We had made it to the end of the weekend, with only one more breakfast with Alex's parents to go. Fortunately, this meal would be at an actual restaurant and not the Castellan penthouse, so I was hoping it would go better than the last time we all sat down together.

Alex and I packed up our things and he drove us to the breakfast spot, both of us wanting to get on the road back to Delphine as soon as we were done eating.

Despite the fact that none of our interactions with Alex's parents had gone in a particularly ideal direction, Alex seemed much more relaxed. Ever since getting back from the cemetery, he had been quiet, but more at ease. Our night had been quiet, I think both of us enjoyed the peace of it.

Alex hugged both of his parents as we met them at the table in a secluded corner of the restaurant, and while Mrs. Castellan only gave me a tight-lipped smile, Mr. Castellan actually seemed pleased that I was there.

"So, Ana, have you been enjoying New York?"

We had ordered our food and exchanged normal pleasantries when Mr. Castellan made the effort to bring me into the conversation.

"I'm really glad I came," I told him. I glanced at Alex. "And I'm glad I got to meet the two of you."

"Any plans for the rest of the summer?"

"Uh, just finishing up tourist season." I looked over at Alex. "Fortunately, my dad was able to spare both of us for a weekend, but we stay pretty slammed through Labor Day."

"Labor Day?" Mrs. Castellan repeated. She turned to look at her son. "Don't tell me you'll be in Connecticut until Labor Day?"

The resulting awkward silence was briefly interrupted by waiters bringing breakfast food, but then they left us alone to face the impending conversation.

"Olivia, we don't need to have this conversation right now," Mr. Castellan murmured to his wife.

But Alex's mom shook her head. "No, we need to know." She gave Alex a hard stare. "Alexander, you can't run from your life here forever."

Alex just looked tired. "Mom, I can't give you an answer, because I don't know the answer to that question. I don't know when I'll be moving back to New York, if I'll be moving back to New York, or where I want to go from here. I know we need to talk about all of this, but I have to figure out what I want."

I had a feeling Mrs. Castellan wouldn't be overjoyed by what he was saying.

"Alexander, your whole life is here."

"No, Mom, it isn't."

As much as I appreciated that Alex's eyes flickered over to me for a moment, it also didn't exactly help his argument.

"Alexander," Mrs. Castellan said, exasperation ringing through the word.

Alex opened his mouth, presumable to defend me, but I beat him to it. "Mrs. Castellan, I realize that Alex and I haven't known each other for very long." I felt three pairs of eyes on me, all conveying wildly different emotions. "So, I can understand your skepticism about our relationship." I grabbed Alex's hand. "But please believe me when I say that I want what's best for Alex, whatever that may be. And I know that he's the only one that can make that decision for himself."

Alex was smiling at me, but I couldn't read the expression on either of his parents' faces.

"Mom, I really just wanted to have one normal meal with the two of you before I left," Alex said quietly. "I don't think that's too much to ask."

"It's hard to be 'normal' when my only child is leaving and I have no idea if he's coming back or just disappearing off to who knows where."

Her words twisted into my gut like a knife, and I saw a flicker of understanding cross Alex's face. "Mom, I'm not going to disappear," he tried to reassure her. He paused, looking like he was choosing his words carefully. "I don't know what it was like for you two when Violent died." Mrs. Castellan's face twisted, and Mr. Castellan blinked rapidly. "But I know it was horrible for me, so I can assume that it was at least that for the two of you. I really don't want to cause either of you any more pain, but I'm also not going to make false promises about when or if I'm coming back here."

"I think we can have a nice breakfast together," Mr. Castellan said quietly once Alex's words had sunken in for everyone. He looked between me and Alex. "And I would love to hear more about the part of Connecticut you two are in."