[Present]
“After my mom woke up, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief,” Ashleigh smiled, resting her head against Caleb’s chest. “It was the beginning of the good after so much bad.”
Caleb bent forward and kissed the top of her head.
“She was only awake about two hours before she was up and moving around, demanding answers and giving orders,” Ashleigh continued.
“Sounds like Corrine,” Caleb smiled.
She chuckled.
“How long did it take you to wake up?” Caleb asked.
“The next day,” she replied quietly. “I was fine, just worn down from the power exertion.”
Caleb noted the change in her tone. She was pulling back from him.
“I’m not… quite ready to talk about me yet,” she said softly.
Ashleigh pulled away from him, sitting up in bed and turning so they could look at each other.
“I… struggled for a while,” she said. “I had a hard time accepting that you were gone, and I… took it out on everyone else.”
