Chasing Ghosts

Nine years earlier...

When Carmilla opened the front door, she felt her chest fall into her stomach. There, stood Laura Hollis, dressed in her uniform. Carmilla found it bitterly amusing as she looked the blonde up and down. Laura never wanted to be a soldier. Her family was made up of soldiers of all kinds. She respected them all for their service, but Laura never felt like one of them. She didn't want to go off and fight. As much as she loved her parents, she didn't want to risk walking around with the pain they forever carried.

But here she was in perfect attire, ready to go. Carmilla noted that she did in fact look like a soldier. She wasn't masquerading. Perhaps it was just in her blood. But it didn't matter. None of it mattered anymore.

"What're you doing here?" the brunette asked exasperated. She was tired; worn out from caring and trying.

"I'm leaving."

Carmilla scoffed. "I gathered," she replied as she looked her up and down again.

"I just wanted-"

"Wanted 'what'? We said all we needed to say," she interrupted curtly.

"Carm."

"I can only do so much unless you let me in. And since you don't plan on doing that, then there's nothing left to talk about."

"Seriously? You're not even going to talk to me?"

"What's the point? You're not going to listen."

Laura bowed her head toward the ground to try and hide her frown. When her eyes met Carmilla's again, the strong soldier facade had dropped. Her honey eyes pleading. "Why are you being so cruel?"

"Don't turn this on me. Don't make me the bad guy here-"

"I'm not!"

"I'm sorry I don't want you to die. I'm sorry that you think you have to do this for horrible reasons." Carmilla felt her voice weakening. "I'm sorry that there's nothing I could have said to change your mind." The brunette frowned as tears pooled on her eye lids. She couldn't hold it back and it made her angrier. The tears fell freely down her cheeks.

Laura instantly stepped forward, cupping her face in her hands, wiping away the fallen tears with her thumbs. Carmilla tried to pull away, but Laura had her firmly in her grasp. The brunette had no more strength to resist.

"I know you don't understand. I don't expect you to. But regardless of whatever you think about yourself, you deserve a life full of so much happiness. And with me gone, you'll be able to focus on that."

"But you make me happy," she admitted as another tear fell.

Laura forced a smile, her thumbs brushing against soft pale skin. "And you deserve better."

"Laura, I'm going out for some drinks with the guys from the station tonight. You wanna come?" Jim Hollis asked with a gentle smile as he stood in the kitchen threshold. Laura was heating up oatmeal for dinner, her back facing her father.

"Nah. I'm good. Thanks though."

"Laura."

The blonde let out a heavy sigh and rolled her eyes before turning around to face her dad. "What, dad?"

"You've barely talked for the past few days. You've been in your room most of the time, and if you left the house, it was for a run. Are you doing alright?"

Laura gave him a forced smile. "I'm fine. Go enjoy yourself. Don't worry about me."

He gave her a sloppy smile in return. "Like I could ever not worry about you." 

She rolled her eyes despite the genuine grin that took over. "Get out of here before I call Kirsch and have him drag you out." He chuckled before giving her a playful salute and exiting.

She let out a large breath before the microwave signaled her oatmeal was done. It had been a few days since she went for that run that led her to Carmilla. And it was agonizing to think about. How it ended up that way, she still didn't understand. Laura was frustrated at the time. She knew that. And apparently her subconscious led her to the cafe. But what she didn't expect was Carmilla having the defense of an extremely well-trained fortress. The blonde was completely rejected. There were no crevices to slip through; no cracked barriers to breakdown. She had run full force into battle, and lost.

The soldier didn't even fully understand what she was charging into battle for. The brunette annoyed her. That was the only conclusion she could come up with, which she knew was obnoxious. The amount of times Carmilla Karnstein had annoyed her throughout her life was beyond measurable. So why did she decide to pick a fight with her? Their relationship was built on testing the other's limits. They drove the other crazy, but it was never drastic. It never made Laura want to run across town and explode on the brunette before.

And yet, Carmilla didn't ask her to leave. She didn't turn her away. She listened, and spoke more than Laura expected. And even when she did decide to walk away, she seemed too concerned about preventing Laura from freezing to death.

