Go asleep (dreaming of Ava only and your family)

You drift off, the image of Ava’s tired smile lingering behind your eyelids. The dream starts sweetly Ava laughing in the backyard sunlight, Kyler and Jason chasing fireflies as kids, Elsa’s tiny hands planting flowers. Warmth spreads through your chest, a perfect, sun-drenched memory.

No woman or temptations could make you abandon the family you built. The dream shifts, Ava’s laughter fades, replaced by the sharp scent of chlorine. You’re suddenly poolside at Alina’s party during the summer, sunlight glaring off turquoise water. Jason cannonballs in, splashing droplets that sting your eyes. When you blink, Alina is beside you. Not as Jason’s girlfriend, but too close, her red bikini clinging like a second skin. She leans in, whispering something lost in the dream haze, her hand brushing your thigh. You jerk back, but the scene melts like wax.

No. I won't be tempted. You thought as the scene flashes toward Elsa. Your youngest daughter stands before you in the dream, wearing nothing but that defiant smirk she'd worn at dinner. "Lighten up, Daddy," she purrs, tracing a finger down your chest. "You work so hard. Don't you deserve... fun?" Her voice shifts, sharpens. It's Alina's voice now, layered over Elsa's image. "Jason won't mind. He never notices anything." The words slithered through you, cold and wrong. You tried to push her away, but your hands passed through mist.

You quickly wake up from the dream, heart pounding against your ribs like a trapped bird. Sweat cools on your forehead as you stare into the darkness, the twisted images, Alina's predatory smile, Elsa's mocking touch still clinging like cobwebs. Beside you, Ava sleeps peacefully, her breathing steady and deep. You close your eyes, forcing yourself to focus on that sound, on the reality of her warmth beside you. Just a dream, you tell yourself. Stress. Kyler’s mess. Nothing more.

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