Page 15 of SIN Bone Deep

“Perhaps,” Callista raised an eyebrow at me as she took her seat. “What do you think, Elenyx?”

“I think that everyone should stop wondering why I’m wearing makeup and wonder where Nova got her hickeys instead.”

“Sneak,” Nova kicked my ankle. “That’s a bitchy thing to say.”

“But a true one,” Callista observed.

“And one that everyone knows the answer to,” Nova replied sharply. “Unless we’re all stupid, which none of us are. Where do you think I got a hickey from? And what’s the problem with that? So, what if I have a boyfriend? It’s normal to have a boyfriend.” She flicked me a look, targeting me with that comment.

“We are only concerned because of our family history,” Fennel said soothingly. “Our romances do not always have a good outcome.”

“I’m not stupid,” Nova grumbled as she poured sauce over her meat. “But that doesn’t mean that I won’t get twenty or so years of happiness.”

“Of course, it doesn’t dear,” Callista sliced her meat efficiently. “We all hope for such a blessing.” But rarely get it was unsaid but was audible in the silence that was only broken by the clank of silverware on the plates.

“I know,” Nova said softly. “Believe me, I know.”

“Mia says that the funeral is tomorrow, Nyx,” Fennel changed the subject. “It is open to everyone from the town. Would you like to go?”

I knew that the funeral was scheduled for the next day. It was one of those things that in a town the size of Mortensby, working in the coffee shop, it was unavoidable not to know about. I suspected that my aunts had also known for longer than the afternoon.

I picked at my plate. “I don’t think the parents will want me there,” I said. “You know they held me responsible.”

“Grieving people are not always rational, Elenyx,” Callista took a sip of her wine glass. “They know deep down that you were in no way responsible for what happened to that poor little girl. In time, they will be grateful to know that you were there with her in those final moments and that because of you, she did not die alone and lie for hours without being found.”

I nodded, swallowing back tears heavily. “Maybe the burial, but not the funeral.”

“Who wants to step into that stuffy church anyway?” Callista nodded. “We will come with you, won’t we Fennel?”

“Of course,” Fennel agreed. “Nova?”

“Do I have to?” She wondered and then blushed. “I’m sorry. I know it was a horrible thing that happened Nyx,” she said to me. “But…”

“It’s okay, you don’t have to come,” I pushed away from the table. “I might go to bed.”

“Leave your plate,” Fennel told me. “Nova will clear the table.”

I did not go to bed, however. Instead, I went through Callista’s office and stepped out into the cool of the night. I wandered along the paths, out of the fall of the light, towards the delicately filigreed rotunda.

His fingers wrapped around mine as I passed under the southern magnolia trees, their blooms lost to the summer. We climbed the stairs together and sat on one of the pretty wrought iron benches, looking out into the garden. His thumb stroked over the back of my hand, a gently soothing caress.

I looked up at him and found him looking down at me, his expression solemn.

“You are sad tonight,” he said softly.

“I am…” A lot of things, I thought. I sighed heavily and looked away out over the garden, seeking an answer in the darkness. “I saw a little girl die recently,” I wondered what he would say. If he were the grim reaper that I had seen that day, would he admit it? Was it even permitted for them to speak of what they were? “I was there when she died.”

“I am sorry. Your presence would have been of great comfort to her.”

I slid a look sideways at him, wondering if he spoke in platitude or from knowledge. His expression was of attentive caring, giving nothing else away. “Her funeral is tomorrow,” I told him, wondering if it mattered to a grim reaper.

“Will you be attending?”

“I don’t know if I should,” I admitted. “My family is not often welcome to these things.”

He lifted his hand to cup my cheek, trailing his fingers along its curve. “I am sorry,” he told me. “I am sorry that people are so blind.”

“Ender…” It was on the tip of my tongue to ask him.

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