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ELEANOR WEPT for what felt like an eternity. She half expected Robbie to text her, but maybe he knew how much this meant to her.
She is laying on her side on Taron's bed, her legs bent close to her body and her fingers slowly massaging the soft fabric. She stares into the distance with unfocused and swollen eyes.
Eleanor finally looks away from the spot she was absentmindedly staring at. She blinks slowly, wishing she'd be able to cry for a little while longer; there's a freeing sense of letting go when one weeps, albeit accompanied by tremendous devastation. Now that she is finished crying, she has to decide what to do. She can't lay on Taron's bed forever. This is why she tries to force more tears to succumb her.
But the tears don't come. Maybe she wept so violently with such tremendous heartache and pain that engulfed her entire being that she is no longer capable of the act.
Putting her efforts to rest, Eleanor pushes herself up into a sitting position. She takes a deep breath, pulling her hair away from her face, and looks around. She didn't know how much she needed to privately grieve for her best friend's absence until now.
Although her soul is scarred from weeping so violently, her heart feels much, much lighter. Maybe she can finally move on.
Smiling softly to herself, Eleanor stands and runs her fingers through her slightly tangled hair.
A moment later, the dead silence in the house is broken by the sound of the front door opening.
"I'll be down in a minute," Elenor tells who she suspects to be Robbie.
A pause follows. "Eleanor?"
Eleanor finally walks out of Taron's room and down the hallway, wary due to her disbelief. A woman is standing in the living room, her hopeful eyes meeting the young girl's almost as soon as she emerges.
"Tina?" Eleanor questions, almost breathlessly.
Taron's mom gives Eleanor a grin, her eyes glistening with tears. The two of them rush forward and hug each other. Eleanor latches onto the woman almost desperately, squinting her eyes shut and burying her face in her shoulder.
"I saw the car... and Robbie... he told me you were inside...." Tina quickly explains. "The wee one? He didn't get a chance to explain...."
"A lot has happened," Eleanor mumbles.
Tina lets go of Eleanor, instead putting her hands on the young woman's cheeks.
"Where have you been?" she questions with earnest eyes.
"Boston, mostly." Tina raises an eyebrow as if to say 'Why didn't you come back?' "I thought you were dead! My dad saw you die!"
"I'm fine, dear," Tina says, studying Eleanor's face with concern.
