I keep my eyes forward, mostly because my stomach is doing somersaults. The mini-waterfall on the pool is a good distraction. I take a few steadying breaths. He’s looking at the waterfall, too. I can see him in my peripheral vision.
“Nick?” I ask, and he turns to face me. I turn my head slightly, and that’s when I realize I’m crying. “Thank you,” I add, pacifying the tension.
I watch him as he begins to speak and then stops.
“I’m sorry I yelled.” He looks at me and shakes his head slowly. “I just don’t want Bria to get confused, that’s all.”
“Right.” I look away. “Won’t happen again.”
I don’t watch as Nick gets up and walks back inside. I stay on the pool lounger and cry quietly. A few minutes later, I see Violet jogging into the backyard and towards my door.
“I’m here, Vi,” I say. I don’t try to mask the tears I’ve shed. My voice is shaky.
She just comes over and pulls me into her as I sob as quietly as possible into her jacket. I recount the details of the night to her, leaving nothing out.
“I don’t even know why I’m crying.”
She rubs my back and strokes my hair. I close my eyes.
“Shh. It’s okay. It was hard. I understand. Seeing Dan… I’m sure it was difficult.”
I pull away and look at her.
“Yeah, it was. But I don’t think that’s why I’m crying.” She cocks her head and looks at me quizzically. “I think… I think I’m crying because of Nick.”
Twentytwo.
Evianna
I wake up late the next morning. As my phone buzzes, I groan, remembering the events of last night.
Dan and Mia.
Nick and Dan. Ugh.
I pull myself under the covers and yell.
My phone makes another beeping sound, and I throw the covers off of me, annoyed. As I glance down, I smile. My mom. She’s making lasagna, and she invited me to join them.
Yes.
This is exactly what I need.
I will watch Beauty and the Beast with Bria, and then I’ll go to my parents’ house for dinner.
It sounds like an amazing day to me.
I pull myself out of bed, and I make a quick cup of coffee. I shower and put on some skinny jeans and an oversized sweater. I throw my hair up into a bun, and I forego makeup, because, I decide, I’m not trying to impress anyone.
Not even Nick.
As I head into the main house, I quickly glance at the lounge chairs and bite my lip. Was I imagining it all? This was crazy, and I knew I wasn’t alone in my feelings, yet I had nothing tangible to go on, other than the small cuts on Nick’s knuckle and the way my heart aches when I think of Nick.
I slip inside the house quietly, and I call out to Bria.
“Hello? Bria? Anyone home?”
No answer.
I walk into the kitchen, and I see a handwritten note from Nick.
Evianna,
Out to brunch with Cecelia.
Would’ve invited you, but you were still asleep.
Back at noon.
Nick
It’s a quarter to noon, so I know they’ll be back soon. I glance around the kitchen and walk over to the refrigerator. Bria’s drawings and paintings decorate the stainless steel appliance, and I grin at a recent drawing that has been hung up. It’s two stick figures, and Bria has written “Evi and I” on the bottom. The figures are holding hands.
I glance at the stairs. I debate going up, into Nick’s room.
Should I?
I’ve only been the one time, and even so, I barely had time to look around. I know it’s wrong, but I’m so curious about him. I feel like I know him so well, and yet I don’t. I don’t even know if he wears contacts or not. I decide to chance it, keeping my ears perked for the sound of a car in the driveway.
I tiptoe upstairs, grabbing the DVD on my way up. I figure I can use it as an excuse when they come home—I can say that I am setting everything up in Bria’s room. It’s where she requested we watch the movie. I clutch the plastic box as I make my way down the hall. A pile of folded clothes sits on the bannister, and I wonder if Nick does laundry.
He must. No one else can do it.
I push my way in to the master bedroom, and memories of my first night come flooding back.
How Nick was so angry with me.