him against her chest.

The bed was fixed with a white, soft and fluffy blanket, the touch of which somehow seemed oddly familiar to her. She crawls into the bed and under the blanket, sure to keep Falcor nearby. To her surprise, the blanket begins to lift and move over her legs and up to her chest. Looking to her right she sees someone hovering over her bed and tucking her and Falcor underneath the blanket as if she were a child. The lamp's light glows from behind the figure, leaving the unknown person in shadow and mostly indiscernible, but had a silhouette reminiscent of a man's body. The situation was confusing to Fallon, but she did not feel scared in this moment.

The man had fixed the blanket over Fallon's chest, allowing for her arms to be free over the blanket. She kept her left arm straight down her side while she held Falcor securely in her right. The man then stands up straight and begins to make his way around the foot of the bed. Now along the left edge of her bed, and with the lamp's light now projecting upon the frontside of his body, she is able to study the face of the man now brushing her bangs from her face.

He was a handsome man, in his mid 30s, with a head of thick, wavy brown hair and a short, stubbly beard that was growing upon a recently shaved face. He had tired eyes, though a striking dark-blue and picturesque like a twilight sky, and a calm demeanor that made her feel at ease. Dressed in blue denim jeans and a long-sleeve red and black flannel button-up shirt, he sits himself along the edge of the bed and turns his body towards a very astonished Fallon. With a father's smile, he places his warm hand upon Fallon's left forearm and speaks.

"Hi, bunny..."

"Wha..." she mutters, confused and nervous about what she was seeing.

It was her father, in the flesh and now sitting in bed with her. He was touching her, and she could feel it. He spoke to her and she heard it. He was looking at her, and she was looking back. It was real, and she did not know how to react.

"When did you get so big?" the father asks with a quick chuckle. "I always knew you'd grow up to be a beautiful princess."

Fallon could not speak, she could only stare into the eyes of the man she knew could not be real. Anxiety grips her chest and makes her breathing somewhat staggered as she attempts to speak through her nervous stutter.

"D-d-daddy, is it r-really y-y-you??" she stammers as she tries to sit herself up in bed. "Am I j-j-just dream-m-ming again??"

"Shhhh, relax, sweetheart. It's me... Slow down when you try to talk, okay? You don't ever have to be scared or nervous with me," he says, playfully pinching and wiggling her nose.