Call of Water (Madame Tan's Freakshow #1) - Marina Simcoe Page 0,61

new line he sang, recognizing the joy returning to his features. My heart ached, as this was still only a pale copy of the happy and carefree Zeph I remembered from Paris. Somewhere deep inside, I was afraid he might never be able to go back entirely to the way he once was.

Sorrow had been imprinted into his handsome features way too deeply. Would it be possible to erase it completely? No matter how much time had passed?

Despite his cheerful singing, I could see the exhaustion on his face. He tried to make sure Neal and Mariana had fun driving us, I realized, since this was the only way we could repay them for the ride. But he was tired. We both needed a much better rest than what we got last night.

Just before going on the highway, Neal pulled over into the drive-thru of a coffee shop.

“I need some coffee for the road. Anyone else wants a drink?”

“I’m good,” Mariana said.

“Me too,” I echoed, even as my empty stomach tightened in knots. We had no money, and there was no way I would ask these people for anything more than they were already doing for us.

Zeph glanced my way.

“Chamomile tea with honey, please,” he said to Neal before he placed his order.

When Neal handed the paper cup to him, Zeph carefully opened the flap on the lid then casually handed the cup to me. He then leaned forward to continue his impromptu karaoke with Neal as we merged with the traffic on the highway.

Starving, I had no willpower to refuse his offering. The warm, sweet tea seemed by far the best thing I had ever tasted.

“Thank you,” I whispered, unsure if he heard me as he was in the middle of crooning something by Johnny Cash with Neal.

I caught Mariana’s gaze in the rear-view mirror. Her dark eyes watched me closely for a moment.

“Here.” She turned around, handing me a banana and a couple of apples. “I packed some fruit for the road.”

“Um...” I hesitated.

“Take them. They’d go to waste, otherwise. We had a huge breakfast.”

“Thank you.” I swallowed hard. “Thank you very much.” I peeled the banana right away and made Zeph take a few bites between songs, knowing he must be hungry, too.

He glanced at me while chewing, a small, lop-sided grin on his face, just for me. Warmth flooded me at the familiarity of that smile. The possibility that all could still work out for both of us suddenly seemed real for the first time in a long time.

Chapter 21

“THIS ONE?” NEAL ASKED, pulling into the driveway of my mother’s house on the street of nearly identical houses in her subdivision.

“Yes. Thank you.”

We said our goodbyes to Neal and Mariana then walked up the driveway to the front door.

Marek, my mom’s husband, must have left for work already. His car was not in the driveway. And I’d caught a glimpse of the school bus of my half-sisters—both were high-school students—as it was leaving the subdivision when we had arrived.

The front door opened when I shoved at it. My mom must be still in the house. She parked in the garage and left a bit later than the rest of the family.

“Mom?” I called down the wide hallway, decorated with art prints and console tables along the walls.

“Ivy? Is that really you?” Mom rushed out of the kitchen from the back of the house, her hands clutched to her chest. “Oh my God...” she exhaled, grabbing me into a tight hug. I didn’t recall her ever giving me one like that before. “You’re back.” Her voice trembled, making a lump form in my throat, too.

It all passed quickly, though.

“Where the hell have you been?” She shoved at my shoulders, pushing me away from her. “You have no idea what we went through after you took off!”

“It wasn’t on purpose, Mom...” I trailed off, unsure how to explain anything or where to even begin.

Things had happened so fast last night and this morning, I never even had a chance to prepare an explanation.

“It was my fault,” Zeph’s cheerful voice sounded right behind me. He stepped forward to face my mother, who stared at him in confusion.

“Who are you?”

“My name is Zeph.” He stretched his hand her way with the sweetest smile, and she shook it mechanically.

“What are you doing here?” She took in his odd outfit, pointedly pausing on the worn sneakers.

His smile didn’t waver.

“Ivy and I met at the CNE where I was working the rides. We