“HAZEL!”
The twins didn’t wait for confirmation.
They were already halfway across the living room before she even stepped fully inside.
Hazel barely had time to brace herself before two little bodies collided into her at once.
“Hey! Hey! Easy!” she laughed, staggering backward under their combined weight. “Are you two trying to knock me over?”
“You are back!” Gabriel shouted into her shoulder.
“You actually came back!” Gaddiel added, as though there had been real doubt.
Hazel pulled back just enough to look at them properly. Her eyes softened instantly.
“It has been five days,” she said.
“Exactly!” Gabriel protested.
“That is almost a month,” Gaddiel added dramatically.
Hazel burst into laughter.
“Do you two even understand what weekly boarding school means yet?”
They both gro
