Page 46 of Romeo

“Nothing you need to be worried about,” Odie replies.“Can we talk in private?”

My grandfather’s expression is so saddened.So torn as he looks between me and Odie.

I force a smile.“I’m done anyway.”I collect my plate and get to my feet.“It was good to see you, Odie.”

“Yeah,” he replies, taking my seat without even looking in my direction.

The dining roomlooks exactly the same as it did that morning.Apparently, whoever tossed the house didn’t think they’d find anything worthwhile in what was always the heart of the home.

I run my fingers over the back of my grandfather’s chair, noting the thin layer of dust that has already formed.Why didn’t Odie at least have someone come in and clean?Is he haunted by what happened here too?

The drying rack in the kitchen still holds the skillet I cooked eggs in that morning, and the coffee pot still contains dark liquid—though it now has a thin layer of fuzzy mold growing over the top.

I can’t do this.Closing my eyes, I rest both palms against the kitchen counter and take a deep breath.“I’m so sorry, Grandfather,” I whisper to the empty house as the hole in my soul expands.

After a few minutes, I force my attention back to the house.Riley is already upstairs, going through Grandfather’s things, and if my room is still intact, I’ll be able to grab some clothes and a black dress for the funeral tomorrow.

My abdomen hurts, though the pain is somewhat lessened today, making movements a whole lot easier.Though, as I ascend the stairs, I grip the baluster to steady myself as I climb toward the second floor.

When I reach the top of the stairs, I avoid looking to the left where my grandfather’s study is.Instead, I walk down the hall toward my bedroom, letting my gaze briefly land on the open door that leads to his bedroom.

Has Riley found anything yet?

Or is it going to be another dead end?

My door is open, and through it, I can see that it’s untouched.So, at least, there’s that.

It’s strange how everything in here looks the same when my life has been turned completely upside down.Everything is in its place—yet nothing is.

After crossing toward my closet, I pull open the doors and reach in to retrieve a black dress I wore to the funeral of my grandfather’s best friend last year.Now I’ll wear it to his.My heart breaks all over again, and I have to pause a moment to take a deep breath.

I shift my attention away from the closet then lift the book on my nightstand.A worn copy of my favorite,Redeeming Loveby Francine Rivers.It’s one I reread multiple times a year.

A reminder that happy endings do sometimes exist for people who’ve made all the wrong choices.At least, they do in fiction.Real life?I’m not so sure.

“This is your room?”

I glance up at Riley as he comes into my room.Romeo trots along beside him, sniffing the ground and circling my room.“It is.”

“It’s nice.”He crosses over to a group of photographs on the wall.I should feel like he’s intruding, but having him here in my space feels right somehow.It grounds me in this moment and frees me from the onslaught of memories that have assaulted me from the second I walked in.

“Is this you and the infamous Ferris wheel birthday?”he asks, pointing to one of the photographs.

I set the book aside.The picture is one of me and my parents, all of us smiling happily in front of a Ferris wheel.My mom died a year later.“Yeah.That’s my mom and dad,” I tell him.

“You look just like your mom,” he tells me with a smile.“She’s beautiful.”

My heart does a little flip, even though I know he didn’t mean it as a flirtatious compliment but rather a kindness to ease some of my pain.“Thanks.”

“Who is this?”He points to a photograph of me when I was ten, standing beside Odie’s mom.We’d just left a pageant she entered me in, and I’d been smiling happily beside her, wearing a frilly white dress.

“My stepmom,” I tell him.“She enrolled me in beauty pageants.That was right after I won.”

“Really?”He smiles.“I didn’t take you for the beauty pageant type.”

I laugh softly.“I wasn’t.Even back then, I didn’t care for them.But they made her happy, and I loved her.”

“She was kind to you?”

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