171. Come Back to Me 

~ NATALIE ~

I don’t even know what time it was when I finally dragged myself back to the house, except that it was broad daylight, and I’d been gone several hours. The sun had risen hours earlier and now the sky glowed. The trees were still draped in mist and fog, but it had a magical quality with the sunlight shining through it.

I should have been inspired by that. I should have smiled and enjoyed the incredible view, the quiet, and the safety of this place.

But I was hungry, tired, and utterly miserable.

I’d tried to flee my feelings. Tried to run away from the pressure building in my chest. At some point in the dark, I’d gotten it into my head that if I ran out all my energy and exhausted my body I’d be able to ignore… well, everyth