Ashley
The morning after our confession on the balcony, I woke with swollen eyes and a heaviness that seemed to press me into the mattress. Sunlight streamed through the gauzy curtains of the guest bedroom, but I couldn't summon the energy to rise and face the day.
My hand instinctively moved to my stomach, a gesture that had reminded me of my loss since learning of my lost pregnancy, touching a void where life had briefly existed.
This feeling wasn't new; I'd been dealing with it for months. But somehow, sharing my grief with Zach reopened my wounds.
A soft knock at the door finally propelled me to sit up.
"Dear?" Zach's grandmother, Eleanor, called gently. "Breakfast is ready whenever you'd like to come down."
"Thank you," I managed, my voice scratchy from crying. "I'll be there s
