Chapter 78

LIAM

Emilia snorts against my shoulder but pulls away gently, nudging me with a quiet smile before moving to sit next to Lacey. She doesn’t say anything—neither of them do—but they fall into a kind of easy silence, the kind that doesn’t need permission or apology.

They drink. Slowly. Quietly. Shoulder to shoulder, not facing each other, but not alone either.

By 3:47 PM, I’ve got two women sunk into their own exhaustion, tipsy on cheap beer and heavier thoughts. Lacey’s cup is on the ground, empty. Emilia’s head rests lightly on her friend’s shoulder. Neither of them is crying, but it’s the kind of silence that comes after you’ve felt everything all at once.

I sit with them. I don’t speak. Just stay close and keep an eye out, in case either of them needs a refill—or a reason to keep going.

It’s peaceful. For maybe five minutes.

Then Emilia hiccups.

“But… but…” she starts, blinking slowly at Lacey like her brain’s buffering. “If whales are mam