A Pattern of Shadows

A part of her resented both her brothers for disappearing when she was only 13, causing her to grow up faster than any girl should. In many ways, however, she was still a little girl. She’d only just started dating when Ben was taken, and she’d put having any sort of a love life on hold indefinitely. Not only was she still a virgin, but she’d only once even kissed a boy. She was eighteen now, however, officially an adult, and she needed to put that resentment in the past. She needed to grow up and start making better decisions. She needed to think more with her head and less with her heart.