Thinking about the flowers makes my gaze drift to the ceiling, already picturing the wooden box tucked away upstairs in my room, and a smile finds its way to my lips. Even the quote about the stars Alexander had carved into the wood makes perfect sense now.
He flew to Dubai this week and is supposed to stay there for about four days. Then he’ll return to Pisa, and then...
‘Say the word and I’ll get on this jet and come to you. Wherever you are... Call me. And we’ll finish this conversation there, once you’ve had space to breathe and think.’
I can hear his voice in my head like he’s still here, and it only makes me miss him more with every passing day.
I draw in a deep breath and force myself to close the folder, opening my blog schedule for the rest of the month instead. This week, I finish the Edinburgh posts and then, finally, I can begin Italy.
I work for a little over an hour before pushing back from my desk and heading into the kitchen for coffee. I’m reaching for a mug when the doorbell rings. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I frown at the image on my doorbell app.
Colin.
As I walk toward the door, I check my messages, just in case. Nothing. When I open it, he looks up.
“Ceci—Cecily,” he says, unsure.
“Hi, Colin,” I say, my voice even. “If you’re here for Alicia, she’s at Sophia’s. They’ll bring her home later.”
“I—” He clears his throat. “I know. She told me yesterday.”
He inhales like he’s bracing himself for a fall.
“I need to talk to you,” he says. “About us.”
Chapter 24
Closure
Colin
“About us?” Ceci asks, her brow drawing together in confusion.
“Yes. About us.”
There are a hundred other words on my tongue… old truths, long regrets, confessions I never made. All of them left untouched for so long they no longer know how to sound like anything but guilt.
“There are things I need to tell you. Things I should’ve said a long time ago.”
She looks past me, toward the street. Then, finally, she says, “Come in.”
I step inside, and she closes the door behind me.
“I was making coffee for myself,” she says. “Do you want some?”
“Yes,” I answer too quickly.
Ceci moves toward the kitchen, and I’m left standing in the middle of the living room, unsure of where to put myself.
Sit. Don’t sit. Pace.
Do anything except stand here like a man who no longer belongs in the life he helped build... and then shattered.
I’m not certain I should even be here at all. But Dr. Lewis’s voice rises in my head.‘You don’t avoid the wound if you want it to heal.’
“Here.”
I turn, and Ceci is holding out a mug. The scent hits me first. It’s almost cruel how fast it takes me somewhere else... to the days when we were happy. All of us.
