The water was clear from here with an open view of the sunsets, even with the boat docked like it was. A hand was placed on her back, gently guiding her to the table for two that had been set for them. Food was already on it, covered with silver tops.
Even from here, Azura could tell it was going to be divine.
Onyx slid her chair out for her, shuffling her closer to the table once she was seated before taking his own place across from her. Steam billowed out into the air once the tops covering the food were removed, making Azura’s stomach grumble.
“Everything smells amazing.”
“Tastes even better too.”
True to his word, the food was absolutely divine, practically melting as soon as it hit Azura’s tongue. She couldn’t help but let out a small moan.
It made Onyx chuckle at her.
“Tell me, did you never have food like this back on Earth?”
She shook her head, taking a big swig of her wine that tasted just as heavenly.
“Unless you count my mom’s cooking. Now that was incredible.”
Onyx nodded, taking a sip from his own wine glass.
“Did your mother cook for you often?”
“She did a lot when Martin and I were kids. It was harder for her when we were older because of her arthritis. But every holiday, she and my dad were always in the kitchen together for hours, making these elaborate meals that would take us days to eat all of.”
The memories made Azura let out a laugh that turned sad after a minute, suddenly killing her appetite. She hated that anything that reminded her of her parents now never failed to bring her into a melancholy state.
“You must miss them.”
His tone wasn’t even a question and rather more of a statement. One that she wholeheartedly and completely agreed with. It made her sigh softly as she stared down at her half-eaten plate.
“It all just feels … so unfair.”
“I can imagine.”
Azura shook her head. “They were such good people … Why do bad things always have to happen to those kinds of people?”
She could feel tears stinging at the corners of her eyes, making her grip her fork harder in her hand to stop her from letting them escape down her cheeks.
“It isn’t fair,” she continued. “And now, with Martin growing up, it’s so hard to be mad at him when I know the reason he’s been such a brat lately is that he misses them too. He and my dad were so close. I can’t imagine all the hurt he’s been feeling. It’s all just coming out as anger.”
She felt fingers tug at the fork in her hand, making her drop it and clatter onto the plate in front of her. She looked up through tear-filled eyes.
“It isn’t your fault, Azura. You can’t expect yourself to grieve, raise your brother, and balance your life on top of it. That’s too much for just one person.”
She felt her breath hitch, the sobs threatening to spill out of her mouth almost uncontrollable at this point. She pressed her lips together, not trusting herself to speak.
“You also need to let yourself grieve,” Onyx continued, “Have you ever stopped long enough to do so?”
She shook her head, a few tears escaping with the motion.
“Then you need to start there,”
He tugged on her arm, pulling her up from her chair and guiding her around the table. He pushed back in his seat, giving her enough room to slip onto his lap, where he wrapped his arms around her tightly.
“It’s okay to not be okay, Azura.”
He tucked her hair back away from her face, brushing a few tears off her cheeks when they spilled from her eyes.