He turned again, searching Lukas's face, but Lukas had shifted slightly — just enough so the streetlight cast a shadow over the tremble in his eyes.
Javi mistook the silence for calm. He didn't see how Lukas's jaw clenched. He didn't see how Lukas bit the inside of his cheek to stop his voice from cracking. He didn't see the tears gathering at the corners of his eyes, threatening to slide down his face if he so much as blinked.
"At that moment," Javi continued, "I was angry. Because if she can call now, after seeing you on TV, it means she could have tried before. Years ago. She had a way to reach out. She just… didn't. Until now."
Lukas bit the inside of his lip harder. A tiny tremor shook the corner of his mouth, and he quickly turned his head further away, pretending to look at something in the bushes.
