CHAPTER 22
BRAX
“Do you spend a lot of time in the gardens, Leonora?”
“Call me Leon, darling. And yes, I love the outdoors. There’s such beauty in nature.” Brax’s mom glanced at her swollen ankle. “At least, there is when you look where you’re going.”
“You’ll be back in the sun in no time.”
Brax watched the two women in his life, past and future. Meera was curled up on a floral couch beside his mother, a cup of tea in her hand. His mom’s leg was propped on an ottoman, the ankle bandaged and flanked by ice packs.
Meera was handling the situation far better than he was. His mom had only tripped over a step, but when he looked at her black eye, he saw his father’s handiwork and all the bad memories came rushing back. His mom crying in the bathroom, the endless apologies to a monster, he
