As she tossed and turned in bed, Rayleigh lay awake in the calm of the night, her wide eyes filled with restlessness. Since they have lived together for more than a year now, she and Isabelle have been inseparable, their bodies intertwined as they slept side by side, each drawing comfort and solace from the other's presence.
Now that Isabelle had slept with her mother for a night, Rayleigh couldn't get the sleep she had become accustomed to. She couldn't believe that at her age, she was reduced to whining and flitting around, unable to settle into the familiar embrace of sleep.
Nothing had helped, no matter what Rayleigh did. She even attempted counting sheep, deep breathing exercises, and looking through her phone. Her thoughts were racing and her body tensed, as if it had lost all sense of normalcy without Isabelle's comforting presence by her side.
