Trouble Strikes

Avery Miller woke up the next morning to the soft, muted light filtering through the drawn, pale curtains. 

Despite the barriers, the sunlight managed to seep in. She looked up at the ornate, lofty ceiling adorned with intricate white moldings, her body slightly shifting, a whimper escaping her nose. 

Her eyes were swollen, severely so, and there was a lingering sting of pain on her left cheek.

Her gaze was empty as she remembered the events of the previous day, her already subdued mood plummeting back into sorrow, tears welling up again in her swollen eyes. 

Ethan Montgomery was nowhere to be seen in the room, which felt all the more empty with just the hum of the air conditioner set to a comfortable temperature, yet her limbs felt icy cold.