'You've changed, Raina.' He said, simply.
Raina thought of an answer.
'Well, sometimes life throws curveballs at you, and you have no choice but to adapt. Whether that's a war, losing people, or..both.' She said.
********
feelings never really go...
Everything was black, as a small ray of sunlight inched through an open crevice. It almost felt like a prison, without the iron bars. Then, like a movie screen, something flashed. Visions swam in and out of focus, a sea of khaki, an endless wave of iron and steel. Loud bursts, clanging, smoke filled the bloodshot skies. Yells of 'take cover!' and 'now! now! now!' permeated through the sounds of blasting. Then, came the sliver of a familiar face, so achingly familiar yet unknown, throwing himself on a fellow soldier, two women in the distance scream to move away, just as a long beep sound and a loud thump, as though someone fell was heard. Suddenly everything went black and still again. A girl walked forward, wreathed in shadow as she stared at three pictures on the wall.
Raina jolted awake with a loud gasp, eyes widened. She clutched her chest, as she tried to steady herself, even while the tears fell. She hoped she wasn't too loud, because it still looked like it was late at night, the sky was still pitch dark. She buried her head in her hands, and sobbed quietly, as she tried to get those images out of her mind. A chill breeze blew in through her window as she shivered. She wrapped her comforter tight around herself, as her figure heaved from fear. What was that? What the hell was that? She asked herself. The tears came again, as she sunk back onto the mattress and stared at the ceiling.
A knock came at the door, slightly startling Raina. She crawled out of the bed in her nightgown and went to the door.
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She unlocked it and the door swung open to reveal a sleepy Edmund, his hair going in all directions, his shirt half unbuttoned, and barefoot. Raina's eyes couldn't help but travel down to his unbuttoned shirt, as she gulped and felt her cheeks flush.
'Are you alright? I thought I heard you yell.' He said, sleepily. Raina couldn't help but blush at his state, as well as the fact that he came over to check on her.
'I'm alright, just a bad dream of sorts.' She said in a small voice, as she tried to expel the images she had in her mind. Edmund noticed her hesitation as he came closer and placed a hand on her cheek.
'What happened?' He asked, concerned.
Raina sighed. She wanted to tell him but it was just a dream and it was also late at night and she didn't want to disrupt his sleep. She dismissively shook her head and placed her hand on his.
'Ed, it's nothing. It's late, and tomorrow's probably going to be a long day. You should go to sleep.' She said, quietly. Edmund knew something was wrong, and he wasn't about to leave her alone.
'Fine. I'll go to sleep.' He said, as Raina nodded. 'But, I'm going to sleep here.' He said, as he walked straight into Raina's room and plopped himself on her bed. Raina's cheeks went red.
'EDMUND!' She whisper-yelled. 'You are not sleeping here. My bed, my rules.' She shrugged.
Edmund threw the most adorable puppy dog eye look her way, and even in the dark, he could tell Raina was blushing. Raina pursed her lips as her decision to tell him to not sleep in her room wavered. She walked over to him, and crossed her arms.
