"We found Wonderland..."
Delia Acker has never been outside of her hometown in New Hampshire but when her mother brings her an opportunity to journey out into the "real world", she takes a suitcase with her to Concord, Massachusetts. And that's wher...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
C H A P T E R S I X T E E N A Bad Feeling
Her sisters were fast asleep, letting out quiet snores for every breath taken. Delia stepped into the room, trying to get ready for bed as noiselessly as she could.
The floorboards creaked, which startled Delia. Her sisters turned in their sleep, still seemingly dreaming the night away.
"You were out late tonight." Aunt Marie whispered, leaning against the door frame. She had her arms crossed and had a smirking grin on her face.
Delia froze, turning to face her Aunt then saying, "You haven't slept yet." She spoke it as more of a question, though it was intended to be a statement.
"I was waiting for you to come home before I slept, and here we are now." Delia gulped, feeling guilty and exposed.
"Please don't tell my sisters or my mother." Delia pleaded, her eyes glistening. Aunt Marie nodded, shooing her niece and telling her to go to bed.
When Marie finally left, Delia caught herself grinning mischievously, her left hand covering her mouth.
Carefully, she laid down onto the mattress on the bare, cold floor. Her hands reached for the thick, warm blanket and covered herself, trying to not think too much of her day because she knew she wouldn't be able to sleep if she did.
* * * * *
That morning, Harriet and Charlotte were in their room, playing with the things they brought in their suitcases. Both of them were making sound effects and role-playing with their toys.
Delia woke up to the sound of Harriet and Charlotte laughing, their laughter died down as they realized their older sister had woken up.
"What are you two doing?" Delia questioned, yawning and rubbing her eyes until she was wide awake.
The bright sunlight coming from the outside blinded Delia, her eyes stung and she wanted to slump and fall back into a deep slumber.
"We were playing," Harriet replied, grinning happily at her older sister.
"Why did you wake up so late? It's 1 pm right now." Charlotte immediately started interrogating Delia.
"I was out late," Delia replied blatantly, her eyes dared to blink and never open again for a few more hours.
Delia couldn't recall how late she had come home at, it couldn't have been that late. She wasn't one for staying up late, sometimes she just couldn't sleep and stay up voluntarily, and other times she slept at 10 o'clock at night.
