“Sounds fantastic,” Celine agrees, before picking up Faye and standing up. “How about the two of us get ready for bed?” she asks.
Faye has her arms wrapped around Celine’s neck and nods.
Once they have left the living room, we all fall into silence. “And now?” Aurelia finally asks.
“Well, we should all go to bed,” Elden says.
“That’s not what I meant.”
“I know.” Elden sighs. “I have no idea.”
“What if Celine and Marius have to leave tomorrow?” Aurelia asks. “What are we going to do then?”
“Maybe I can convince Faye to stay with Felix and me for a while,” I say. “She lived with me before.”
“I thought she would love that,” Aurelia admits. “The pets and you, you all feel familiar to her. But…”
“I know,” I say quietly. “I don’t know if she will want to go with me.”
“You are not the problem,” Arden says. “I don’t think it has anything to do with you, Gwen, or the pets. I think if it were a normal day, Faye would love to go with you and play with the animals. But she doesn’t want to stay with them, because it reminds her of her mom and the last year where she was shunned, and had to hold it together for the sake of her mother. She can’t go back to that life anymore.” He pauses. “I am sorry, Gwen. This is not to say you did something wrong. It’s quite the opposite. It’s just-“
“I get it,” I reassure him. “I totally do. For me, coming here was a new start, but Faye doesn’t have that yet.”
“I agree,” Elden says. “This child is having a full-blown breakdown. I will get her psychological help asap. Tomorrow, there will be a therapist to guide her through her grief. Until then, we need to handle it somehow.”
“She can stay with Elden and me for now,” Flora offers.
Elden nods. “We wouldn’t mind. But Gwen is right, Faye will need a fresh start soon, and we need to figure out how.”
Flora taps her lips thoughtfully. “Let’s have her stay with us for now. I am positive we will find a way.”
Elden looks at her with interest. “Are you?”
She nods, her lips tugging into a smile. “Yes.”
Somehow, none of the others are arguing with her on that, so I guess it has to be true. Maybe she has a plan? Since I have no idea myself, I am happy to put it into Flora’s hands. I promised Marina that her child would be cared for, and I will accept any help to achieve that.
When Marius returns from his phone call, he and Elden leave to gather some clothes for him and Celine to change into and to probably discuss some details. For everyone else, this is the cue to retire.
“It’s going to be okay,” Aurelia tells me before we part. “I promise it will be. If Mom says she will find a way, she will. We know better than to question her on that. As for Marina...“ She reaches out to take my hands. “We will make sure to send her off the way she deserves. And then we will hunt down whoever is responsible for hurting her like that.”
forty
Lavender
*GWENDOLYN*
No matter what happens, no matter the tragedy or the loss, the world is still moving. It did so after Dad died, it did after Brandon betrayed me, and after Tulip died. And it’s still moving today, a day after Marina’s death.
This time, I am not alone in it, though.
“Hey, babe.” Felix smiles at me when I walk into the kitchen.
“You made breakfast?”
“Yes.” He sprinkles something on a plate before placing it in front of me. It’s avocado toast and a bowl of warm porridge. “I feel like an idiot, but I had to look up how to make porridge and not have it taste like cardboard.”
I look at the plate in front of me, then at him. “I love you,” I say. I don’t know where this just comes from, but I know it’s true. “I love you.”