Honestly, the soldier didn't know what she wanted. She was so incredibly drawn to the girl from her past, but was that entirely fair? The blonde was a mess. Her body and mind were in shambles. And here was the woman she left behind, who haunted her thoughts for years, and Laura wanted nothing more than to lose herself in her. Carmilla was an igloo with that surprising warmth inside. No one expected it, and Laura was more than fine with that. She wanted that private comfort all to herself.

But Carmilla wasn't just Carmilla anymore. She had her own life. Laura couldn't blame her for that. The soldier never intended on returning in the first place. But now that she did, seeing that the brunette had moved on in full force stung. It was a selfish thought to think anyone would revolve around her, but that's what Laura imagined when she left. To even consider Carmilla having a complete life of her own wasn't in her abilities. 

Laura had been lost in thought in the kitchen and didn't notice the microwave continuing to beep from the finished oatmeal. With the relentless beeping, the blonde felt a dark wave crash over her.

The screen beeped rapidly as she pulled against the restraints with all her might. A scream escaped her mouth as she watched the troops' location get taken over by multiple explosions. Tears built behind her eyes as she continued to stare at the screen. Her comrades were gone. 

"The location?" one of the captors said as shock ran through her body. He gave a nod to another man beside him, who landed a swift, hard punch into Laura's gut. She gasped for air with her body hung forward as much as the restraints would let her.

"Tell me," the soldier in charge spoke again.

"Fuck. You," she spat out with venom.

The leader didn't flinch. Instead, he nodded to both the man who punched her and the woman standing back toward the screen where Laura's squad members laid dead and burning. The man walked around Laura, wrapping his strong arm around her neck and restraining her firmly so she was unable to budge in the slightest. The woman approached with a long combat knife. The blonde's eyes widened at the sight as she tried to shake out of the man's grasp.

The woman placed the knife between her teeth before reaching out her hands and ripping open Laura's uniform jacket. Her tank top was revealed underneath. Her skin soaked with sweat dripping down her cleavage. Then, the woman removed the knife from her clenched teeth and lightly slid the blade along the bare skin on Laura's chest. She traced the outline of her tank top with the sharp metal slowly pressing harder into her flesh.

"Location?" the leader questioned again.

Laura continued to try and break free until finally the knife broke through skin, allowing warm blood to spill from the wound. A muffled cry escaped the blonde's mouth as the woman slowly, but forcefully pulled the blade across her chest toward her left shoulder.

The blonde hissed and slammed her eyes shut to try and compose herself. But a moment later, her eyes shot open. The woman was shoving salt into her open cut. Pushing and smearing as if marinating it.

"Fuck!"

"I don't have much patience," the leader said with a sigh.

Laura refused to look at him. She was trying to control her breathing. This pain was maintainable. She was fine. She was going to be fine.

"Tell me or I'm shooting your comrade in the head." Laura's head shot up to lock eyes with the man. Disgust ran through her. He looked bored; like nothing in this room was affecting him. "3... 2..." The gun fired.

"No!"

"Laura!" a voice broke through her thoughts. Laura slowly blinked watery eyes as they began to focus on her surroundings. She was on her knees, her hands resting against the kitchen cabinets in front of her as she leaned onto them. A hand rested firmly on her shoulder, and once she registered the foreign contact, Laura flung herself away from the person. She was now sitting back on the floor with her legs sprawled out in front of her and her palms face down on the tiles beneath her. Her frightened honey eyes searched the stranger as her heart sped up dramatically.

"Laura," her voice was soft and careful as she remained on one knee. "It's me," she began. "Carm."

The blonde's eyes ran all over the brunette. She didn't know where she was and wasn't getting answers fast enough to calm her down.

"Everything's okay," Carmilla urged without moving. "I heard the microwave beeping out of control and I came in after I started hearing banging. You were punching the cabinet."

Laura looked down to see bloody knuckles on her hand.

"You're safe. You're home and safe."

Laura felt a wave of emotion rise to her chest. A sob broke lose causing her to sit up straight and bury her face into her hands; leaning over her crossed legs. The blonde her the scuffing of boots and jerked her head up instantly.

"Don't!" she yelled with a cracked voice. She watched Carmilla freeze mid-step. "Just... stay there," she begged before burying her face into her hands again. The brunette didn't move an inch. After a few minutes, Laura's breathing began to even out. When she lifted her head, she saw Carmilla staring down at her with those dark piercing eyes. Her coat was no longer on.

"Are you okay?" Carmilla asked softly.

