Page 50 of April Flowers

“She’s handling it so much better than I did when Dad died,” Margot said. “She’s self-aware in ways I never was.”

Noah took Margot’s hand in his and swept his thumb over her knuckles. He noticed that they were scarred.

“Roses,” Margot explained softly. “Thousands and thousands of thorns.”

Noah’s heart thumped. Her lips were only a few inches away, and he could smell her roses and jasmine and even the mint of her toothpaste. But he was too frightened to kiss her. He didn’t want to chase her away again.

“I always loved Mona,” Margot breathed. “She was like a sister to me. She was so much more stylish and cool than I ever was. Sometimes I tried to imitate her, you know? I looked up what she was listening to. I tried to figure out her formula.” Margot laughed at herself.

Noah sipped his wine, remembering Mona in all her high school glory. The glory had faded. She’d become someone he couldn’t recognize.

He hadn’t known about the drugs.

“How did Mona die?” Margot asked softly, her voice wavering.

Noah’s chest tightened. It was a question nobody had asked him head-on yet. It was a question he struggled to answer himself.

“I hate myself for this,” Noah whispered, his voice wavering.

Margot squeezed his hand. Her eyes echoed her love and understanding.

“Mona and I weren’t in contact much over the past few years,” he said. “I was miffed that she’d left Nantucket with that awful guy, and she was annoyed with me because I wasn’t supporting her and her decisions. We said a few choice words to each other. I don’t want to repeat them. I don’t even like thinking about them! But I was busy here, and she was busy there, and I figured we’d find a way back to each other eventually.”

Noah began to cry after that. It felt as though someone had reached into his chest to squeeze every part of him. Margot wrapped her arms around him and held him tightly, waiting. He still hadn’t answered her question.

“She was into some bad stuff,” he explained. “She’d dabbled in drugs here and there when we were in our twenties, but I guess she found her way back to them. She was so alone, I think. Her drug friends were all she had.”

She should have had me. I should have been in Boston every weekend. I should have reminded her of all the love still waiting for her here.

“It was an accident. I know that for sure because she loved Avery to death,” Noah said.

“Does Avery know about the drugs?”

Noah nodded. “She’s the one who found her.”

Margot slapped both hands over her mouth and gaped at him.

There it was, the final piece of the puzzle.

Margot, Noah, and Avery were broken souls struggling through time. But against all odds, they’d found their way back to one another. Noah had to be grateful for that.

Noah and Margot sat on the sofa for nearly an hour, drinking wine and watching the snow. But when an inky-black night descended upon them, Margot admitted she had to head home. Noah knocked on Avery’s door, and Avery agreed to come downtown with them to pick up his truck. When they reached it, Avery and Noah stood on the sidewalk in the snow, waving as Margot disappeared around the corner.

They were quiet, and their breath was foggy in the chill. Noah felt as though he’d just run ten miles.

“Are you hungry?” Avery asked. Her voice was startlingly clear.

“Let’s get something to eat,” Noah agreed. He suddenly realized he was famished.

They walked around the corner to the burger place, where Avery made sure to order fries and onion rings. On the jukebox, she played Queen’s “Play the Game,” and as she sang, all Noah could see on her face were Mona’s expressions, Mona’s joy.

We’ll miss you forever, Sis, he thought, swallowing back his tears.We’ll do our best to carry on without you.

Chapter Eighteen

Margot drove back to her childhood home with her heart in her throat. This deep in a February winter, it was hard to believe that spring would ever come, that April flowers would ever bloom again. It was hard to believe she would ever feel anything but brokenhearted and frozen to the bone. When she parked outside her mother’s place, she found that Vic Rondell’s sports car remained, meaning he was still inside, watching over her mother. But what was he up to? Why was he so curious about her mother? Was he after her money? Didn’t he know she didn’t have much of anything?

Unless, of course, there was money that Margot didn’t know about.

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