as if you’re the only one who lost Eric.”
“And you act as if he never existed.”
Dad scoffs. “That’s ridiculous.”
“Is it? Look around this place. You’ve removed every single picture of him. Mom I get. But Eric? He’s still your son, even though he’s gone. Yet you’ve locked his things away in storage and gotten rid of every piece of him that was in this place!”
Dad’s eyebrows pinch together and his mouth opens, but no sound comes out.
“You didn’t even ask me,” I say, my voice much lower than before. “You didn’t ask if I wanted any of his things, or how I was feeling when it all happened. How I’m feeling now. You never do.”
Dad’s eyes water as he shakes his head. “I ... I’m sorry, Evangeline. I didn’t think ...”
I rise from the chair. “That’s the problem. You didn’t think. You only think about yourself.”
Then I turn and leave, and Dad doesn’t try to stop me. He’ll let me continue feeling this way because he doesn’t care enough to try to fix it.
On my way into the kitchen, I glance over at the front door.
What’s Graham doing out there?
Is he hungry?
Does he get bored?
What’s he thinking about?
Fuck it.
I collect what I need from the fridge and throw it into a shopping bag.
Graham
“Are you fucking crazy?”
My question is rhetorical. I’m certain she’s crazy.
Eva’s perched at the edge of the roof, feet dangling over the city that’s 1,396 feet below us.
Smiling.
Because she’s crazy.
“Come on, Eva. One gust of wind could blow you right off the roof.”
“Then I guess it’s a good thing it’s not windy tonight.”
I glare at her and she grins.
“Big Guy’s afraid of heights. Never would’ve guessed it.”
“I’m not afraid of heights,” I say. “I’m afraid of you falling to your death.”
“I won’t fall. You’re here to protect me, remember?”
“I’m a bodyguard, not a superhero.”
She outstretches her hand toward me. “Just come sit with me for thirty seconds, and I’ll get down.”
“Not gonna happen.”
She shrugs and hops up onto her feet, walking along the edge of the building like she’s on a tightrope.
My heart leaps into my throat. “Eva, please.”
“Thirty seconds is all it will take for me to get down.”
My jaw clenches as an exasperated breath leaves me. “Fine.”
Eva lowers herself back down, straddling the roof so only one leg hangs over the edge. She pats the space in front of her, and I sit facing her.
“You come up here by yourself?”
“Sometimes. I used to come up here with my brother,” she says.
“You have a brother?”
“I used to.”
My chest tightens. “What happened?”
“He killed himself last year.”
Oh God. That’s who Eric is.
“Eva, I’m so sorry.”
She shrugs and looks down at all the people bustling around the streets below. “He used to say that fear isn’t real. That it’s created by our minds, and if we let fear control us, then we’re prisoners inside our own bodies. He wasn’t afraid of anything. Not even death.”
“Now I know where you get your reckless streak from.”
She smiles, a real genuine smile, and something tugs at my heart. Even in baggy sweatpants and a hoodie with damp hair, she’s breathtakingly beautiful.
“I make it a point to do the things I’m afraid of. If I conquer a fear, then it can’t control me anymore.”
I nod. “And it makes you feel close to him.”
Her smile fades as she looks into my eyes. “You’ve only known me for a few days, yet you seem to understand me better than the people who’ve known me my entire life. Why is that?”
“It’s not about the amount of time you spend with someone.”
“What is it about then?”
“It’s about the quality of that time, if you’re truly listening to what people are saying, even when they’re not saying anything at all. You have to listen in the silence too. That’s when people speak the most.”
Eva’s chin drops. “I wish you were around to listen to Eric’s silence. Maybe you could’ve heard what I wasn’t able to.”
I reach out in spite of myself and cup her face. “It’s not your fault, Eva. You know better than anyone how we try to hide the darkest parts of ourselves, the parts we’re too ashamed to let people see.”
“What are you hiding, Graham? What are you ashamed of?”
Her questions hit me like a sucker punch to the gut. I choose my words carefully before answering. “I’m ashamed to want the things I shouldn’t.”
“Like what?”
“Another life. A fresh start. Doing something selfish for once.” My gaze falls to her lips, and it takes all my