Laura scoffed as she pushed herself off of the floor and moved toward the kitchen sink. Carmilla watched as she started to run her knuckles under the faucet. "Why are you here?" the blonde's voice came out harshly.

"We didn't end things well the other night."

"We've never ended things well," Laura replied with the same harshness.

"So maybe its time for a change of pace," Carmilla suggested simply.

Laura turned to look at her in disbelief. She then reached up into a cabinet and pulled out a box of band-aids. "Why are you here, Carmilla?" she asked again with her eyes meeting hers intensely. "We got into how many fights when we were kids? And you never once came to me first."

"We're not kids anymore," Carmilla answered without hesitation.

The blonde managed to awkwardly put on two bandages before sighing and looking back at the brunette. "Then what are we then?"

"Different."

Laura felt her chest cave in. Her stubbornness and defense system were faulting. She let out a disgusted chuckle as she gestured toward her newly hurt hand. "Clearly." Laura frowned as she stared down at the floor. Blood from her knuckles had smeared on to the tiles. The cabinet held red remnants as well. "You didn't have to come running in," she commented without removing her eyes from her bloodstains. 

"Seriously? I heard some suspicious noises from outside and knew you were the only one in here. I saw your dad driving into town."

"Still."

"I wasn't going to ignore it."

Laura's eyes raised to meet burning eyes. "I could have hurt you."

Carmilla stared back without reacting. She continued to search honey eyes. "Well I'm fine." She gave Laura a once over. "And you're fine... For the most part."

The soldier let out a sigh and shook her head as she began to clean up her mess. Carmilla kept her distance, but waited silently. When Laura finished, she peeked up at the brunette who was staring holes into her. "I'm not talking about it."

"I wasn't gonna ask," Carmilla answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Where's Livie," Laura asked with a sniff.

"Laf and Perry are watching her." The blonde nodded slowly.

"Can we talk about the other night though?" Carmilla finally asked hesitantly.

The soldier felt the weight of her body pulling her down even more. She almost groaned. "What's the point?"

"The point," the brunette began with a bite, "is that I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I feel like one thing led to another and everything just went crazy." Laura didn't reply, so Carmilla continued. "What do you want from me?" she asked exasperated. Laura wanted something. She wouldn't have run into town the other night to blow up on her, otherwise.

The soldier shrugged. "What do you want from me?" Carmilla wouldn't be there now if she didn't want something.

The brunette stared curiously at the blonde before smirking. "Dinner."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." Carmilla nodded toward the microwave. "You clearly haven't eaten. And I'm starving."

"Carm-"

"Cupcake," she interrupted with a pointed look. "You know how grumpy I get when I'm hungry."

Laura rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "When are you never grumpy?"

"When I'm around gorgeous women," she smirked brilliantly. The soldier scoffed.

"Then how come you were always so broody around me?"

The brunette raised a brow. "Did I not say gorgeous women?"

Laura grabbed a dishtowel nearby and chucked it at the cafe owner, who was laughing in response. The blonde pouted.

Carmilla took out her phone and rolled her eyes despite the smile on her face. "Oh, stop. Like you've ever been anything but beautiful," she said as she dialed a number. Laura's eyes widened as she watched the brunette get lost in the phone call.

"Hey, Elsie. Yeah, delivery. A large extra cheese pizza? Bottle of Coke, and two of those huge chocolate chip cookies." There was a pause. "No, actually, the Hollis residence." Another pause. "Shut up and make my food," Carmilla said as she hung up bitterly.

"What was that?"

The brunette smirked. "Dinner, obviously."

Laura let out a heavy sigh. "You are such a pain."

"Oh, so you can sit and have a lovely meal with my daughter, but eating with me is like torture?"

Torture. The soldier flinched at the word. Carmilla immediately sensed the change of mood. She watched as the blonde slammed her eyes shut and clenched her fists tightly by her sides. The band-aids had popped off slightly and blood was slipping down her skin and onto her pants. 

"Laura," Carmilla said gently. Laura's eyes snapped open and met her dark concerned gaze.

"You keep calling me 'Laura'," she stated weakly. Her shoulders lacked the tension from moments ago.

"Well, it is your name, isn't it?" the brunette jested. "Besides, I recall you disliking my many nicknames for you."

Laura frowned slightly before bowing her head toward the floor. "I don't want you to treat me differently. Everybody else already does that," she replied so weakly that Carmilla felt a sharp tug in her chest. 

