Claire shuffled her feet out the door not taking one look back at what lay behind it. The moment she exited she found her two closest friends standing there with smiles on their faces.
Judging by the chaotic energy of the von Zehntner twins, they were going to go all out to make their temporary farewell as memorable as possible.
Or they would have if Claire were filled with tears, struggling her best not to let them fall. It didn't take much effort on their part to guess why the girl was crying.
They had noticed it: the subtle shifts in Claire's behavior towards their little brother, especially over this last year.
But neither Maria nor Theresa had said a thing. Because they knew exactly what was at the end of that road.
They had subtly tried to steer Claire off it, but had failed to do so. They simply hugged the girl and grabbed the luggage from her hands.
"It's okay, Claire…"
Maria said, for once her voice not playful, but filled with solace and understanding.
