The other home

Chloe

I couldn’t say that the night behind me was easy - it was everything but.

However, knowing I did the right thing helped me stay on course and not drown in sorrow. I was sad, and I missed him like crazy; hell, even my bedsheets bore the memory of him… they still smelled of him. But I wasn’t falling apart. I could navigate my life without Gabriel while loving him the same.

When I thought about it, it was high time I visited the old family cottage at Lake Alice. I spent many vacations with my parents there, and many great memories tied me to that place. After they died, Grandma and I decided to sell the Seattle house, but I couldn’t say goodbye to the cottage. I hadn’t been there for a few years, and now was a perfectly good moment to revisit the past.

Little before 8 o’clock, I headed downstairs, wanting to start early. But truth be told, I was getting eager to see Abby, and that eagerness was not letting me sit still and wait.

Just as I had hoped, not an hour later, my coworkers