Page 52 of Point of No Return

Skar’s eyes are burning into me again, but I busy myself pouring my own coffee, ignoring him completely. “So just another girl from the fanclub then?” I tease.

Aleks shakes his head, all humor gone. “I went to see Dad last night.”

Skar’s attention turns to him at that, and even I’m left puzzled. “I didn’t know he was such a heavy drinker.”

“No,” he sighs. “Nothing like that. I saw him before I went out but… He seems out of it.”

Memory of our last encounter earlier this week flashes in my mind, clear as day:“Eva? I didn’t know you’d be by so soon.”

“We’ve talked about this,” Skar says, his voice gentler than I’ve probably ever heard it.

Whatever divide separates Skar and Tyson is not one that Aleks seems to share. I can tell just from the way Aleks talks about him. He looks up to him. His father’s death is not something he’ll take lightly.

“I know. I just didn’t think it would happen so soon.”

Skar’s shoulders are tense, and I can tell he’s debating saying something, but I hush him with a hand to his shoulder. He stiffens beneath the touch, and I retreat, moving around him to look at Aleks head on. “I had a sister… Her name was Camila,” I say, surprising myself. Pity flickers across his face, and warning bells go off in my head.

You shouldn’t be telling him this.But I continue anyway.

“Still-born,” I explain, keeping my voice even. “We knew at about twenty-three weeks. My mother gave birth at thirty-two. Knowing didn’t make it any easier.”

“I’m sorry…” he says and I shake my head gently.

“Don’t be. You couldn’t have known.”

“But still. That’s horrible. I’m so sorry.”

“Loss… is a part of life. And sometimes the harder we try to hold on, the harder it is to let go.”

Aleks shakes his head before sipping his coffee. “That’s one way to look at it… I just- I wish there was something I could do.”

I squeeze his shoulder, doing my best to smile despite the floodgate of memories that has been opened. “Tyson’s known… And it seems like he’s definitely been preparing.”

I flash a look at Skar to find him already looking at me. He has this unreadable expression on his face- one that I’ve tried to read more times than I can count. One that has curiosity getting the better of me.

My mother’s right:I’m getting distracted.

I switch my attention back to Aleks whose brown eyes finally look clear enough to really absorb what I’m saying. “He’s mourned. Just as you’re doing now. And I know it’s not any consolation… But acceptance is the best way we can be there for him.”

Aleks chuckles, his head falling back into his hands as he inhales another long whiff of coffee. “Is your wife always this insightful, Skar?”

I grin, shoving him lightly as I stroll toward Skar and fill his mug- careful not toreallylook at him as I let the last of the coffee trickle as slowly as I can.

“Afraid so,” Skar hums.

A lump forms at the base of my throat, nearly impossible to swallow when our eyes meet. “I’m meeting with my mother again today,” I tell him, unwilling to look away, to back down.

He lifts a shoulder in a slight shrug, dark eyes still watching me. “That’s fine. As long as you’re back for dinner.”

“Dinner?” I raise a brow, hoping he can read the question I silently ask:Is it business, family, or both?

“I’ll tell you what,” Aleks inserts, dragging his chair back as he stands, clapping Skar’s shoulder. “I don’t envy your job, brother.”

Business then.

“You won’t always get out of it so easily.” Skar quirks a smile as Aleks dumps the last of his coffee down the sink and waves goodbye.

“We’ll see.”

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