“Alex, I’m sorry for what my father said. It wassoinconsiderate. You know it’s good that you’re here, right?”
“I do.”
“I feel bad that you got pulled into our mess more than you should have.” He stood up and took a step toward me, then stopped, rubbing his left elbow with his right hand. “Is it okay if…ugh.” He shook his head, his frown softening into a tired smile. “I was about to ask if I could hug you, but that would be weird, wouldn’t it?” His fingers brushed over the denim of his jeans. “After we ended on such a good note earlier.”
Even though his offer was framed as being for my sake, his whole body screamed at me thathewas the one in need ofa hug. I knew the feeling—wanting someone to hold you after an intense conversation. It felt heavy, as if you would stop breathing if you were all alone with it.
“I’d love to give you a hug,” I said, stepping forward.
“It’s okay,” he said, but I still wrapped my arms around him.
For a second, he stayed still, letting me hold him, before fully turning toward me and hugging me back.
“Thank you,” Sebastian whispered after a few seconds. “For everything.”
“I could say the same thing.”
We leaned back and stared into each other’s eyes, as if a kiss was on both of our minds. But as the seconds went by, it became clear that the hug was all we would get.
Sebastian pressed his lips together. “Well… I should get going.” He let go of me. “Everyone will be up soon. I should be down there and fulfill my duties, or Dad’ll lose it,” he added with a small chuckle, scratching the back of his head. His feet carried him to the door, but as he put his hand on the knob, he hesitated and turned to me once more. “In case we don’t get to talk alone again… we’ll text later, okay?”
“Of course.”
He nodded once, more to himself than to me, and then left me alone.
I listened to his feet shuffling down the stairs, but lost track of them after a while in the noise of the rest of the family waking up and heading to the kitchen, too.
I went to my bed and sat down, staring at the carpet.
If only I knew what to do now.
The hours flew by.
Sebastian actually spent the rest of the morning with his relatives. He joked with his grandpa about today’s youth, got into a heated discussion with Mila about a TV show, had a quiet talk with his mom about college, and had plenty of other conversations with the extended family. He and Dany avoided each other, though, until it was time to say goodbye.
Clouds dragged across the sky, and a strong wind shook the pine trees in front of the house, as only the immediate family followed him outside after lunch. I trailed after them onto the porch, but stayed by the door while they walked down to the driveway together.
They hugged—even Dany and Sebastian—and exchanged a few last words. Laura shed a few tears, but Sebastian promised to check in more often from now on. A silver Volkswagen rolled up the driveway, but I couldn’t see who was inside with the gray sky reflected in the windows.
Sebastian glanced at the car, then scanned the area until he caught sight of me. I raised my arm to wave, but he just shook his head and sprinted up the stairs toward me. He stopped a few inches in front of me.
“I think it would raise more questions if I left without properly saying goodbye,” he said, his voice so low only I could hear it.
He stepped forward, hesitated for a second, but then pulled me into a hug. My arms hung at my sides, unable to return it. I looked over his shoulder at Mila and his parents, but they pretended to be interested in the mountains and turned away.
“I promise I’ll text you later,” he whispered. His hands moved up and down my back, filling me with his warmth one last time. “And send me all those files so I can make some proper recordings for you, okay?”
“Of course,” I said, almost believing these weren’t just words to make things easier for both of us.
He pulled away and hurried back down to the car, climbing inside without looking back.
We all watched him drive off in silence. Only the rustling of the trees filled the air. There was no chatter, not even birds chirping—almost as if the whole town had gone quiet for a minute, trying to cope with his departure.
I keptmyself busy that afternoon, feeding the cows and cleaning up as much as I could while the rest of the family enjoyed the second day of their reunion. After dinner, I excused myself and went to my room. His scent still lingered inside, and I indulged in it for a few minutes.
He was only a brief escape, one that came and went like a shooting star. But at least, I knew it would inspire me for months to come.
I sat down at my piano keyboard, put on my headphones, and played the chords to the song we had come up with together. The melody carried me away.
