Chapter Thirteen

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Oh, look! It's Friday again. And time for an upload. This one's dedicated to lovethelittlethings3, who sent me the sweetest message ever the other day. Thank you so much.

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              I couldn’t sleep.

            It was sometime past one o’clock, several hours after I’d arrived back in Walden, showing up on Gram’s doorstep with a suitcase as I had already done once before. The place had seemed eerily empty when I first stepped inside, but I guessed that was what seven days in Lenny’s cramped flat – accompanied by two hippie parents and a newborn with surprising lung capacity – did to you. Considering my current level of exhaustion, I should’ve been asleep in seconds.

            It wasn’t just Summer’s sporadic screaming that had worn me out. There had also been Nora herself to contend with. I mean, I loved her more than anything, but our time spent apart had definitely weakened my immunity to her craziness. Living with Gram and her occasional odd habits was nothing compared to my older sister.

            Not to mention I’d eaten more organic lentils in the last seven days than I could stomach.

            But still, here I was: curled up on top of the duvet, tossing and turning in the heat of my bedroom. The alarm clock appeared to be mocking me as I watched the minutes turn into hours, with no sign whatsoever of sleep descending upon me anytime soon.

            The whole town was still, the only sound being that of the faint lapping of waves on the shore from my open window. Even the seagulls had quietened, the absence of their loud cawing leaving perhaps the biggest gap of them all. I was shattered, both physically and mentally, but my mind wouldn’t stop racing, hurtling through my thoughts faster than I could keep up. Every movement only pushed sleep further from reach.

            Eventually, I concluded that lying there was pointless, swinging my feet over the side of the bed. Once up, I pulled on a jacket over my pyjamas, slipped grey pumps on my feet and set off for the landing. My sketchbook and phone easily slipped inside a small bag, but I had no idea where I intended to go. All I knew was that I need to clear my head; at least having my sketchbook would provide something productive to fill in the hours I spent not sleeping.

            Sneaking out of the house wasn’t likely to be a challenge; Gram was usually the world’s heaviest sleepier. Padding down the stairs, crossing the hallway and slipping out the front door – remembering, at the last minute, to take a key – made for an easier task than I could’ve hoped for.

            A chilly breeze rustled through the flimsy fabric of my clothing as I stepped outside, and I pulled my jacket tighter around me. Though the day had been pleasantly warm – a waste of nice weather, considering I’d spent most of it packing and crammed into a stuffy train – the lack of sun brought with it a distinct temperature drop, and the wind had definitely picked up.

            The noise of the ocean was even louder in the town’s silence; undoubtedly, everyone was sleeping at this hour. I was sure I’d be able to hear the collective sound of snoring pensioners if only I listened hard enough.

            My feet felt strangely heavy on the pavement as I headed down to the town centre. In the distance sat the familiar street of shops, their windows darkened, broken up by the artificial light of the twenty-four hour minimarket. It stood the bright spot in a line of darkness, and a split second decision steered me towards it.

            The cashier seemed to suffer the shock of his life when I passed through the door. Clearly, late-night customers in Walden were a rarity. Exchanging a brief nod with him as I walked by, I headed straight for the junk food aisle.

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