Eleanor
Morning came slowly, and I woke up groggily, like someone surfacing from deep underwater. My limbs felt heavy, my mouth dry, and for a few long seconds, I didn’t remember where I was.
The ceiling looked unfamiliar… softer somehow, more different than the one in Nathan’s house.
Then it hit me where I was.
Chestnut, in my old bedroom.
The ache that curled behind my ribs made itself known again as I sat up slowly in bed, pressing the heels of my palms into my eyes. The cotton sheets were tangled around my legs from another restless night. I must have fallen asleep after sneaking back in, sometime past midnight at some point, after walking aimlessly and talking with Nathan outside Grandma Franny’s house.
It all felt surreal now. Like it was a dream I wasn’t sure I had fully wok
