Chapter 2

After the viewing ended, I carried Elsie's memorial portrait home.

When the elevator doors opened, there were several cardboard boxes piled outside my front door. Elsie's little dresses and picture books had all been carelessly stuffed inside. Half a sleeve of her favorite yellow raincoat hung out of one box, trailing on the floor and gathering dust.

I stood at the door for a long time without moving.

A child's laughter came from inside. "Mom, this room is so big! I want to sleep here!"

I pushed the door open. Noah was jumping on Elsie's little bed. Ariana sat on the edge of it, holding Elsie's hair clip and looking flustered.

The moment she saw me, she shot to her feet. "Laura, you're back."

Colin walked in from the balcony with a new set of keys in his hand. "Ariana and Noah are staying here for a few days. It's easier for his follow-up appointments at the hospital. Pack up Elsie's things for now."

I looked at him. "This is Elsie's room."

Colin set the keys down on the table. "She doesn't live here anymore."

He said it so casually, yet the words hit me like a blow.

Ariana lowered her head, her eyes turning red. "Maybe we should just go. I don't want to upset Laura."

Colin frowned. "You don't have to go."

He turned to me and lowered his voice. "Noah's eyes are in bad shape, and he can't handle anything upsetting. Keep the memorial photos and medical records away from him."

The portrait in my arms suddenly felt so heavy that I could barely hold it.

Noah jumped off the bed, slipped, and knocked over the picture frame on the nightstand. Glass shattered across the floor. It was the photo from Elsie's fourth birthday.

The photo slid to Noah's feet. He looked down at it and jumped back in fright, and the sole of his shoe landed right on Elsie's face.

Ariana let out a startled cry. "Noah!"

She rushed over and pulled her son into her arms.

Colin hurried over too, but his first instinct was to crouch down and check Noah's feet. "Did you cut yourself?"

I knelt on the floor to pick up the photo. A shard of glass sliced my fingertip, and blood dripped beside Elsie's smiling face.

Only then did Colin glance at me. "Don't get blood all over the floor. You'll scare Noah."

I looked up at him. "She's your daughter."

Colin's expression darkened.

I wiped the photo clean bit by bit, but the shoe print would not come off no matter how hard I scrubbed.

Noah hid in Ariana's arms and mumbled, "I don't want to sleep in a dead person's bed."

Ariana immediately covered his mouth. "He's just a kid. He doesn't know what he's saying, Laura. Please don't take it to heart."

I stood up and took the teddy bear from the bed. It was old, and one of its ears was torn. Elsie had carried it everywhere for three years.

The bear had a record button on its belly. Back when Elsie could not write much yet, she would record the things she wanted to tell her dad. She said that way, even if he came home late, he could still hear her voice first. Colin had never pressed it once.

When Noah saw the bear, he reached out to snatch it. "Colin, I want to play with this."

I took a step back. "No."

Colin's patience finally ran out. "Laura, it's just an old toy."

"It's Elsie's."

"Elsie doesn't need it anymore."

I glared at him.

Ariana tugged lightly on Colin's sleeve. "Forget it. Noah doesn't want it."

Noah burst into tears at once. "I do want it! Colin said I get to live here too!"

Colin's expression shifted slightly.

I looked at him. "He gets to live here too?"

He avoided my gaze. "We bought this place after we got married. Half of it is mine anyway."

I laughed. This was the home Elsie had wanted to hold on to more than anything. Every time she was in the hospital, she drew this house. She drew her dad, her mom, and herself. She dreamed of getting better and coming home.

Now her body was barely cold, and Colin had already given her room to Noah.

I picked up the box from the floor.

Colin's voice turned cold. "Where are you going to throw your tantrum this time?"

I did not look back. "I'm taking Elsie with me."

That night, I sat on a bench in the apartment complex until dawn, holding Elsie's memorial portrait and a box of her belongings. The security guard handed me a cup of hot tea. "Go on home, miss. It's cold out here."

I looked up at the lit window on our floor. That light had never once stayed on for Elsie when she was gravely ill. Now, it burned all night long for Ariana and her son.