The soldier looked and sounded so frail. Carmilla instinctively wanted to lunge forward and scoop her up into her arms. It was a natural feeling to her now. It reminded her of whenever Livie awoke terrified from a nightmare. She would pull the little girl into a tight embrace. She would hold her; protecting her from the fantasy.

But Carmilla didn't let herself wrap her arms around Laura. Aside from it being out of character, she wasn't sure Laura would feel comfortable with any contact at the moment. So instead, she slowly stepped forward and lifted the soldier's injured hand into her own. The blonde raised her head to look at the new mess on her hand and frowned. Silently, Carmilla gently pulled her toward the sink again to rinse off the blood yet again. They stood without ushering a word as the brunette reached up into the cabinet she saw Laura go into earlier and pull out the bandages.

Laura watched the woman in front of her intensely; her eyes never leaving her face. The brunette was too preoccupied in redressing the wounds to notice. 

Then, Carmilla let out a chuckle. "You were always capable of doing the most complicated things, but when it came to something as simple as putting on band-aids, you failed miserably."

The blonde frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you could cook up a five course meal; no sweat. But you would burn pre-made cookie dough."

"Okay, I don't understand how anyone can make those stupid things! It makes no sense!"

"I don't understand how anyone could mess it up. You literally cut it up, put it on a tray, and wait for the timer to go off." Carmilla shook her head with a smile before finally finishing with the bandages. "My six year old can make them." Her eyes looked up to meet honey ones. Her smile widened when she saw the blonde pouting. Then, she nodded her head down to her clothes. "You might want to go change. You've got some blood on you."

The soldier looked down at herself. "Oh, yeah." She started to step away before pausing and turning back slightly. "Um, thanks," she said awkwardly before darting toward her room.

Carmilla smirked at the retreating form of the soldier before shaking her head. She stepped toward the microwave and opened it up to see the dinner that was no doubt ruined. The brunette grimaced at the sight of the lumpy, poor excuse of oatmeal. Regardless of the flashback, she doubted Laura made it edible to begin with. She chuckled to herself. Couldn't even make a bowl of oatmeal from a packet.

"Shit!"

The cafe owner's head shot up in the direction of the shout before immediately running to Laura's room. She froze in the doorway with wide eyes. "Are you okay?"

Laura looked up in alarm before huffing. Her gaze went back to the floor where she was kneeling. "Yeah, I just knocked over a folder and everything just went...everywhere."

Carmilla let out a relieved breath. Papers were scattered all over the floor, and the brunette moved closer to kneel down and help the blonde clean up. When she began to pick up the pieces of paper, she paused. "Did you-" she let her eyes wander over another paper in front of her. "Did you draw all of these?" Her dark eyes moved to lock on to Laura's. The blonde's body suddenly stiffened.

"Um, yeah," she answered with her head ducked down in an attempt to avoid Carmilla's stare.

The brunette let her eyes fall back to the sketches. "These are amazing." Laura didn't respond, but continued to pick up more drawings and put them in her folder. "Why would you think I would ever make fun of you for this?" Her eyes burned into Laura who was still trying to avoid her gaze. The blonde simply shrugged.

Carmilla frowned. "Show me more."

"What?" the blonde asked in shock as she finally looked at the brunette again.

"Show me more," she repeated.

"I- These are old- They aren't-" Laura tried to communicate, but was too busy trying to put away the sketches faster.

"I swear to God, if you don't stop putting them away, I will grab them and make a run for it."

Laura glared. "As if you could ever outrun me. I always caught up and tackled you."

Carmilla smirked. "I know. It was the easiest way to get you on top of me," she finished with a wink. The blonde rolled her eyes as she tried to suppress a smile. Then, Carmilla tilted her head to the side, giving her a gentle smile. "Come on. Show me."

Laura let out a heavy sigh. "Fine," she gave in, letting the folder drop to the floor between them. She watched quietly as Carmilla began to pull the sketches out one by one.

