Chapter Six - Princess Tales

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Sleeping didn't seem to be an option that night. My body couldn't get comfortable and my eyes wouldn't shut for more than a few minutes before the nightmares began. I tossed and turned, drenched in sweat and barely getting any sleep at all.

It felt like a personal form of torture. My eyelids were heavy; the moon shone brightly in my window, only aiding the battle that my mind and body waged against sleep.

I hated it.

Thankfully, somewhere around 4 AM, I drifted off. Deep sleep didn't take me over, but at least I could rest. I needed to be on my A-game just in case someone noticed something was off. Of course, I could always give them half truths, but there existed people who could tell something else bothered me as well.

So there I was; the clock read 7:30 and I continued to lay in bed, hoping no one came into my room yet. I wanted to wake up right before I have to leave for school. Mom and Dad would notice my obvious disdain for being awake right away and the less time I have to answer things, the better.

On the bright side of life, at least the weight that pressed down on my heart had slightly lifted and the squeezing tightness that surrounded my entire chest had loosened a bit. I by no means felt perfect, but the improvement was better than yesterday.

"Gabby?"

I lifted my heavy-feeling head off the pillow, squinting a little against the sunlight that flooded my room - I really should learn to close my curtains. But that's not what made me concerned.

At the end of my bed sat Eddie, his head bowed and sitting cross legged. His shoulders were slumped and he overall looked ... sad.

Upon feeling movement on the bed, Eddie lifted his head and my heart just broke. His eyes were shining; not the good kind, either. He had tears in his perfect, little blue eyes, eyes that needed to have a glimmer of mischief in them.

What brought this on?

In a flash, the covers had been kicked off and I pulled Eddie into my lap, cradling him and holding him tight. His arms were locked around my torso while mine wrapped around his shoulder as I gently rocked him back and forth.

"Eddie, why are you crying?" I asked him softly, rubbing a hand up and down his back. I discovered that this motion calmed him down the easiest; whenever he had bad nights or days or whenever he just needed a hug, this would be the way to do it.

His small shoulders moved up and down in reply to my question, mumbling an "I don't know ..." under his breath. But I knew my little brother better than he apparently thought I did.

But I also knew that he would come to me with his problem when he felt ready. Obviously, he just wanted to be held at this time and so I kept quiet.

Finally, his head lifted off my shoulder and he looked up at me. "Why were you so sad last night, Gabby?"

I bit my lip and shook my head, hugging him tightly. "I just had a really, really bad day, squirt," I smiled and leaned away. "I will try to be better today, alright?"

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