Loren POV
Eira did not move a muscle nor say a word at the news of her brother’s death. She just sat there, staring at her cold tea while her mother sobbed violently in her father’s arms.
I knew how this felt; the inability to process the reality that someone you love is no longer there. I wanted to hold her, hug her, and tell her that it was okay to cry. But I held myself back. I was the outsider, and I blamed myself for Alex’s death. It would be expected if his family felt the same way.
“Were you there when it happened?” Alex’s step-father, Charlie, asked me.
“I was,” I said, “the last thing I remember was the explosion and Alex trying to save Connor.”
“They were good kids, both of them,” Charlie said softly.
“You knew Connor?” I asked, surprised.
“I assumed that Alex would have told you,” Charlie said in surprise.
He looked at his wife, who managed to slow down her sobbing and wipe some of her tears away.
