I should have deleted the entire page. And I would. In a minute.
But the damage was done.
I tapped on one of the notifications from the tour group page, which, it seemed, hadn’t been set to private after all.
Image after image. Familiar scenery and landmarks. Laughter. Familiar faces from our group. All of them sweet. Happy.
But also…so many pictures of me and Noah.
Smiling. A few of us walking hand-in-hand when we’d thought we were on our own. Another one of us sharing a drink.
One photo in particular caught me.
Taken in Durango. Of Noah pulling me onto the train, my hair wild in the wind. Despite everything, just looking at it made me feel like a heroine in a romance novel all over again.
I looked happy.
Noah looked…freaking heroic.
Babs had taken it.
And underneath, a comment.
Evelyn Faraday: Beautiful shot, Babs!
ALL JUST AN ILLUSION…
Mom had commented on a picture posted by Babs? The back of my neck was tingling.
Beautiful shot, Babs!
Like she knew her.
I clicked over to Babs’ profile. Scrolled. And then…there it was. A photo posted five years ago.
Babs, an older man wearing Morty’s hat, and?—
My parents. Laughing. Glasses raised. Family friends.
For a moment, my breath caught. My dad’s smile. His arm slung around my mom’s shoulder.
It wasn’t a picture I’d ever seen before.
God, I missed him.
But then I remembered. In the elevator the night before.
I thought Babs had started to say something about…Evelyn.
A shadow fell over me, and I looked up.
Babs, smoothie in hand, had that same helpful expression that now made me want to scream.
And she must have seen something in my face, because her smile faltered.
“Luna, sweetheart, are you okay?”
“You know my mom?” I asked. The words cracked.
