“A few years ago, they got in a very bad car accident. Dad died on impact, and two days later, Mom passed away in the hospital.” Lily pulls back. “I tried contacting you specifically, but I never got through.”
Cupping Lily’s cheeks, Mom shakes her head in denial. “The old team made me get a new number a long time ago,agapi mou. I would have run to be with you if I’d known.”
I place a hand on her shoulder, hoping she feels comfort by me being here.
“Elijah has explained everything, so please don’t feel guilty at all. You would have come if you had known, and that speaks volumes.” A sad smile lifts up the corners of her mouth. Pointing up to the sky, she whispers, “And they wouldn’t want you to feel guilty.”
“They’d kick my ass.” Mom bursts out in a chuckle, wiping her tears that are mixed with brown mascara away.
“I miss their tough love,” Lily says softly, looking out at the sapphire ocean. “Even though I hated it, growing up. Death really makes you realize never to take anything for granted.”
She pulls me to her side and nudges her nose in my chest. “That’s why I’ve chosen to bless your goofiest son with my presence.”
“I hoped you’d come sooner. He was so miserable without you.”
I shoot her a mock glare.
Who am I to argue? I was depressed.
When you experience the feeling of the greatest, purest love and it’s ripped away, sadness tends to drag you down to the dumps. I thought I’d have everything when I was whisked away to Hollywood. Little did I know, I would be giving up all the things that mattered.
Hand in hand, Lily, Mom, and I make our way down to the shoreline.
“I would love to do a small ceremony for your parents,” Mom says, arm hooked in Lily’s.
“I would love that,” Lily replies, in good spirits. “What are you thinking of doing?”
“It’s a tradition I used to do when I was young. We’d fill up balloons with helium and write everything we wished we could say to the person who had passed. When the whole balloon was covered, we’d let them go and hope they received it in heaven.”
The salty sea kisses the tips of Lily’s bare toes. With a faraway look, she smiles. “I love that idea. Let’s do it.”
Unhooking herself from Lily, she walks backward to where the others play in the water like little kids. “It’s a date.”
“If that’s going to make you uncomfortable, tell me because you’re the boss here,” I say softly, watching the sun slowly start to set, sending pinks and oranges across the sky.
She faces me, and her arms wind around my waist. She looks up at me with her doe eyes, and her black locks blow in the wind, causing her to look more like a miracle than a human. “I’m more than okay with your mom planning something. They deserve it.”
Grasping the back of her neck, I pull her into a soft kiss.
“You deserve happiness,” I whisper against her plump lips.
Her voice trembles. “So do you.”
My forehead rests against hers, and our eyes flutter shut. “I have everything I need, and it’s right here in my arms.”
FIFTY
LILY
I have never seen both bands as stressed as they are right now.
Stella sits on my lap, coloring in a picture of a tree house, while chaos unfolds around us. Times Three keeps going in and out of their mom’s beach house, where we’re all staying. Fay keeps drilling them about interviews, photo shoots, and content they need to make.
They all warned me that their last show in Athens was going to be a big deal, the biggest show they had ever done. Yet seeing all the preparation makes my stomach turn.
It’s five days until the concert. The energy is high. People are traveling from all over the world to attend their hometown show, and the bands are definitely feeling the pressure.
“Fay, please, I need one second of rest.” Elijah barges in the back door with a grumpy look on his tired face.