The brunette let her eyes scan across each drawing in detail. Each mark made by the graphite on the faded white paper looked as if it were strategically placed. It wasn't simple. It wasn't lazy. It was raw. It spoke more than the actual image it created. She took in each sketch. Her eyes danced across the portrait of a younger Laf, who stood within the old market attending to a fruit stand. There was another of an old woman sitting on a bench in town with her cane resting on her lap. There was one of Kirsch's dog sleeping in its bed. Each picture was captured beautifully. There was a depth that made Carmilla feel the frustration Laf was having with the toppling fruit; she felt the longing in the old woman's sad eyes, and imagined the peaceful, carefree dreams of the puppy.

She picked up another, seeing an empty swing set with puddles beneath each seat. It was dreary. Lonely. Leaves were scattered upon the ground. Carmilla recognized the elementary school swings. She had been on them a number of times when she was younger. They were replaced with newer ones a few years ago though.

Then, she picked up another and felt her heart pound harder in her chest. She hesitated before letting her fingers delicately run across the surface of the drawing. Carmilla stared down at her younger self. Her guitar resting on her knee, her hand in mid-strum. Her eyes were cast down toward the instrument as she sat on the brick garden wall still located in the middle of town.

Staring at the portrait, Carmilla felt the depth like the previous sketches. But it was a depth so much more prominent than the others. There was so much more detail. Each curl of her hair seemed accounted for. Her bangs hung messily in front of one eye. The sharpness of her jaw was exquisitely defined. Her tight jeans only creased around the knees. Her black nail polish was chipped on most fingers. Her lips were parted slightly, assuming she was singing quietly to herself. There was a desire to know more. She felt the pull of the drawing. And the longer she stared, the stronger the pull. But this depth didn't feel like it was coming from the teenage version of Carmilla. It felt like it was coming from the artist; from Laura.

Dark eyes left the sketch to meet powerful honey eyes. "Why would you hide these?" Carmilla asked softly in disbelief. "They're beautiful."

Laura shrugged yet again. "Its nice to keep some things for yourself."

Carmilla looked down at the portrait of herself again. She then smirked. "I look amazing."

The blonde scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Obviously I was having an off day then."

That only made Carmilla grin more. "Or maybe you just find me irresistible."

Laura furrowed her brows. "How does that make any sense?"

"You draw what you see, cupcake," Carmilla said with her signature smirk.

"Then apparently I was blind that day."

"Ouch." The doorbell rang. Carmilla pulled herself up from the floor after placing the sketches back into the folder. "I'm assuming that's our five star meal. Try not to drool at the view of me leaving, Cap," she said with a wink, earning her a glare.

Laura mentally slapped herself though. Her eyes instinctively watched the brunette's hips sway out of the room. She followed her out moments later and found her settling their food down in the living room. She flung her body down on the couch next to her.

"How much do I owe you?"

Carmilla raised a brow at her after pouring them drinks. "Why are you constantly trying to throw money at me?"

"Carm. How much do I owe you?"

"Just take this as my way of apologizing for the other night," she said before opening the pizza box to grab a slice.

"Then how the hell am I supposed to apologize for it?" Laura frowned in annoyance.

Carmilla took a bite, but smirked at the blonde. She swallowed the pizza in her mouth. "I can think of a few acceptable ways," she drawled in that husky tone that always made the blonde lightheaded. Laura's eyes widened; her cheeks turning red, which elicited a laugh from the brunette. 

"And you're supposed to be a mother," the soldier mumbled in disbelief as she reached for a slice.

The brunette laughed again. "I'm still a woman, cutie."

"Yeah. With the hormones of a teenager."

She smirked. "Only with the right company." A shiver ran up Laura's spine. She cleared her throat in an attempt to control her body's reaction.

"So, um, Livie. She's great," the blonde tried to change subjects as she tucked some hair behind her ear.

Carmilla's smile widened incredibly. She saw the discomfort in Laura's posture. There was a deep satisfaction in seeing how easily she could affect the soldier. "Yeah, she is great," she agreed in amusement.

"Everyone seems to adore her. But I mean, she is adorable, so..."

Carmilla let out a sigh. "Yeah. She's gonna end up breaking a lot of hearts."

Laura chuckled. "Like mother, like daughter."

"Hey. The Karnstein charm can be a curse sometimes."

Laura rolled her eyes despite smiling. "I'm sure its life threatening."

"It is! I've ruined a lot of lives with my rejections!"

Laura shook her head as she chuckled. "You're still so full of yourself." She then picked up the television remote. "As much as I enjoy talking about your romantic wiles, let's put a movie on."

