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The morning after the call Jordan woke up.
She made herself breakfast in bed added salt and pepper to her eggs and used her toast to make a bacon sandwich. She squeezed an orange into a juice glass. She scraped the ashes out of the frying pan and washed the dishes in the sink. She folded the towels and swept the floors.
"I don't have a very good feeling about this."
The morning after the call she fell in love. Not with the boy next door or the girl that smiled at her as she walked by. Not with the man who always jogged by the house with his dog and waved at her through the window or the woman across the road planting flowers. She fell in love with Shirley and the way she fought to host the funeral. She fell in love with Theo as she hid her emotions and pretended she was fine. With the world that carried on existing as if nothing had occurred and no one had been lost.
Nellie cried silently to herself as she nuzzled into Jordan shoulder, the older girl rubbing her back in the hope of providing a small piece of comfort to her little sister. Shirley's sobs echoed through the hall, drowning out the sounds of Luke's quiet sniffles. Theo and Steve both sat in silent mourning, regretting the time they spent belittling their sister and vowing to do better this time around.
The morning after the call she took a walk. She watched the way the river ran and branches danced. She saw her neighbours smiles falter when they saw the emptiness in her eyes and lack of her symbolic smile. She stood by when the children's laughter traveled from the park to her ears and she closed her eyes as the sound of Nell's laughter echoed in her skull.
The Mikaelsons stared at their youngest member with sympathy. They knew all too well what it felt like to lose a sibling and wouldn't wish that tragedy on anyone, especially not on the girl they had lost so much time with.
The morning after the call she dampened the photo albums with tears and examined the childlike innocence each picture held. She picked at her nails and reminisced tea parties and watched the worry in her sisters' eyes as they glanced at her. She saw them bring her tea and heard them call in sick for her at work.
The morning after the call she watched the sun come up. The skyline sparkled and the elderly couple held hands as they pointed out clouds to each other.
The morning after the call she made one last phone call. She sighed as it went to voicemail and smiled at the voice on the other end. "Hey it's Nellie, sorry I can't take your call try again later!" She told her about the sunsets and the beach and adventures she wished they'd had. She told her about her family and tea parties and photo albums.
