Page 18 of Sorrow & Strangers

I shrug, pushing food around my plate. “I’ve not been to class in over two weeks.”

“Oh,” Zane says, and then there is that heavy silence again. Would a lie have prevented it?

“We’re so glad you’re here, Summer,” Farrah says, and I look at her. She appears more alive now with her flushed cheeks and that sparkle in her eyes.

Uriel pulls her closer. “We are a family surviving.” Farrah looks at him affectionately. “Struggling, but together.”

I squeeze Rafe’s hand, and for the first time since the meal started, he speaks to the entire table, not only me. “Telling grief to piss off.”

“Cheers to that,” Zane says, and Farrah doesn’t even admonish Rafe. She just presses her forehead to Uriel’s and leans into him, settling into a newly unfamiliar ease.

“I love you,” Uriel whispers.

Farrah whimpers softly. “I love you.”

Another tear slides down my cheek as Uriel kisses Farrah again, and this time, she deepens it a little, pulling a smile from Uriel.

He pulls back. “I’m sorry.”

Farrah cups his cheek and shakes her head. “You have nothing to be sorry for, my love.”

“I do,” Uriel whispers. “I left you alone in your grief.”

She brushes her thumb along his cheek. “We were both lost to it.”

“We will find our way back to each other.”

“Oh, we never left.”

And just like that, I see Uriel and Farrah begin to mend. The communication barrier between them seems to dissolve, and once again, they are a team. I can’t help but consider that my being here contributed to it, and perhaps if I can help glue the Morningstars back together, it’ll be enough.

Perhaps I’ll have a purpose again.

Perhaps I’ll want to live.

Perhaps . . .

Chapter Eleven

Summer

By the end of dinner, I’ve barely eaten half a plate, but I did my best. I felt a little better when I saw Farrah ate around the same amount, and when Uriel prompted me, she squeezed his arm, gently indicating not to push. Over the course of the meal, they continued to touch and press chaste kisses to each other’s cheeks, lips, and jaws. After what Rafe said, it’s nice to see, and I can sense the boys’ cautious but growing joy at the sight.

Uriel cups Farrah’s cheek, and then he stands, lifting her with him. “Boys, clean up the plates,” he says as he strides for the stairs with Farrah in his arms, her brown skin glowing faintly.

None of the boys complain. They just exchange a cautious look of hope before quietly getting to their feet to collect the plates. Zach sidles up behind me as I reach for the gravy boat in the middle of the table.

“Sum?” I glance at him. “Thanks for coming. It’s been like an . . . echo for months here.”

I don’t even hesitate before I pull him into a hug. Oddly, I know exactly what he means about the echo. Where the loss creates an empty space, a lack of everything, so much so that words and sounds bounce eerily off the walls, drawing attention to the void that nothing can fill. Zach wraps his arms around me, engulfing me completely against his chest.

Luke joins us, and I wrap my arm around his shoulders, pulling him into the hug. “It’s nice to see them be . . . a little more them,” he says, and I nod. Luke, while the baby of his family, is fiercely protective of all of them, but especially his mother. Their bond is strong, and I know that seeing her so broken will have taken a significant toll on the youngest Morningstar.

“Yeah, today there was a little healing,” Zane says from the other side of the table, his eyes darting to his twin. I think there is more that Zach isn’t saying.

“Luke’s been fretting,” Zach says. It’s obviously a tool to redirect attention from himself. “He’s been trying to get Mom to eat.”

“She’s looking thin,” Luke says by way of an explanation, and I lean my head against his. One of my favorite things about Luke is his ability to love so deeply and unequivocally.