After Dr. Hale left, the library door closed behind him. Quiet settled over the room like dust after something heavy had fallen.
Too much. Too fast. Too close.
My e-reader sat untouched from where I left it when Elyria came to get me earlier. I looked over the mountains and stood up to stretch.
I wanted openness that was not confined to walls and doors. I needed air. I needed sky.
I grabbed my hoodie and slipped out of the library and followed the hallway back to the foyer and went through the dining room to the door that led to the back porch. The kitchen staff were already working on dinner, and the smell of roasted chicken and vegetables filled the dining room. A small draft of cold air slipped through the crack of the glass door; I pulled my hoodie over my head and straightened the
