Chapter 12: Return and Reunion

The day I returned home, the weather was sunny and beautiful.

Sunlight poured through the clouds, warming the cracked sidewalks and familiar lawns. It was the kind of day you wanted to bottle up and keep for the hard ones.

As soon as I walked in with my suitcase, Lillian rushed out of her room.

She looked radiant, her hair tousled and eyes bright. The house was thick with the scent of her favorite vanilla candles, as if she’d never left.

“Tessa!”

Her voice was breathless, tinged with excitement and nerves. She hugged me tightly, and for a second, I almost forgot how complicated things were between us.

She walked lightly.

Her gait was so effortless that, for a moment, I wondered if her injury had been a dream. She moved like she was floating on air, all traces of pain tucked away behind her easy smile.

In the late autumn weather, she wore only a thin nightdress.

It was the kind of dress you’d see in a Victoria’s Secret ad, completely impractical for the season. She never cared for convention, and her confidence made her impossible to ignore.

Behind her, Derek came striding out in slippers, holding a coat.

He moved with the same quiet authority he’d always had, but now there was an ease to his step, as if he finally belonged in his own skin. The coat in his hands was Lillian’s favorite, the one she wore to every homecoming game.