This 100-word story was the winner of our flash fiction competition held on August 8, 2020.

Peter stopped pacing at the arm of the couch. He was exhausted. Mark had insisted on another Zoom therapy session – said it’d be “good for the relationship.”

Lazy.

That’s what Mark had called him. Oh, it was clear from the smooth-talk ramblefest that followed he’d realized how harsh it sounded, but the damage was done.

Lazy.

Peter leaned forward, the familiar surface of the cushions beckoning. He bounced – once, twice – and settled – eyes closed and the pillow forcing his lips into a goofy smile.

He didn’t even fight back when the couch started sucking him in deeper, digesting him slowly.

David Wasserman is the author of Tiny Footcrunch (Unsolicited Press, 2018) and Dealing: Tarot Poems and Pictures (Unsolicited Press, 2019) in collaboration with Project Runway’s Helen Castillo and in support of NYC non-profit Literacy, Inc. He teaches elementary school and lives in Connecticut. @davidwasserman1