"Here," Eli comes over. "Scrolling through some photos on his own phone to find one of his mom. "You must've left yours back at the house, Dad."
He hands Julian the phone with the photo open and Julian's eyes beam at the sight of her. It was taken before the diagnosis. How he still sees her. Full of life.
"This is when I took her to Italy," he explains to Aurora with a nostalgic look in his eyes. "Years ago now, but she hasn't aged a day."
Aurora leans in to get a closer look at the image, smiling herself. "She's so beautiful."
Something in my chest cracks.
Florence really was so beautiful. But it wasn't her regal looks or the way she always kept her hair so long and smooth—at least until she lost it—it was a sort of goodness that radiated out from inside of her. As if there were golden light captured in her skin. Trapped behind her hazel eyes. In her smile.
Aurora chuckles softly. "Elijah definitely got his nose and lips from her."
Julian snorts. "No, he definitely got his lips from me."
Aurora raises a brow and Julian makes his almost nonexistent lips appear even thinner,jokingwith her.
"Oh yeah, I see it now," she replies with a laugh, the sarcasm clear.
Julian's eyes lift to mine and he mouths 'I like her' to me while Aurora continues to study the photo of Florence on Elijah's phone. I nod, agreeing, and Julian's eyes crinkle like he's happy for me.
Because he doesn't know what I did.
Julian drops his attention back to the phone. "Let's see what else he has."
"Jules, wait?—"
I go to grab the phone, but I'm not fast enough before Julian is able to scroll through two more photos, his thumb freezing over the image on the screen. It's Flo, but after she lost her hair. It was a goofy photo we took after we all shaved our heads with her. We look fucking ridiculous, and Flo wassomad at me for cutting my 'lion's mane', but we needed to do it. For her.
That was when Sev got his Greek crown tatt, and in the photo, it's still vibrant and fresh.
Elijah slips the phone from his father's fingers, but the damage is done. There's a hollowness in Julian's stare, and I know there's no bringing him back this time.
I had hope for a moment, but this is how it always ends.
He shakes his head as if he can cast out the image, blinks, and then grips Aurora's hands again.
I shift forward, but she shifts to block me.
"Just come," Julian insists, pulling on her hands, his eyes narrowing. "Come for lunch. Come meet her."
Aurora brushes her thumbs over the backs of Julian's hands. Hands that look like they're gripping so tightly he's hurting her, but she doesn't seem to notice as she softly attempts to bring his attention back to her.
"I'm not sure we can today, but I think next time we could, um…"
Aurora flounders for a response, her eyes lifting to Eli and Sev a little farther away for assistance, but Eli's already stiff, his gaze distant.
I'm as gentle as I'm able to be as I take Julian's hands from hers.
"What are you doing?" Julian hisses. "Don't touch me."
Ellie trots over in an instant, her ears flat against her head as she lets out a little growl at Julian.
"No, no," Aurora chastises her. "It's okay, Ellie."
She bends to pet Ellie, and I notice how she curls her fingers into Ellie's collar to hold her steady.
"Take Ellie back to the SUV."
