There were a hundred things I could do to delay what she planned as the inevitable. Take the spark plugs out of her car . . . set up a roadblock for some trumped-up “criminal on the run” who didn’t really exist . . .
I’d seen the indecision on her face. The way it hurt her to hurt me.
Once my emotions had settled and I’d stopped spiraling, I’d realized what I knew to be true. She cared about me, I knew she did. To what extent, I wasn’t sure, but she did. I’d seen it. I’d felt it.
She was scared. And I understood that. I longed to comfort her, to convince her that I wouldn’t hurt her. And maybe she’d be most receptive tonight. Or perhaps a night alone—missing me—would do the trick. Then, if not, I’d move to plan B. C, if necessary.
Tap, tap, tap.
I stilled my fingers, drumming distractedly on the wooden armrest of the chair I was sitting in.
Was I plotting again after I just had a breakthrough?
Confusion descended.
Okay, yes, but this was different. This—letting Haven go without a fight—hurt in a way that giving up material things did not. I could handle certain types of losses in the face of more important goals. But this . . . surely there was something I could do, something to make this pain stop, to twist things back in my favor.
The front door opened, then closed, the soft sound of drunken singing meeting my ears. The person stumbled, swore, and commenced singing, entering the living room where I sat.
“Hello, Easton.”
“Holy fuck!” He tripped, catching himself, jumping upright when he spotted me, reaching blindly for—I assumed—the nearest weapon and coming up with an umbrella in a stand by the door. He held it out in front of him comically, stabbing it at the air.
“Relax. You don’t need to defend yourself.”
Easton, seemingly unconvinced, stared suspiciously at me, only weaving slightly.
“I heard you’re doing well at the firehouse.” One of my best friends worked there and he’d told me the kid was a hard worker. A quick learner. Diligent.
The suspicion in his expression mixed with fear, and some amount of surprise, his drunkenness not allowing him to conceal his every emotion.
He tried though. “So?” He stood straight, feigning nonchalance.
“So that’s good.”
He squinted at me as if trying to determine what trick I was playing on him. “You’re not going to do anything to ruin it for me?”
“No, I’m not going to do anything to ruin it for you. Though you’re leaving soon, so what does it matter?”
He watched me for a moment and then let out a long sigh, swaying and sinking down into the chair next to him. He ran his hand through his hair. It was wavy, not curly like Haven’s. And his eyes were a different color, but the shape was the same.
“Listen . . . Chief.” He looked up at me, and though he was obviously drunk, to his credit, he was barely slurring. He obviously held his alcohol well. “I’m sorry, okay? I knew about you right from the start just like you said. Your girlfriend—” He squinted one eye as if trying to recall something.
“Phoebe.”
“Yes, right. Phoebe. She had a picture of you in your uniform as the screensaver on her phone. I saw it.”
I regarded him. “It added a little challenge for you?”
“I guess.” He looked slightly dejected as if the admittance brought him no joy.
Good.
I sighed, leaning forward, and placing my elbows on my knees. “You hurt your sister when you do things that reflect poorly on her, Easton. Don’t you think you owe her more than that?”
His shoulders sank and he was quiet for a moment. “Did she tell you why we’re on this road trip?” His eyes met mine and despite his drunkenness, they gleamed with emotion. “Did she tell you our junkie mom accidentally dropped her pipe and almost burned us all to death? The whole place went up in flames like some goddamned inferno that represented the hell that was our lives.”
He let out a breath, his head dropping. I stared, my muscles clenched tight.
“I dragged Haven out of there,” he said, as he massaged the back of his neck, his palms facing outward so I saw the raised and twisted skin. Melted. Burned. Healed. But not the same. Never the same. “And I managed to get our mom out too. But she