Chapter 41. A Long Night’s Watch

My family was eating dinner in the dining room when I got home, giving me the perfect opportunity to sneak upstairs and into my room without running into anybody. I just wanted to be alone.

I started to sob the moment my body hit my bed.

I cried for a long while, until I eventually fell asleep, only waking up sometime late in the night when I heard a gentle knock on my door.

My mom stepped into my room. “Dorothy?” she asked. “I didn’t hear you come home.”

I could barely make out her figure in the darkness. She was wearing her pajamas, so I supposed she must have just finished putting my siblings to bed and was preparing to go to sleep herself.

I was a bit disoriented, so it took me a moment to realize where I was and why my body felt like it had been hit by a truck.

To be honest, I was surprised I had been able to sleep at all, especially without Ace by my side. I guess I had just exhausted myself with all my crying.

When I remembered everyt