“Alethea’s okay, Mom. She’s here.”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
Xander hated the sob that echoed in his ear. His mother was one of the strongest people he knew. He couldn’t remember the last time she’d broken down. Not when their father had had his stroke, not when the lawsuits had started flying. Not even when Talia, Alethea’s lifelong best friend and a girl she considered another daughter, had died. His mom was the solid foundation of their family.
But even foundations had their limits.
“Can I talk to her?”
“Tomorrow, I promise,” Xander said. “She’s taking a shower right now and honestly...? She’s wiped out.”
“Okay, yes. You’re right.” His mother sniffed and he could imagine her pulling herself together. “You left her on her own?”
“I have a friend with her. Calliope...” Xander glanced over his shoulder and gave silent thanks for whatever force had brought Calliope into his life. “She has a special way with people. Alethea is in good hands.”
“Good, I’m glad you aren’t alone. That Alethea isn’t alone. Xander, be sure to call and tell me if there’s anything I can do.”
“I will, Mom. We have to give her the space to work through this her way. Whatever it is. But I’ll let her know whatever she needs, she will get from us.”
“Good. I should ask Dyna to contact the school and let them know Alethea’s okay.”
“I’ll call Dyna,” Xander said. “You and Antony need to decompress. We’ll look at things fresh in the morning, but for now, go enjoy your grandchildren and say good-night to Dad for me.”
“Thank you, Xander. Do you want to talk to Antony again?”
“No.” He really wasn’t up for another round with his brother at the moment. “We’ll call you tomorrow, Mom. Good night.”
He clicked off and tried to listen to the calm ocean waves beyond the cliffs. He dialed his sister, Dyna, who sounded just as relieved as Xander felt. She’d speak with the college tomorrow and make sure there was a place for Alethea when she decided to return, but stress that their sister needed an extended visit home with her family. Dyna and her husband would take care of putting all of Alethea’s things in storage and facilitate anything else the college deemed necessary.
It had felt strange, Xander thought once he’d hung up and headed back inside, not to be handling all the details of the latest family crisis. Despite his living on and off in New York for the past few years, he’d been the go-to brother; the one who could fix anything with a phone call or email. His leave-it-to-me attitude had long been a source of friction between him and Antony, which no doubt was part of his brother’s reaction to this situation. Even when he’d tried to remove himself from the conflict, he’d still been neck-deep in it. It seemed it really was where he belonged.
He made quick work of setting up the spare bedroom until he found himself standing by the bed debating how many blankets to put on. He stared down at the blue-and-white striped spread as if he wasn’t quite sure what to do with it.
“You have beautiful hair.” Calliope’s voice drifted through the slightly ajar door to the second bathroom, where she was with his sister. “I can see hints of blue in the curls.”
Xander dropped the blanket onto the bed and stepped closer. He could hear the movement of a brush and smell lavender in the steam-filled room.
“Talia used to brush my hair,” Alethea said.“She hated hers. She wanted curls.”
“We often want what we can’t have,” Calliope said in that soothing way she had. Xander had never met anyone who said so much with so few words. She could lecture without sounding superior or smarter. Just...wiser. Until now, he hadn’t noticed there really was a difference. It made him curious, however, why she always seemed so defensive, so prickly, around him. Then again, that could be a good sign, couldn’t it? “Thank you for letting me braid it,” Calliope continued. “My sister is always suggesting I should watch those online videos. I could use the practice on someone who doesn’t criticize.”