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Vanessa hugged her back and let the embrace linger, clinging to it like it was exactly what she needed.
I looked away, feeling my sister’s sadness sink into my bones.
“How are you doing?” Muse asked quietly.
Vanessa didn’t answer.
Muse pulled away and rubbed my sister’s back, her lips pressed tightly together and her eyes emotional. When I’d pushed Muse away, she went to New York and tried to start over without me. She knew exactly how Vanessa felt, losing the man she loved. “Your paintings are beautiful.”
“Thanks, Sapphire,” Vanessa said, her words hollow like a rotted tree trunk. She turned her gaze to me next, her eyes lacking the usual light they held. She would normally greet me with a sassy comment or insult me in a playful manner. But now her social skills seemed to be nonexistent. She didn’t know how to interact with people.
I hated seeing my strong sister so crushed.
I moved into her and wrapped my arms around her, holding her in a rare gesture of affection. We hardly ever touched, but whenever she was struggling, the protective side of me emerged. I wanted her to be happy. I wanted her to have everything she wanted. When that didn’t happen, it made me feel the same pain she felt. I held her against my chest and rested my chin on her head, my hand running down her back. I felt her breathe against me, doing her best to keep her emotions intact. “I’m sorry.”
She turned her cheek against my chest, letting me hold her for the longest period in history. She breathed harder, like she was restraining the tears that burned in her eyes. Her arms remained around my waist, and she accepted the comfort that I gave her.
Muse watched us, her eyes watering slightly.
When Knuckles took my sister away, I was afraid I would never get her back. I was scared to lose someone I loved, and it made me realize just how much she meant to me. Now, I was even more convinced of my unconditional love because I felt so much pain listening to her try not to cry. “You’ll get through it, Vanessa.”
I must have said the wrong thing because she pulled away. “You guys didn’t have to come by and check on me…even though I appreciate it.”
“We wanted to see you.” Muse wrapped her arm around Vanessa’s waist. “We’re really excited for your gallery. And you have to show us your apartment. Your father mentioned that it was nice.”
“He’s never seen my apartment,” she whispered.
That’s what she thought. “Give us a tour, then we’ll grab something to eat.”
“I’m not hungry,” she said automatically.
“Maybe when we walk into a restaurant, it’ll get your appetite going,” Muse said. “That’s what usually happens to me…”
Vanessa gave us a tour of the gallery before she took us upstairs to her apartment. Most of the furniture was the stuff from Milan, and she had a few extra pieces that must have come with it. I spotted the painting on the wall, another one of Bones. This time, it was of him looking across a cold lake in the middle of winter. It showed his broad shoulders and his thick arms but not his face.
“It looks really nice.” Muse did her best to keep Vanessa in a good mood by being complimentary. She never addressed Bones or the horrible breakup Vanessa was struggling through. “And your commute to work is nice,” she teased.
Vanessa cracked a smile, but it was fake. “Thanks. You guys want some wine?”
“I’ll take some,” I answered. “Just water for Sapphire.”
“Of course,” Vanessa said, cringing at her ignorance. “I wasn’t thinking…”
“It’s okay,” Muse said. “Don’t worry about it.”
Vanessa walked into the kitchen and gathered the glasses and water.
I helped Muse onto the couch before I sat beside her.
“She’s such a wreck…” Muse whispered so only I could hear.
“Yeah…” It was worse than I’d thought.
“I feel so bad for her.”
“I do too.”
“I wish there was something we could do.”
“I think being here is all we can do.” Vanessa would have to get through this on her own. Right now, it seemed like the end of the world, but there was nothing she couldn’t overcome. She was much stronger than she realized.
Vanessa returned a moment later with a bottle of wine, a few glasses, and some French bread with olive oil.
I was surprised she had any food on hand since she seemed to have lost so much weight in a short amount of time. Muse and I sat on the other couch and faced Vanessa, seeing the heartbroken look in her eyes.
She didn’t bother hiding it. There was a distinct hollowness in her eyes, an emptiness that couldn’t be filled without the passage of time. Her skin seemed sunken in, like she was dehydrated. Her clothes didn’t fit her quite the same, baggy around the arms and stomach.
