wheeled bags, families managing cranky children, couples exchanging quiet farewells at the gates.

made a faint squeak against the shiny floor, and with each step, the knot in her stomach tightened

in. It was Dad. She

his voice boomed

e replied, stretching he

o your

ing two steaming cups in one hand and waving with the other as

er at the temples, with sharp eyes. Dressed casually in a leather jacket and jeans, he could

o lean into the hug he offered. He smelled of aftershave and worn l

e murmured in

e replied, her voi

he handed her one

o sugars,"

aking a sip and nearly sighing wi

tching the crowd swirl around them. Bella noticed him gla

he finally comment

Didn't have time

that conveyed both a

bout this?"

coffee cup in her hands. "But whe

red across his face-

ubborn as ev

family," sh

Bella found herself stealing glances at him. There were new lines around his eyes and a weariness in his sho

er looking and r

ha

oo quickly. Then, more sof

his hand giving her bac

you too.

came crashing back hard. Bella tugged out h

g around like her best friend might sudd

e. "Probably eating cereal straight from the box an

huffed

ft him

tuck it under that stup

d warm, and for a heartbeat Bel

Bell," he said, voic

her head, b

a bad influence because I once threatened

, and they shared a look - one t

slipping through secur

e other side, their steps p

as waiting

been brewing from th

facing i

ow, that

-

th an untouched glass of water carefully placed on the side table. The cabin lights were dimmed to a warm glow, enveloping everything in a soft,

ass would have seemed like an absurd dream. Now, it was merely another necessity, a small bene

The voice echoed in her mind-soft, fractured, incomplete. "Bella... please... I-I need help..." Just the thought of

ng to stay grounded against the flood of old memories that surged back. They hadn't spoken in... what? Almost ten years? Sure, there had been polite birthday greetings occ

ack. Bella recalled the day they parted as if it had just happened. She had stood in the front yard, clutching a hand-me-down suitcase in one hand, watching a black to

at kind of farewell. All she understood was that something insi

k to the present. She tightened her grip

" "Hurt..."

sounded like someone gasping for air. And despite all the anger and

them life, her last breath divided between two tiny lungs. Even if they had grow

nding to... to sleep - arms crossed, head tilted back - but Bella could tell

sped her shoulder in that heavy, grounding way o

t was waiting for her in Italy. Didn't know what Bianca had gotten herse

as certain. Wha

ess, whate

t running

irst time in a very long time, Bella