Page 22 of Catch Me When I Fall

There was nothing wrong with wanting to be the person I was meant to be.

The scary part was that I didn’t even know who that person was.

I’d lived my life for other people, forced to meet their standards, and now? I was free.

Shaking it off, I finished organizing my bathroom and went back downstairs to grab my backpack, unpacked the three outfits I had from St. Louis, re-folded them, and placed them in the top drawer of the dresser.

Staring at them, I muttered, “I need new clothes.”

A yawn overtook me then, reminding me that I needed sleep. Right then, the dryer dinged from downstairs, and I tilted my head back. “Thank God.”

With the last of my energy, I made the bed and headed for the shower.

It was the best shower I’d ever had, and the second I snuggled into my warm, fresh, clean sheets, I was out.

The nightmares didn’t come for me.

I counted that as a blessing.

Chapter 6

Carrie

Sarah beamed as the bell above me rang once as I entered Rossy’s.

She was standing behind the checkout counter, dressed in a navy wrap dress that made her look even more angelic than yesterday.

“Good morning,” she greeted, her voice like a song as I moved to the front of the counter.

It had been a good morning—the best morning I’d experienced in a very long time. Like always, I’d woken up with the sun, something I’d done since I was a teenager. However, this morning, I wasn’t bombarded with medications, a slimy breakfast, and two or three nurses telling me what to do or how to dress for the day.

No, instead, I woke up in my new bed, in my new room, in a house I could make my own. My sheets smelled of fresh flowers and lemon, the rays of the morning sun peeking through my windows.

I wasn’t handed a box of crayons and a blank piece of paper before being told to draw what I was feeling so some doctor who didn’t give two shits could analyze it. No, instead, I got out of bed with ease, stretched, washed my face, let down my curls, and headed downstairs to have a cup of coffee on the back deck. I listened to the town of Astoria come alive as the seagulls sang and the boats went out on the river for the day, the somewhat-quiet morning traffic in the background reminding me nothing of my old life. After half an hour on the deck, sipping on my coffee and soaking up all the warmth the sun was willing to give, I went inside and made a breakfast I actually wanted to eat.

Strawberry waffles.

Now, I was here, at Rossy’s Books, just like she asked.

“Good morning,” I said back, trying to match her cheery tone.

“How was your first night in the house?” she asked as she turned away from me to grab a small stack of children’s books.

I swallowed, gratitude overwhelming me once more. My words came out softly. “It was wonderful.”

She carefully put the books into a cloth bag, Rossy’s Books on it in wine-colored letters. The logo was precious. Instead of the “O” in Rossy, it was replaced with a steaming cup of coffee.

Sarah smiled at me. “Michael wanted to stop by and check on you last night, but I told him to let you have time to settle in,” she explained as she turned around to grab a second stack of books, repeating the bagging process.

As her words settled in the air between us, the smell of books and coffee lingering, I was grateful she kept Michael away—at least for now. I enjoyed last night, despite how tired I was. I may have been running on fumes, but I’d never had a chance to make a house a home before. When I married Robert, everything in the house was chosen by him. I didn’t have a say in anything.

What Sarah and Michael gave me was a gift.

A precious gift.

One I could never repay.

“Thank you for that,” I told her, watching her hands work. “And thank you again for…everything yesterday. I was fully prepared to spend a few nights in a hotel while I shopped around for a place to stay.”

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