Bearclaw Valley here without you

A warm feeling flooded through the young girl’s stomach and managed to reach her limbs. No matter what she felt for the loss of Lucas, she could always count on the sweetness of her mother’s voice to bring her back to reality. She lingered against the cold touch of Laurel’s nose against her cheek and breathed outward, trying to release the pent-up emotions that bubbled and threatened to spill.

There was a part of the young girl that was grateful her mother never asked her if she was okay. It was the part of her that wanted to drive down all of the negative emotions and pretend they didn’t exist. There was another part of her that wanted to scream how she felt from the highest peak she could find. The world deserved to know just what was happening beneath the surface of the firebrand’s flesh. Most days, Piper teetered between the two; one misstep from going over the edge.

The question that was asked had sparked a familiar glint in her eyes. She looked from the water to her mother and nodded softly. “I’ve been collecting some of the nicest ones for when Lucas comes back,” she remarked in an offhand sort of way. Once she’d said it, she felt a wave of regret wash over her and she stiffened her frame. It wasn’t something that she wanted to remind her mom about.

It was still something that they were all thinking.