جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 180

DARIUSThe sparkling water tasted like disappointment, bubbles fizzing against my tongue without the burn I'd grown used to. I set the glass down and watched condensation drip onto the wooden counter, forming rings that overlapped like a chain I couldn't break.Around me, the bar pulsed with life. Laughter erupted from a booth in the corner. Someone clinked glasses nearby, the sound sharp and celebratory. Music thumped from hidden speakers, bass vibrating through my chest.It all felt too loud. Too bright. Too much.I pressed my palms against the cool counter and tried to breathe through the noise in my head.Weeks. I hadn't touched alcohol in weeks—couldn't risk becoming my father, couldn't risk another blackout like the one that led to Vivienne's supposed pregnancy. My stomach twisted. She had told me we spent the night together when I woke up the next day, she seemed rather happy and pleased with herself and then a few weeks later she insisted on going to the hospital for a check u

SERACathy's sobs gradually quieted into hiccups, then soft breathing. Her body went slack against Darius's shoulder, exhaustion finally dragging her under.Darius shifted carefully, testing her weight. "I should get her home.""The bed in Luna's room is big enough," I heard myself say. "She needs proper rest."Darius looked at me, the look in hus eyes shifting into something indecipherable.Then he nodded.Darius lifted is sister from the couch gently he makes his way to Luna's bedroom, me following behind him with the extra blankets. I pushed Luna's door for him, gently.Luna lay curled under her blankets, dark hair spread across her pillow. Her eyes cracked open when we entered, squinting against the light from the hallway."Aunt Cathy?" Her voice was thick with sleep."She's staying tonight, baby," I whispered. "Go back to sleep."We lowered Cathy onto the bed as gently as we could. She curled onto her side immediately, pulling her knees up. Luna watched for a moment, then shifte

SERA"You really don't need to stay." I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly cold despite the apartment's warmth. "Cathy will be fine. You should go home before Vivienne—""Stop...please, Sera." Darius's voice cut through mine like a blade.His expression shifted. Darkness spread across his features, pulling at the corners of his mouth, hollowing out his eyes. Devastation followed close behind, settling into the lines of his face like it belonged there.He moved to the couch and dropped onto it. Not sat—dropped. Like his legs had given out. His elbows landed on his knees and his head fell into his hands, fingers digging into his hair."You don't understand."My breath caught at the rawness in those three words."The illness was fake."Oh. I grabbed the back of the chair to steady myself, my fingers pressing hard into the fabric."What?" I blinked, the words not quite registering. Her illness? The one that brought her back into his life? Sure, I'd suspected it was all faked but,

DARIUSI'll leave after breakfast.At least that was what I told myself while scraping the last of the pancake batter into the pan. Just finish breakfast, make sure Cathy's settled, then head home to deal with Vivienne.Except breakfast turned into cleaning up the kitchen with Sera. Our hands kept finding each other in the soapy water, fingers tangling over plates and forks until my skin buzzed from contact I couldn't avoid.I'll leave after lunch.But lunch came and Cathy looked so small curled up on Sera's couch, wrapped in blankets despite the apartment being warm. She flinched at loud noises. Jumped when the cars passed by the neighborhood streets outside. I couldn't leave her like that.My phone buzzed for the fifteenth time. Vivienne's name lit up the screen. I hit ignore and shoved it back in my pocket.I'll leave after dinner.Sera ordered takeout—Thai food from the place Luna loved. We ate crowded around her small table for two, containers spread between us, and Luna talked

DARIUS "Daddy, you're doing it wrong!" Luna whined with a slight giggle. I looked down at the dragon I'd been drawing. It looked more like a deformed dog. "What's wrong with it?" Luna grabbed the crayon from my hand. "Dragons have scales. And bigger teeth. Like this." She scribbled over my attempt with the confidence of a six-year-old art critic. We were sprawled on Sera's living room floor, construction paper scattered everywhere. Day seven of living here. A week and I still hadn't gone home. "The knight has to fight this dragon," Luna announced. "And Aunt Cathy is the evil queen and Mommy is the princess." "Naturally." I watched Sera in the kitchen, humming while she chopped vegetables for dinner. Some old melody I didn't recognize but had heard every night this week. She'd been up since five-thirty this morning. I'd heard her moving around, the soft sounds of her bedroom door, then silence as she worked on music before Luna woke up. Same pattern every day. "Daddy, are you