Write as much as you can in fifteen minutes using two words given to you. Words may be reused, but the writing/story will always be different.

*IMPORTANT NOTE: Some of my writing may be more appropriate for mature audiences than for younger audiences or children. Please read with caution.**

Writing Prompt: Rose and Attic

Emily let out a sigh of relief as she pulled into her driveway. It had been a long way. If she was being honest with herself, she had had many long days since the beginning of the month. This was not the way she thought she would be starting her year. She also didn’t think she’d start her year coming home to a rose on the counter with a note. 

Dear Emily:

I’m sorry it’s come down to this, but I just can’t stay anymore. I’m tired of the only reason you’re with me is because it feels safe. You may not want to confront who you really are, but I’m done pretending I mean more to you than I do. You’re one of the sweetest people I know. I know you care about me, but it’s not in the way I deserve to be cared for by somebody I’m in a committed relationship with. You really need to learn how to be okay with who you are. If you don’t, nobody will ever get to see you shine. I will always be your friend.

Love,

Todd

She’d read the letter dozens of times since she found it. In her heart, she knew he was right. She hadn’t really felt the spark with the two of them for a very long time. She cared about him, but she definitely wasn’t in love with him. Maybe she never was. Either way, it still stung that after ten years he couldn’t even bother telling her to her face. That’s one of the biggest reasons she didn’t feel ready to reach out to him yet. 

She had had her stuff packed up and was moved into her grandmother’s house before he even returned home that night. She just couldn’t face him. She was ashamed. She hadn’t even shed a single tear since she read the note. She felt frustrated that they couldn’t talk about it like adults, but she felt no sadness that they were breaking up like she felt she should. 

She even felt relieved that she had somewhere to go. Her grandmother had passed away a month ago and left the house to her. She hadn’t had a chance to decide what to do with it. She was thankful for that now. At least she had somewhere to go. She didn’t have to worry about him coming home and asking her to be the one to leave.

Pulling herself from her thoughts, she quickly set her things down on the counter and sat down. She took a long sip of her drink and laid her head down for a few minutes. She wasn’t tired. She was just very overwhelmed. Too much was happening all at once and she just wanted to be in the moment for a little while and just not think about it all. 

After a few moments, she got up to heat up some food. She was so glad she had leftovers from her dinner from the night before. She couldn’t cook right now if her life depended on it. As she ate, she planned out some things to do around the house. She needed to finish unpacking and cleaning up all the rooms. She had the next five days off and she planned to use them to the fullest. 

She found it odd that her grandmother had left the house to her. She was never allowed to set foot in the house growing up. Her grandmother would always come over to their house when she wanted to visit. She and Emily’s mom seemed adamant that the house just wasn’t suitable for children. At the time, she never really questioned it. She accepted it as it was. As she got older, she started to question it, but she was quickly shut down so she let it go. She never really thought about it again until she learned she had inherited the house. 

She decided to make a list of everything that needed to be done around the house. She planned to organize it by room and break it down into the five days she had off. She wanted to spend her mornings cleaning and her evenings writing or reading. That way she felt balanced. She spent several hours finishing the schedule to her liking before she finally went to bed bleary eyed and exhausted. 

The next day she woke up feeling very well rested. She had decided to sleep in. It was a luxury that she never really allowed herself before. She even cooked herself some eggs in bell peppers and had a few pieces of turkey sausage to go with it. She allowed herself to read on her ereader while she was eating. She was feeling better than she had in a long time.

Once she had finished breakfast and cleaned her dishes, she made her way up to the attic. That is where she planned to start her cleaning and organizing. She also planned to see if she could find any clues of her grandmother’s life there as well. Everything that was in the house was also left to her. She was intimidated by it as much as she was excited.

She started to walk into the attic and look around when she felt a force around her body. She was suddenly picked up off the floor and moved back. The door was closed in a hurry and she was moved down the steps and into the living room and set down. She was still baffled when she heard her grandmother’s voice loud and clear in the room around her.

I’m sorry my pet. You’re not ready to go there yet. When it’s time, I’ll lead you in there myself. Please trust me. Everything will come to light in time. I love you sweet pea.

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