“Are you alone?” she asks, and I shake my head.
“No, Adhira’s with me.”
Mum perks up a tad, the edges of her lips twitching with a ghost of a smile. “Hello, dear,” she says, directing her voice to Adhira, seated beside me on the sofa.
Adhira leans across my lap, her long, silky strands grazing my thighs as she smiles and waves at the camera. “Hi, Eleanor. Would you like me to leave the room so you and Lijah can speak?” My family’s nickname for me rolls right off her tongue, and I feel a flutter in my chest.
“If you wouldn’t mind, love. I’d appreciate it,” she answers, and as if on command, I stand.
“You stay. I’ll be right back,” I tell Adhira, but I’m not so sure as my legs carry me to my room and the two lines between Mum’s brows deepen.
I shut the door behind me and take a seat on the edge of my mattress. “What’s going on?”
She closes her eyes, dragging in a deep breath. Her sage-green eyes meet mine, head tilting. The lead-up is almost certain to be worse than what she has to tell me, considering I feel like I might combust like an overfilled balloon.
“I don’t want to worry you, and it’s probably nothing, but we’ve always been honest with each other, and I promised you that if anything new arose regarding my health, you’d be the first to know.”
A lead weight plummets from my throat, tearing straight through my stomach and collapsing at my feet.
“Again, it’s probably nothing to worry about,” she says, placating me. “I felt a lump the other day when I was doing a self-breast exam before my shower. I went to see my GP about it,and she sent me in for a biopsy. I should have the results soon, but they’re pretty certain it’s benign, based on the presentation.”
“So then why did they do a biopsy?” I ask, wading through quicksand in an attempt to pull myself out and work through my thoughts.This can’t be happening again, can it?
“It’s out of an abundance of caution, Elijah. With my history, we need to be sure. Please don’t let this worry you unnecessarily, okay?”
I swallow hard, trying to steady my nerves. This news couldn’t have come at a worse time. “Y-yeah,” I answer, voice hoarse. “I’ll do my best.”
Mum gives me an earnest look, one that says that if she were here, she’d crush me to her body and hold me in a tight hug until at least half my worry drifted away. “I love you, my sweet boy.”
“I love you too, Mum.”
“Are you still up for a bedtime story with your sisters? I had to wrangle them and distract them with snacks that are bound to be all over the kitchen walls by now.” She chuckles.
“Put them on,” I say, plastering what I hope is an unworried smile on my lips.
It’s no surprise that the moment the girls have the phone, they’re demanding to see Adhira, and who am I to withhold what weallwant?
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FIVE
Elijah’s beendifferent from his usual easy-going self. He came home upset, but I didn't ask him about it, knowing that if he'd wanted to talk, there'd be little stopping him from spilling his guts to me. After I distracted him with orca facts, he seemed to be feeling better and was more relaxed by the time we had dinner.
But ever since he spoke with his mum, his shoulders have been resting by his ears, and it’s starting to wear on me. If I can help him, I want to try.
“Elijah?” My voice startles him, and he flinches beside me, swinging his wide-eyed gaze to me.
“Sorry, what?” he asks, blinking the confusion away.
“Is everything alright?”
He drops his head into his hands briefly before straightening, running a jerky hand through his overgrown waves. “I’m not sure yet.”
I nibble on my lower lip, worried he won’t want to confide in me.Why does the idea of that hurt so much?I’m not interested in being told anything he doesn’twantto share with me, so I remain silent, giving him the space to decide.
His watery green gaze lands on my face, and something in my chest heaves, a tight sensation brewing that I don’t quite understand. “I’ve been messing with my routine lately,” he says, averting his gaze. That uncomfortable feeling in my chest worsens, demanding recognition. He’s been changing his routine to meetmyneeds, even though he doesn’t say it.I know.
“Practice was rough, and Coach reminded me that I need to keep my eye on the prize. Then Mum called, and she said…” He looks up at the ceiling, blinking away the tears pooling in his crystalline eyes.
