“Stop it. Stop with your questions. Leave us alone,” Abby shouted.
One of the reporters pushed his way through. Abby stumbled, gasping as she tried to protect herself. She turned, seeking out the perpetrator.
“What is wrong with you people?”
Things were reaching a fevered frenzy, when Lily seemed to spring back to life. She grabbed Abby and hugged her close, staring at the cameras, her gaze calm and direct.
“You want to know the truth? Yes, I’m pregnant, and yes, it is Rick Hanson’s baby. What I do now is my decision and my decision alone. You can ask all the questions you want, but we’re done answering them.” Lily raised her eyebrows at Abby. Then she turned back to the reporters. “Now, go fuck yourselves.”
Despite her shock, Abby had never been more proud of Lily. Seconds later, they were in the truck. Lily sat in the middle, beside Wes. Abby was on the opposite side, near the window. The weight of Lily’s secret consumed any remaining space in the pickup.
As they drove, Wes darted glances at both girls, wanting to say something, but for once he seemed to know when to keep his mouth shut.
“Lily, about the baby—” Abby said.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“But, Lil, you have to figure out—”
“Abby, I’m not discussing it.” Lily’s tone was clear.
“I won’t say another word,” Abby said.
Lily’s shoulders sagged, as if she’d found a moment of relief, and she went back to watching the road. Wes patted Lily’s hand gently. Exhausted, Lily sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder. Abby’s stomach dropped again. It was the alien invader and her hormones. It had to be. Stop being stupid. Lily needs a friend, someone to make her feel safe. Wes had a knack for that. And it wasn’t as if it mattered to Abby. She didn’t give two shits about Wes. She didn’t care about him at all.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
EVE
The girls wouldn’t discuss anything that happened at the jail when they returned home. They flat out refused, with Abby leading the charge.
“We’re going to bed, Mom. You should do the same,” Abby said as she led a dejected Lily upstairs. Eve glanced at Wes, his shoulders hunched, as he shook his head.
“It’s bad, Eve. Lily’s pregnant with Hanson’s kid. Somehow the press found out. They blindsided her with it at the jail. Blindsided us all.”
Eve stared back at him. Jesus Christ. No one, it seemed, could catch a break. She poured Wes a scotch and made one for herself. She knew he was anxious, that he wanted reassurances that things were going to be okay, but Eve couldn’t promise him that. After downing his drink, Wes reluctantly left. Eve finished the bottle, sitting alone in the dimly lit kitchen.
Eve was consumed by the thought of Lily having another baby. Rick’s baby. She couldn’t believe it. She was like one of those bomb technicians she’d seen in the movies. Just when she thought she’d caught her breath, there was a new device to defuse.
Eve despised Rick Hanson with every single fiber in her body, but she still didn’t want Lily to terminate her pregnancy. Lily had been through enough. Eve no longer considered herself a believer. Still, there was the off chance that Lily’s soul might be in danger, that she could be punished in spite of all she’d been through. But this wasn’t her call. Eve would support Lily no matter what she decided. What Eve really wanted was to stop the outside world from dragging her daughter down. She wanted to get rid of the parasites on her porch; she wanted to protect Sky and her girls. But she was helpless and it was killing her.
She downed the last of the scotch and peered outside. The media seemed to be resting, returning to their crypts or wherever they went so they’d be ready for their continued assault tomorrow. Eve reached for her phone and stared down at the keypad.
Don’t do it. Don’t do it, she told herself.
She texted him and waited. Endless moments.
Be there in twenty minutes, the response came back.
Fifteen minutes later Eve sat in her car in the parking lot of the Dunkin’ Donuts, the heater running. This was a mistake. Go back to your girls, she tried to tell herself. Forget about him. But then she saw Tommy climbing out of his police cruiser and she abandoned all rational thought. She joined Tommy, the two of them leaning against the hood of her still-warm car. In spite of all the time that passed, being together was familiar, comfortable.
“I heard about Lily and the baby. Are you hanging in there?” he asked.
“By the tiniest of a thread,” Eve said.
“You’re so damn strong, Evie. You’ll get through this. Just like you always have.”
“I hope so,” she said. “I wanted to thank you for everything.”
“It’s my job, Eve. I’m just doing my job.”
“It’s always been more than a job. You know that.”
He bristled, his eyes flashing with annoyance.