"Do you know if Cordelia is coming to the island?" Grayson asked Andrew, assuming he would know the whereabouts of the oldest Thorpe sister. Last he knew, Cordelia moved to London as well. But maybe he was wrong.
Andrew's brow puckered in confusion...
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Charlotte
Georgia's arms enveloped her with a fiercely sweet embrace before Charlotte even opened her eyes. "Sh, sh, it's okay. I'm right here."
She pried her heavy eyelids open, gasping for breath. Charlotte sensed a hoarseness in the back of her throat that she knew came from endless terrified screams. Her hands clawed at Georgia's arms, burrowing into her sister's chest. Breathing deeply to steady herself in the present, Charlotte pressed her ear to Georgia's chest, counting every one of her sister's heart beats.
"It's okay. Just a bad dream," Georgia whispered, soothing her by rocking back and forth and brushing her fingers through Charlotte's hair.
"I'm sorry," Charlotte panted. Tears bit at the back of her throat and pinched tightly behind her eyes. She suppressed the incessant urge to sob uncontrollably. "I'm sorry."
Georgia dropped her chin on top of her head. "Sh, no need to apologize. It's okay. Just a bad dream."
This was Georgia: the endlessly sympathetic older sister who offered her shoulder to cry on at any occasion without a moment's notice, the endearing human being with a deep reserve of heartfelt understanding, and the incredible woman who awoke in the middle of the night, dragged herself out of bed, and rocked Charlotte back to sleep when her dreams ransacked her at her most vulnerable hour. Charlotte adored every piece of Georgia's compassionate and gentle heart and protected her with a different kind of strength required to defend such a devoted and passionate person. In her arms, the world returned to normal - a normal that she never thought she would have to know but had become acquainted with over the past three years.
"I miss her, Georgia. I miss her so much," she cried, clenching her teeth to stave off the onslaught of tears that pulsed behind her eyes. She cried enough. No more.
Georgia's gentle fingers scratched along her scalp and disentangled her hair. Over and over, she pet her head, soothing her frayed nerves as the result of a nightmare. "I know, Lottie. I know. I miss her too. Every day, I think of her especially now that we are back on the island. I wonder what it would be like if she were here. Sometimes I look around the dinner table or the beach or even down the hallway and expect to see her there."
"She's not here," Charlotte whispered hoarsely. "She's nowhere."
Drawing back, Georgia swiped the soft pads of her thumbs under Charlotte's eyes and kissed her on the forehead. "She's still here. I know a place." Interlacing her fingers with Charlotte's, she dragged her out of bed. Charlotte tossed the white sheets aside and hurried after her sister, clenching her hand tightly with Georgia's.
In the middle of the night, Georgia and Charlotte padded silently down the hall, tiptoeing past closed bedroom doors that belonged to Andrew and Chastity. At the end of the hall, their parents bedroom door was also closed. The moonlight reflected through the expansive windows downstairs in the living room and illuminated the top of the verandah. The faint light cast their shadows along the walls. Without a single word passing between the two sisters, Charlotte knew exactly where Georgia was taking her.
