Diana sat on her windowsill, looking down on Crowhaven Road. The early morning sun warmed her skin, and caused her prisms to sparkle resplendently. It was a beautiful day, and sitting here like this was one of her favorite morning rituals. Sitting here usually made her feel calm and hopeful – but it wasn't working.
She felt fatigued, weak; she felt as though she had just woken up after a long illness. She attributed some of that feeling to the emotions of yesterday. Cassie and Adam's wedding had been beautiful, and she had cried as she would have at any wedding. She cried over their goodbyes as well, seeing her best friend and her former boyfriend off on their honeymoon. Cassie and Adam would spend the whole summer travelling the Mediterranean, and then settle back in at Number 12 before classes began at Salem State University.
Yet while Diana had had so much time to get used to the idea of Cassie and Adam as a unit – as Mr and Mrs Conant – she had not known that the reality of it would leave her feeling so empty. She felt as though whatever strength that had propelled her through the past year had suddenly vanished, and she was mourning the loss of her childhood sweetheart for the first time.
She heard the front door open and close, and the unmistakable sound of footsteps on the stairs. "Diana?" called Nick's voice, as he opened her bedroom door and peered inside.
"Good morning, Nick," she said, smiling, "What brings you here so early?"
"There's something I want to ask you." The expression on his handsome face was impassive, but there were dark circles beneath his rich mahogany eyes.
"Anything," she replied earnestly, patting the window seat next to her.
Nick made no move to join her. His brow furrowed slightly, and he looked away from her. His chest rose with an intake of deep breath, which he exhaled quickly. He lifted his gaze to hers once more, and said, "How do you do it? How can you be so accepting of all of this?" His face was no longer impassive, his expression now mixed with bewilderment and hurt.
Diana looked away from him, and turned her face to the window. "I don't do it, Nick. Not really. Not anymore." She could feel tears beginning to form. "I've done what is right, what had to be done, but…" Her voice faltered as a single tear streamed down her cheek.
In quick, easy strides, he was next to her. He stood over her, taking her hand in his. She looked up at him, and was surprised to see tears in his eyes as well. She reached out for his other hand, and gently pulled him to sit next to her on the window seat. She slid closer to him, and he draped one arm around her shoulders, and held her hand with his other. She leaned her head against his shoulder, and there they sat, just holding one another, for what seemed like hours.