Grayson Pierce and Eloise Caldwell novel Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Haunted Dreams

The next day, the rain had stopped and the sky was clear. It was Saturday, so Eloise didn’t have work. She got up in the morning and prepared a hearty breakfast.

After breakfast, Juliette offered to drive Eloise and Noah back to their new place, but Eloise stopped her. “You have such dark circles. Go back to bed and catch up on sleep. We’ll take a taxi,” she said. Juliette didn’t push it.

Eloise and Noah returned to the rented flat to find the balcony flooded. She’d forgotten to close the window the day before, and the heavy rain and strong wind had blown water and mud inside. The clean laundry was dirty again.

Eloise started cleaning up. Noah ran over to her. “Mommy, I’ll help you.”

Eloise smiled, her expression softening. “Alright, you can help me mop the floor.”

“Okay. I love mopping,” Noah said happily.

As Eloise watched Noah huffing and puffing as he worked, the tightness in Eloise’s chest eased a little.

Noah had been thoughtful since he was small, always offering to help with chores. When she was working, he was extra good, never causing trouble or disturbing her.

Because no one was free to look after Noah, Eloise had sent him to daycare center when he was not even two.

At first, she’d been afraid he wouldn’t get used to it, that he’d be picked on, or that the teachers wouldn’t take good care of him. She’d been worried sick for weeks.

Later, the teachers told her Noah was an absolute sweetheart. He was polite, well-behaved, and no trouble at all. They all adored him, and he adjusted perfectly. Only then did she finally relax.

Eloise and Noah worked for a while, and the balcony was finally spotless. Eloise washed all the clothes again by hand. She didn’t dare use the washing machine in the apartment yet since it hadn’t been cleaned.

She had bought a new washing machine, but it hadn’t been delivered yet. Once it was installed, she could finally do her laundry properly.

When Eloise finished the laundry, it was nearly noon. She took Noah downstairs to buy groceries. There was a small grocery store nearby, which made things very convenient.

After she bought what they needed, she headed back to make lunch. This was the life of a single mother. She just had endless chores to do.

After lunch, Eloise finally sat down for a moment’s rest. She opened her laptop and began to work. Noah was reading a book. They each minded their own business, not disturbing one another.

Noah knew enough words to read on his own, but he still insisted she read him a picture book every night before bed.

Eloise had only been working for a short while when a message came from the preschool teacher, telling her Noah could start on Monday.

Eloise was overjoyed and shared the good news with Noah at once. But Noah’s face fell.

Eloise frowned. “You don’t want to go to preschool?” she asked.

Noah shook his head. “No. It’s boring.” He thought the teachers were boring, the other kids were boring, and the games were boring.

Eloise knew her son was more mature than other children at his age. But she wanted him to have a normal, happy childhood, and preschool would teach him how to play with others.

“Noah…” Eloise started to reason with him.

“Mommy, I get it. I’ll go,” Noah said, cutting her off. If going to school made her life easier and happier, then he would go. But he was perfectly fine staying home by himself.

Eloise just never seemed to trust him enough to let him. For example, these past few days he had wanted to stay home alone, but Eloise had insisted on sending him to Juliette’s place.

Eloise ruffled his soft hair. “How about I take you to the amusement park tomorrow?” She knew all the other kids loved that. She was usually too busy with work to take him there, but tomorrow was Sunday, and she was free.

Noah shook his head. “Not the amusement park. Take me to the museum instead.”

Eloise was taken aback. ‘He’s only four. How can he not like the things other kids love? A museum? Won’t he find that boring? Well, if that’s what he wants, I’ll take him.’

To Eloise’s surprise, Noah enjoyed the museum. At first, he asked her to explain the exhibits. Later, he decided her explanations weren’t good enough, so he made her download a museum guide app.

He wandered around, listening to the app the whole time, while Eloise followed him around with nothing to do.

*****

At a red light, Grayson pulled the car to a stop. The moment he glanced up, he thought he saw Eloise holding a child’s hand. But when he tried to get a better look, they were gone.

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