WHEN I'M WITH YOU
Tap, tap, tap.
Ale tapped his pen against the table counter as his eyes stared down at the case file he was currently working on. It was late, around 2:30 AM, but working on his job during these hours was normal for him. However, the lack of sleep was beginning to get to him. Ale sighed heavily and leaned back into his chair, he brought his hands to his face, rubbing his forehead. “Just this case, then I can sleep.” He looked back to the papers and his pen, his brows narrowed and he’d wipe his hand across the table, pushing some papers off it. He’d let out a groan, who was he kidding? He was stuck on this case for a while now, he just couldn’t find the missing piece of it all that could lead him to the end.
Slowly, faint creaks of the stairs could be heard as soft footsteps walked down them. Ale turned his head to view where the noise was coming from, seeing Sabrina, his wife, there. She looked worried, was it about him? Ale began to become paranoid for a few seconds, his mind racing with reasons of why she could’ve been mad at him. They were shortly cut off by the sound of her voice.
“Dear, this is the fifth night you have stayed up this late...” Sabrina would continue to walk down the stairs and towards him, looking quite concerned as she saw the state not only her husband was in, but his surroundings as well. “You really need to take a break.”
“I’m quite fine, Sabrina.” He didn’t mean for his voice to come out harsh, specially towards his own wife, but it did anyways. He slumped in his chair, looking away shamefully.
As Sabrina approached him, she would wrap her arms slowly around his neck and press her forehead against his, letting out a soft sigh. “Are you though, really?”
“What do you mean?” “I mean that you look terrible. I love you, Alexander, but you’re working too hard. Look at what it’s done to you.”
Ale stopped completely for a second, really thinking about his wife's words about his own health state, physically and mentally. He’d lean into his wife’s hug, placing his hands on her back and softly pulling him closer to him.
“Sab, what if I don’t work on it though? I-..If I don’t work and don’t solve this case, then not only will my image be ruined but so will the victim’s relatives lives. I can’t just...drop a case like that.” “Yes, but you’ve been working yourself to death. What happened to the nights where you’d come with me into bed? And read a book until you fall asleep? It’s not just this case, every case you’ve been getting you keep acting like this.”
Sabrina leaned back and placed her hands on his cheeks, softly rubbing them as Ale leaned his head into her palms. “You don’t have to give up, please don’t, but you need a break. Have you ever considered that?”
“N..no. I can’t say I have. It’s never occurred to me that I can just.. take a break from all of this.” “Well now is your chance! We don’t have to go anywhere special or anything, just take a few days in and.. be with me, relax, get a good night's rest.”
Ale placed a hand to his chin, thinking once again about all of this. He stood up and brought his wife up as well with him, looking down at her in her eyes.
“You’re right. Maybe it’s time for me to...relax. Maybe it’ll help me clear my mind as well. “That’s great. Now c’mon, you have a big day of relaxation ahead of you tomorrow, how about you start it off with sleeping in, hm? How does that sound, sweetheart?”
Sab would wrap one of her arms around Ale and hold his hand, smiling up at him. He smiled back down, leaning to give his wife a small kiss on the head. He’d rub his eyes and let out a deep yawn, slowly being guided by Sab all the way to their bed.