Page 13 of Go Luck Yourself
My graceful shriek drew the attention of Dad and Marta. Dad faces us, and I stiffen, taking stock of his body language in one quick swoop. But he doesn’t look upset—his shoulders are relaxed, hands in his pockets, and he smiles, a soft, wide smile I haven’t seen in… fuck, years.
“Boys!” Dad flings his arms out like he always does, like we’re going to run to him.
The three of us, Wren in tow, cross the huge room and stop a few paces back from him. If Dad barely acknowledges me, he’s outright ignoring Hex, eyes fixed on Coal.
Dad drops his arms. “Are we ready now? I want to get this finished before I leave.”
My head jerks.
“Leave?” Coal asks. “What? You’re leaving?”
“Oh.” Dad bats his hand idly. “I’m off to the island in a few hours. I just wanted to solidify this transfer before I go.”
The Merry Measure moves. No—itdoesn’t move;Imove. I take a step back, but I catch myself against a violent urge to run from the room.
Island.
He can’t mean—
“You—what?” Coal asks Wren, like she’ll have a better explanation than whatever’s coming out of Dad’s mouth.
But Wren is just as confused, her narrow eyes on our father.
The way he looks at Coal is, for once in our lives, candid. His eyes glisten with sorrow but he sniffs hard, breaking the emotion as soon as it congeals.
“It’s high time I took charge of my family,” he says. “Starting with this transfer of power, and continuing with my wife.”
All the air sucks out of my lungs.
My fingers tingle, numbness that crawls up my arms, makes my vision go to black-and-white fuzz.
I was six. I’d gone to our parents’ room. Dad was usually up already so I would climb into bed with her and cuddle until breakfast,only she wasn’t there. The suite was empty. I looked and looked, the bathroom, the closet—her clothes were gone; that was weird, was she getting them cleaned?—then I sat on the bed, holding the edge of the comforter, until Wren found me.
No note. No word.
She was just… gone.
Until she texted Dad a few weeks later to let us know she was living in the Caribbean if we ever wanted to come visit. Like she was off on vacation and we should join her, not like she’d let us wake up with no clue where she was.
Coal laughs, fragile and frantic. Hex shifts closer to him.
“You’re not serious,” Coal says. “You’re going to see Mom?”
Dad nods. “As I said, it’s time I took charge of things. What’s important is family. This family.” He looks at me, and I realize that’s the first time he has since we came into the room. “I let too much fall by the wayside, your mother most of all.”
No.
Sheleftus.She walked out on us when Coal and I were kids. Nothingfell by the wayside;shechoseeverything she did to us.
But none of those words come out, clogging my throat until the sounds of the room muffle behind my ragged exhales.
Coal glances at me, his expression shuttering as he grabs my forearm. “Kris. Breathe,” he whispers.
I am. I’m fine. Iambreathing, so why are my hands numb?
“Marta.” Dad approaches the head of the Merry Measure as though nothing’s wrong. “If you will.”
Coal’s worried gaze swings between them and me until I feel another touch on my arm—Hex.
