"Your Mom is lovely," I commented as we left the room.
"She is," Stefan agreed as he jabbed the elevator button for my floor.
"Her diagnosis must be hard on you."
"It is. That's actually why I moved back. We're not sure how much more we can halt the progression. She took a tumble and there have been some complications, which is why she’s here."
There fell another piece of the puzzle. The family issues that Stef had spoken about and that Luc had blocked me out of. Their Mom was sick, and she wasn't getting any better.
"Luc visits her?" I asked.
"He's been sorting out most of it. It's been getting worse, so I wanted to be home just in case."
I reached for his hand and squeezed. Stefan held onto it and I didn't have the heart to let go. Both of them were dealing with so much and there was nothing I could do to ease the troubles.
"It must be hard without your Dad around."
"They had a difficult divorce. Dad loves her but I think it's hard for him to see her like this."
"I thought your Dad had passed away," I said cautiously as Stefan helped me back into bed.
"Ah, you don't know. Lucas and I are half brothers," he explained. "Same Mom but different Dads."
"So, Charlie..."
"Is not my Dad, no. Andrew Evans is my father."
I felt so out of the loop and it probably showed on my face. Stefan sat in the chair by my bed and continued his explanation. "Mom was married to Charlie and they had Luc. When he was four she left. She said she couldn't deal with everything that Charlie came with. Took Lucas with her and met Dad and then I came along."
"That's why you're not involved in Luc's business."
"Yeah, that's why I'm not involved. Not that I'd want to be. Luc was raised for it. Spent time with Charlie as he grew up, much to Mom's dismay. I chose to help people instead."
Luc and Stefan were polar opposites in almost everything. Lucas was brash and impulsive and closed off. Stefan was calm and logical and had told me more about his life and coincidentally Luc's in a few hours compared to the few months I’d spent with his big brother. It felt good to be within a circle of trust, but I couldn’t wrap my head around why Luc felt the need to keep all this from me.
On the day of my release, Stefan guided me up to the house and pushed the door open.
"Welcome home, sweetheart!" Dom hugged me carefully and kissed me on the cheek. I smiled but it didn't quite reach my eyes. Luc going AWOL had done something to me and I wasn't sure how to recover from that. The wound on my side would heal but the one in my heart felt irreparable.
"Lydia whipped up a feast." Dom took my hand and led her towards the kitchen.
"There are a lot of roses around here," I commented as we walked through the house. Deep red blooms that perfumed the hallways, making it hard to breathe.
Stefan had taken the initiative to fill the vases in the house with roses, thinking I’d appreciate some color and beauty after the hospital stay. "Do you like them?" he asked hopefully.
"They're beautiful."
The kitchen was full of food that Lydia had prepared and Dante joined us. He sat beside me and made sure I was comfortable throughout the evening. When Lydia cleared the table of the main course and brought out dessert, Stefan picked up a slice of blueberry pie, but I hadn’t moved.
"No dessert tonight?" he said. He followed my eyes to the fudge cake. "It's heavy after a meal but tastes amazing. Do you want me to cut you a slice?"
"No, thank you."
"Are you sure?" Stef asked. "A little slice might be..."
"I said no, Stef!" The table looked up from their conversations as I stood up. "I'm going to bed."
I had barely closed the door when a knock sounded. "Go away, Stef," I called.
