“What? Who?”
But Eva was already there. “Where is he, Iz?” she called out. “Where’s that son of a—”
“I’m here, Ev,” Arthur called out, waving a hand through the window’s opening.
Eva came to a sudden halt, and her eyes bulged, her apple cheeks wearing the sun in pink confession. “What the hell is this?”
“I’ll be up in a minute.”
Isobel had never seen her sister look so murderous. “Is that all you have to say?” her sister shouted. “‘I’ll be up in a minute’? ‘I’m here, Ev’? Why the hell are youhere,Arthur? You’re supposed to be in a hospital bed!”
Arthur handed the box of ashes up to Isobel, then tried once to lift himself out, grunting as his ascent proved significantly more difficult than his descent had been.
His touch should have made the grass under his palms wither and die. Instead, tiny yellow chamomile flowers bloomed around his hands.
He’d hugged her father at the hospital, too.
Isobel sucked in a breath as the pieces clicked into place. She didn’t know what had happened up that mountain or how this was possible, but just now, she didn’t care. Setting down the ashes, she grasped Arthur by the arm and hauled him up. His skin was smooth and slightly chilled, his body smudged in dirt.
She laughed, delighted. She’d never been able to touch him before, and she wanted a moment to take in this new revelation.
Or better yet.
Isobel threw her arms around him, squeezing tight. After a few prolonged seconds, Arthur hugged her back. She didn’t miss the shake in his breath. “Fries are getting cold,” she reminded him. “Don’t take too long.” Then she retrieved the box of ashes off the ground. “I’ll take these back to the house.”
Chapter 42
Arthur
She was radiant. Furious and bright, just how the sun should be. I brushed the dirt off my palms as she stepped closer and shoved her hand against my chest. I caught her by the elbows. “The last I saw you, you were writhing in agony.”
My heart fluttered. “I’m okay now.”
For the first time in my life, I knew I would tell her about the monster. What it had done for me. What it had become for me.
Eva’s hands settled on my biceps, holding me as I held her. “You left,” she said again, her voice cracking.
My chest ached as I flashed back to another night. I hadn’t even said a real goodbye when I’d left eight years ago, leaving her only a roll of film negatives, our memories trapped on acetate. It was a pittance, just like the Polaroids Mom had left me whenever she’d gone away. The coward’s goodbye.
But I wasn’t running this time.
Eva looked past me to the ruin of her home, dejection flashing across her face. “It’s so much worse than Dad described.”
What could Jack have even said? I wasn’t sure it was possible toconvey this level of devastation without seeing it yourself. To lose a home was to lose a sanctuary. I would know.
“We can rebuild it,” I said.
Eva sniffed. “What are you even doing here?”
The promise I’d made sat at the very front of my mind. Maybe I’d initially come to Audrey for selfish reasons, but now? I truly wanted to let Mom go. I was ready.
“I had to get her ashes.” A swallow bobbed in my throat. “I’m going to fix things.”
Maybe it was wishful thinking, but I could have sworn Eva’s gaze dipped to my mouth. A heaviness weighed in the center of my chest as I flashed back to the meadow, to the wilted crook of her body in the grass. I’d thought I’d lost her, and for a moment, the world had collapsed. I wasn’t going to let her go so easily now. If she made me beg, I’d get down on my knees.
I drew her closer. “I meant what I said before, bee girl. I want to earn your trust again.” I softly squeezed her upper arms. “Can I try?”
Eva grabbed my shirt and pressed onto her toes. Our lips met once, then again with more hunger. My hands clutched the bend in her waist. But too soon, Eva pulled back. “You want to stay?” she choked out.
