Blue Skies: Sean & Kaycee | Short Stories

Decisions

The neighborhood was quiet as Sean made his way home. The streets were empty; his only company on the road were the looming shadows of trees cast by the flickering street lights. It was late. Most houses were dark; their occupants having gone to bed hours ago. 

He yawned. He had just touched down from his trip to Poland, an exhausting twelve hour flight. It had been his sixth year teaching at the Fair Play Dance Camp. As always, it was an amazing experience, but he wished Kaycee could've joined him again; she was booked teaching in LA this summer. 

Sean smiled as he pulled into the driveway. The lights were still on. He and Kaycee were both night owls and she always waited up for him, no matter how late. A feeling of pride and contentment swelled in his heart as he looked up at their home. Their home. One of his favorite things was coming home to her. It was a quiet comfort to know that no matter how far or how long he traveled, this was what was waiting for him when he returned. And he knew Kaycee felt the same.

They had spent six months looking at dozens of homes, but none had felt quite right. They had almost given up, too stressed trying to juggle the pressure of buying their first house with their busy careers. But their agent had persuaded them to look at one final house that had come on the market. As soon as they stepped through the front door, they knew: this was home.

Sean walked through that same front door, pausing just inside to shrug off his light jacket. 

"Kayc, I'm home!" he called.

He hung his jacket in the coat closet before leaning down to untie his new Nike's and set them neatly on the shoe rack. They had been one of his Christmas presents from Kaycee, who had taken the not-so-subtle hint when he had texted her the link followed by a Santa emoji. 

Sean padded into the family room, still clutching his duffle bag. He paused by the couch to ruffle his hair. He needed another perm soon.

The room was bright but empty. Usually he would find Kaycee curled on the couch, having dozed off as she waited for him. He would wake her with a kiss and scoop her up into his arms, carrying her to their room to fall asleep together.

"Kaycee?" Sean called again, his brow furrowing. Kaycee hadn't mentioned going out tonight for anything. He pulled out his phone to check for any messages. None. 

It also wasn't unusual for his girlfriend to be out late assisting a dance class or head out for a girls night with Bailey and Tahani. But she always texted him. Come to think of it, Kaycee hadn't texted him all day. She hadn't even responded to his text when he landed.

After looking in the kitchen and even peeping his head outside to check the porch—turning off the lights along the way—Sean headed upstairs.

"Kaycee?"

Sean paused as he walked into their bedroom, his eyes immediately finding her.

Kaycee was sat on the edge of the bed, her shoulders hunched. Her brown hair was loose and curly, covering her face as she hung her head. Sean could just make out the small sniffles escaping her nose.

He went to her, throwing his duffle to the side before dropping to his knees and taking her shaking hands into his own.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Sean demanded. He couldn't help the faint alarm in his voice; it wasn't often that his partner cried. Sean could feel his protective side waking up in full force as she looked up, her watery eyes meeting his. Whatever the problem was, he would fix it.

"Babe," he said, his voice softening. "What's going on?"

Kaycee hiccuped, looking down to where Sean's thumbs were brushing soothingly over the back of her hands.