He set the brush down. I turned to face him.
“How long have you known her?”
“Since we were in diapers, pretty much. Our moms were childhood friends so we grew up together. After that Christmas with my dad, I asked if I could stay with her during the holidays. Her mom never liked my dad and took me in without a second thought.” His smile turned sad. “I want to believe her, V, I really do. I just can’t afford to take the chance.”
“I told you last night that I’d follow your lead.” I brought my hand up to his face and ran my thumb along his cheek. “You don’t have to justify anything to me. Ever. Remember that.”
“I just… I know you don’t agree. But if she betrayed me and she knew I was alive, she could do a lot of damage. She knows every single one of my weaknesses.”
“TheAvalanche has weaknesses?” I teased.
His hands went to my hips, tugging me closer so he could kiss my forehead. “I do now.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks. “I knew you were a softy.”
He chuckled, wrapping his arms around me. “If you tell anyone, I’ll have to kill them.”
“You can’t, you’re dead.”
I felt him smile against the top of my head.
“Alright, Sassy Pants, you need to move a little faster. Eva will be here soon. She’s always early.”
Sure enough,Eva arrived at 4:30. She held an extra large pepperoni pizza in one hand and a bottle of vodka in the other. She looked awful—dark circles under her bloodshot eyes, hair thrown into a messy bun, cheeks tear-stained and paler than usual, dressed in plaid pajama pants and an oversized sweater.
I took the box out of her hand and placed it on the table next to the door before pulling her into a tight hug. She started crying immediately, and it took all my self-control to keep from telling her he was alive, hiding somewhere in my apartment. The longer she clung to me, the harder it was to believe she was in on the set-up.
I stayed like that until she pulled away—my own eyes puffy and red by the time she stepped back. She tried to apologize for getting snot on me, but I waved her off, I didn’t exactly keep my composure either.
“Give me thirty seconds to change into PJs then we can curl up in bed and watch cheesy Christmas rom-coms while we drink that vodka right from the bottle, okay?”
She choked out a laugh that sounded more like a sob and nodded. “I like the way you think.”
“Make yourself at home, I’ll be right back.”
I left her to look around in the living room while I changed. Austin was waiting for me in the bedroom; he also looked like a mess—hair finger raked, eyes bloodshot, pacing at the foot of my bed.
“Aus—”
“I don’t know what to do, V. What am I supposed to do?”
I cleared the distance between us and wrapped my arms around his torso, running my hands over his back.
“I can’t give you the answer to that. I don’t think she was in on it, but if you still think there’s even a chance… You tell me what you want and I’ll do it.”
He held me tight for a second, threaded his fingers through my hair, and took deep breath before he stepped back.
“I need more information first. Don’t say anything. Please.”
“Okay.”
Eva stayed mostof the night. We curled up under the covers—glad I had the good sense to put fresh sheets on my bed before she arrived—and pulled up the Christmas movie channel. The pizza box sat open between us and the vodka bottle passed from her hand to mine back to hers. She drank most of it, which was good because I could barely keep a secret like this while I was sober.
We only half paid attention to the movies, opting to spend more time chatting. She seemed to be doing a bit better but then midnight hit and she burst into tears. I hugged her again, holding her tight while she buried her head in my neck and sobbed.
“I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.
“For what? I can’t read your mind, E.”
