come back, be here, EDDIE ROUNDTREE.

TRACK 07 / DEAR READER.

When she found out that Lucy died. . . She came back into the dining room; Warren was the one who noticed that something was wrong.

WARREN: Odette's a tricky lady to figure out, very good at hiding things. But the trick to knowing when something was wrong was noticing when she'd grow silent, not worming her way into the conversation like she normally did. I was the one to ask her what was up, did not expect her to tell us that Lucy was gone. It, uh. . . It shocked everyone.

GRAHAM: None of us really knew what to do. Eddie was by her side within an instant trying to comfort her but. . . I don't think she wanted it. [ Shakes head ] It was hard to tell. . . At least at the time.

EDDIE: [ Sighs ] I only just wanted to be there for her, you know? A shoulder to cry on, someone to talk to. . . Anything that she needed. . . Turned out I was doing everything wrong.

ODETTE: I don't. . . This isn't something I enjoy talking about. Lucy died and it wasn't something I could linger on because Lucy wouldn't want me wallowing. It didn't mean I was in a good mind space though. . . That was the problem. )

There was no funeral, something that both Romeo and Odette knew was in line with Lucy's wishes. She had always spoken about how if she were to ever die, that a funeral would only ever lead to those who had gladly aided in ruining Lucy's career or those who hadn't cared about it happening to come crawling back and act as if they gave even an inch of a care about her when the siblings were aware of who hadn't tossed Lucy aside. It had been easy enough for Romeo to handle any arrangements in her burial, not caring how much money he had to spend to ensure that it was a private one and granting her the headstone that she deserved; perhaps far too fancy, but it was one befitting of her.

However, in the days leading up to her brother's return to California, Odette hadn't been able to do anything without someone hovering, much to the point where it made her wonder if they were taking shifts as to who would keep an eye on her. Warren was the only one truly giving her what she wanted; a fucking distraction, never asking if she was okay, just sitting with her and talking her head off as she painted. Karen was the one who stayed with her overnight, how she had managed to get away from that job, Odette wasn't entirely sure, but she never questioned it, instead allowing her to hold her hand as they laid in bed together, Karen listening intently as Odette told stories of Lucy that she hadn't told Karen before. Eddie and Camila were two different stories, somehow taking the same approach as each other and treating Odette as she if were nothing more than a piece of glass that was waiting to break; yet she couldn't fault Eddie for it, finding comfort in his embrace whenever he held her.

It had taken a few days for Lucy's death to truly sink it, after the first phone call in which Romeo had told her, she hadn't cried, trying so hard not to because she knew what Lucy would say to her if she were still around; she would've placed her hand underneath Odette's chin and forced her to look at her as she said, "don't waste your tears on me, swan." And because of that, she found doing so pointless. But it was very clear to everyone else that it was more concerning than anything else, hence the walking on eggshells. She had hoped that her answering any question in relation to how she was doing with an answer that was intended to ease their concerns would've done the trick, only it hadn't.

Admittedly, she was lying through her teeth every time she answered the question of was she okay, because she wasn't, she was far from okay. She had lost her mother figure thanks to a car accident and had to deal with the fact that Lucy was no longer around and there for Odette to talk to, she was grieving, but that was put on hold until her brother had returned home.

And when he had, they had spent the first day grieving together, shutting themselves off from the world as the floodgates finally opened for the both of them, but mainly Odette who had cried herself into exhaustion. It was something that they both had needed and with interlocked pinkies, they had promised that they wouldn't shed anymore tears, instead focusing on the happier things and not allowing them to wallow in their sadness, knowing well enough that Lucy would hate seeing them that way.