( when the stars forget us! ) ↳chapter thirty-seven ↲
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ❝ AND DEATH HAS A NAME, NATALIA. ALEC. AND YOU'RE SINGING TO HIM.❞ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
THE MOMENT EMBRY pulled up to Bella's house, Talia's chest tightened. She could already see the shadows of her family through the living room window—three figures waiting. Joyce pacing, Nathan bouncing anxiously from one foot to the other, and Daniel standing like a sentinel, arms crossed, jaw set in that hard line Talia knew all too well.
Embry parked, but Talia barely had the courage to open her door. His warmth radiated beside her, steadying her just enough to move. The second they stepped onto the porch, the door swung open.
Joyce gasped first, rushing forward with tears in her eyes, her arms outstretched. "Natalia!" she exclaimed, pulling her into a tight embrace. "Mija, do you have any idea how worried we've been?"
Talia's throat clogged. "I know, mamá. I'm sorry, I—"
But Daniel's voice cut through like a whip. "Sorry?" He stepped closer, towering, his expression carved from stone. "That's all you have to say? Sorry?" His glare flicked immediately to Embry, sharp as a blade. "You. I put my trust in you. You gave me your word that you'd keep her safe. And this is what happens? She disappears to another country without a single word?!"
Embry stiffened, his jaw tightening, but he didn't speak.
"Dad, stop!" Talia exclaimed, moving between them. "Embry didn't do anything wrong! He tried to stop me—he begged me not to go. I didn't listen, okay? It was my decision!"
Daniel's nostrils flared, but his eyes never left Embry. "I don't care who decided what. My daughter was halfway across the world, in danger, and you were here doing nothing. I trusted you."
"Daniel," Joyce interjected softly, putting a hand on her husband's arm, though her eyes still brimmed with concern as she looked at Talia. "Let her breathe. She's here now. She's safe."
"Safe?" Daniel's voice sharpened, breaking through the room. "Do you have any idea what it felt like not knowing where my daughter was? Not knowing if she was alive?!" His voice cracked on the last word, and for just a second, the fury slipped enough to reveal the fear underneath.
Nathan finally spoke up, his small voice trembling. "Nat, you left without saying goodbye. I thought—" He cut himself off, lips wobbling.
Talia dropped to her knees, pulling him into a hug, tears spilling freely now. "I'm sorry, honey. I didn't want to scare you. I didn't want to scare any of you."