"Ooo... Dinner and a movie? You better not try to get handsy with me, Captain Hollis," Carmilla teased with a glint in her dark, mischievous eyes.

"And risk the curse of the Karnstein charm? No, thank you," Laura said in amusement as she settled on a movie and hit play.

"Aw, cupcake!" She leaned closer to Laura's ear as the blonde stared at the screen. "I could never reject you."

The soldier felt her warm breath hit her skin and decided that, yes, her charm is very much life threatening. Her heart just might explode. She forced a swallow. "Of course you couldn't. I'm way out of your league. You'd be an idiot to pass this up."

She chuckled as she leaned back into the couch. "An idiot, indeed." 

Laura ignored her comment and focused on the screen. They sat in comfortable silence as they watched the movie, but at some point, Laura had fallen asleep.

Carmilla smiled at the sight of the sleeping blonde breathing through slightly parted lips. She decided to let her sleep as she brought her eyes back to the screen. But a few minutes later, she felt Laura shift. She was now curled up into Carmilla's side, making the brunette's heart race. She stared down at her in a trance.

So much time had gone by, but this felt so normal. It felt like just another day. Laura was in her life again like she never left. The stiff, strong soldier that came back was now the tiny, endearing woman snuggling up to her. The brunette gently wrapped an arm around her before smiling back up at the movie. Forty minutes later, the credits started rolling. Carmilla looked at the time and let out a sigh. She should get going. She needed to pick up Livie and get her to bed. Looking back down at the sleeping woman in her embrace, a sad smile spread on her lips.

"Hey, cupcake," she said sweetly as she shook her. "Time to get up." The blonde groaned cutely before letting her eyes flutter open.

She looked up into Carmilla's eyes blankly before feeling the warmth of their bodies together. "I fell asleep," she pointed out. Carmilla smirked. 

"Yep. Spectacular company, you are." Laura poked her in the side before leaning away; missing the warmth instantly. She stretched her back with her arms raised in the air as a yawn took over. The brunette began to stand up. "Gotta head home and get the kid to bed," she explained simply.

Laura nodded slowly as she rose to her feet and followed Carmilla to the door.

"So," Carmilla began hesitantly as she spun around to face the blonde. "I was wondering what you had planned for Thursday."

Laura raised a brow. Thursday was Christmas Eve. It was a day she planned on trying to ignore like every other year. She planned on isolating herself with a bottle of whiskey. "Probably going to the bar."

"With your dad?" she asked with caring eyes as she grabbed her coat and slipped it on.

"Planning on going to the one he isn't going to." Every year, her father got obliterated. It was understandable. That's what she did. It was the only way they knew how to deal with it. Laura normally didn't like to be somewhere so public, but staying in the house where it all happened was out of the question.

"You know," Carmilla began as she started rubbing the back of her neck. "You could always come over to our place. We make an unhealthy amount of cookies and Livie makes me dance and sing Christmas songs with her. We even wear gross Christmas sweaters." Laura's eyes had grown wide. Seeing this, Carmilla began to backtrack; stuffing her hands into her coat pockets. "I mean, its not a big deal. I get it if you don't want to. I just thought I'd throw it out there-"

"I'll think about it," Laura interrupted with a kind smile. The Karnstein charm was deadly, she admitted that. But it was moments like this when Carmilla was cute and vulnerable that always filled her stomach with butterflies.

Carmilla smiled in return with a single nod. "Okay."

"Tonight was nice," the blonde added as she tucked hair behind her ear.

The brunette smirked. "Yeah. It was." She then turned and opened the front door before taking a step through it. Turning back slightly to stare at the blonde, she gave a soft smile. "Thanks."

Laura chuckled as a shiver ran through her from the open door. "For what? You did everything. I should be thanking you."

"For finally letting me see your sketches." Her dark eyes burned through the blonde. Another shiver ran up her spine, but it wasn't weather induced. She smiled back at the brunette.

"Maybe you can play me a song sometime."

She smirked. "You got it, cupcake." She then waved before making her exit. Laura watched her leave with a sigh. Her breath was seen in the cold air. She shivered again before closing the door. Then, she walked back into the living room and fell back onto the couch.

Christmas Eve was in two days. It had been approaching quickly. The decorations in town were becoming more apparent. The songs were blasting on every radio station. Holiday movies took over the television. And every bit of it reminded her of her mother.