Page 54 of Steadfast

We trudged in behind her into a cool house that smelled like vanilla. It was spotlessly clean and airy.

“Fair warning,” she said with a laugh as she turned on a couple of lamps. “It doesn’t usually look like this. I was headed out of town, and since I have someone coming in to stay and take care of things, I didn’t want to leave it messy.”

“Why were you headed out of town?” Ronan asked curiously, leaning down to look at photos that were neatly lined up on a little table against the wall. “Hey, that’s me!”

“You’re all up there somewhere,” Aunt Ashley replied with a small smile.

“She didn’t know we were coming, Ro,” I said, reaching out to run my hand over Aisling’s hair.

“What?” he asked in confusion, turning to look at me. “You said we were coming for Cian’s birthday. Why didn’t you tell her?”

“Today, right?” Aunt Ashley said, her eyes on Cian. “Your card’s in the mail, bud. I sent it a couple days ago.”

Cian just shrugged.

“Mom was in an accident, guys,” I said gently, pulling Aisling against me. “She died.”

“No, she didn’t,” Ronan replied instantly.

Aisling was quiet.

“Me and Richie saw the accident, Ro,” I said, trying not to fall into an argument with Ronan. “She’s gone.”

“Oh, Aoife,” Aunt Ashley whispered sadly.

“How do you know?” Ronan shot back.

“I just do.”

“She might be hurt,” he snapped, glaring at me. “What if she’s in the hospital, and no one is going to visit her because we came here?”

“She’s not hurt, buddy. She died.”

“You don’t—”

“Have I ever lied to you, Ronan?” I asked.

He just continued to glare.

“If I thought Mom was just hurt, I never would have left town,” I added.

“Do you think she’s with Dad?” Aisling asked, leaning her head against my side.

“Yeah, baby,” I replied, my throat clogging with tears. “I think she is.”

Silent tears were rolling down Saoirse’s face, and Cian threw his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his side.

“You did the right thing, coming here,” Aunt Ashley said, watching us. “I mean, a phone call would’ve worked, too.”

“Yeah, about that…” I let the word trail off, looking pointedly at my younger siblings.

“Anyone thirsty?” Aunt Ashley said, immediately interpreting my unspoken words. “There’s a refrigerator on the back porch full of drinks. Why don’t you go grab some?”

“You have a fridge outside?” Ronan asked snottily.

“I have a lot of parties,” Aunt Ashley replied, wiggling her eyebrows.

I gave Aisling a little push. “Go get something,” I said quietly.

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