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“He seems talented in many things.” I ran my finger under the edge of my cast, cursing the sweat encasing my wrist beneath. Memories of my own father teaching me algebra quickly morphed into how to wield a knife.
“You’re thinking about them.” Neri lowered her legs, her smile dimming. “Aren’t you?”
I stiffened and sniffed back the sorrow that was my biggest wound of all. If it was anyone else asking that question, it wouldn’t hurt so much.
But her?
Her kindness caused me the worst kind of pain.
Swallowing hard, I murmured, “I was thinking about my father. Yes.”
“What was his name?”
“Emre.”
“Strange name.”
“Not where I’m from.”
“And where is that exactly?”
I caught her curious stare, not quite ready to tell her my life story but willing to give her that one answer. “Turkey.”
“Oh, I love Turkish bread. It has little indents in it that catch melted butter when my mum toasts it. Yum!”
A chuckle caught me by surprise, dragged along into a normal conversation despite the not-so-normal circumstances. “My mother used to make delicious homemade pides.”
“Oh, I can just smell them.” Neri sniffed the air. “I love when my mum bakes. It smells like home. What’s your favourite food?” She eyed up the dirt I’d brushed off the carrot and the wilted carrot top that was all that was left of my foraging. “Surely, it’s not boring veggies.”
My heart panged, remembering my mother’s skills in the kitchen and some of the incredible meals we’d shared thanks to the hospitality of people welcoming us into their homes as we ran. Everything tasted divine when it was made with love.
Shoving those memories away, I smiled. “Well, your carrot was one of the best I’ve had. Completely worth the money you’re charging.”
She snorted and rolled her pretty blue eyes. “Liar.”
“Truth.” I patted my chest, trying for light-hearted, but a shred of despair made me far too serious. “If that carrot were my last meal, I would die happy.”
A shiver worked down her spine. “But you’re not about to die, though...right?”
“Right.” I sat taller, my tone turning colder than I meant. “You made sure of that.”
Her head tilted; I couldn’t look away from the sudden sharpness in her gaze. “Are you...are you happy about that?” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “I mean...you’re glad Sapphire brought us to you, aren’t you? I know you’re alone, and your heart is broken at the moment, but...you have me now. And...and...well, I know I can’t replace your family, but I’ll do my best to fix your broken heart...you’ll see.”
A rock lodged in my throat.
I had no idea what to say.
The ice inside me threatened to crack. “Neri...I—”
“Ah, there you are!” Anna appeared, walking over the steppingstones without even looking for the cracks. “You have got to stop doing this, Nerida. I’m going to go grey if you keep disappearing on us. One minute, you’re on the shore; the next, you’re gone.”
Neri smiled, big and bright, dispelling the tension between us as if it’d never been. “Sorry, Mum.” Leaping to her feet, she ran to her mother and stood on tiptoe to press a kiss to her cheek. Without pausing, she tore off her lime-green sundress, revealing a red one-piece underneath. “Just wanted to get home, that’s all.” She hurled herself into the pool, sending a wave over the natural edge and soaking into the suffering lawn.
When she broke the surface, Neri pointed at me. “I wanted to see if Aslan was okay.”
Anna focused on me with a frown. “Hi, Aslan. I’m glad to see you’re looking better. Please don’t take this the wrong way, but...how are you here, and how did my daughter know you’d be waiting for us?”
I stood and brushed off my borrowed shorts. Goosebumps darted down my spine as I glanced at Neri swimming at the bottom of the pool and back to her mother.
“I...I have no explanation for how Neri knew. I don’t think she did. She’s just saying that.”
Anna narrowed her eyes. “My daughter exaggerates, that’s true, but she isn’t a fibber.”
“I didn’t mean—”
“I know. It’s fine. Nerida is her own kind of special. I swear I’ll be an old woman before I fully understand how she senses things she shouldn’t. Do you know she almost always guesses where we’ll find the sea creatures we’re trying to study? She’s more reliable than a fish finder.” She laughed under her breath. “She’s wild and free and frankly scares me a little.”
I cracked a smile. “She’s definitely a force.”
“Oh, yes. A force that can knock you over if you’re not careful.” Her eyes darkened, and I swear a warning laced her words. “Anyway, you were saying....How did you get here?”
“I walked.”
“Walked?” Her eyebrows raised as she looked at my boot. “On a fractured ankle?”
“It doesn’t hurt.”
“I’m sure that’s a lie if I’ve ever heard one.”
I dropped my head, truth spilling free before I could censor. “I’ve had worse. Please. Don’t worry. You and your family have already been so nice to me. I’m fine. Truly.”
