Part of me wanted to.
“Evie,” I yelled, my voice carrying down the hall toward the main living room.
She didn’t say anything, but I knew exactly where she was hiding.
I gripped the edge of the couch as I leaned over to find Evie lying there, scowling up at me.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“I came to get away from you and everyone who would ask me what’s wrong when I can’t tell them anything. Your turn.”
“Well, I came because you ran, and when you run, I lose my fucking mind.”
Her eyes softened for a second before the hardened stare was back. I reached down to brush her hair back, splaying it across the pillow.
“Why did you run away?” I asked quietly.
She sat up, the rage flaring back to life. “I did exactly what I’m supposed to do, right? Psycho Evie comes out to ruin things and—”
“Don’t even act like this is something new I call you. You have always been—and always will be—my psycho girl.”
“That doesn’t mean it wasn’t used as an insult. And suremaybe you could use it as an insult when I was the annoying younger sister of your best friend, but that’s not what I am now.” She shook her head, her eyebrows furrowing again. “That’s not even the point. That’s not what I’m mad about.”
I dropped to my knees, resting my arms over the back of the couch. Before I could say anything, Asher stepped out.
“Sorry, am I interrupting something in my own home?” he asked, the calm, deep tone sounding rich and unbothered.
It made me look around, taking in my surroundings and taking in Asher. He belonged here, he created this world around him, not the other way around—which only made it more clear that I didn’t belong here.
And that maybe Evie did.
“No,” Evie said. “You aren’t. Are you ready to start the movie?”
I knew life could flash before your eyes in a wreck—I’ve experienced it myself. What I didn’t know was it could happen on a normal Friday in the middle of Asher’s living room.
The thought that I could leave Evie here and she could maybe live out her life, like this, with Asher. That she could live here, and be his, and fall in love with him.
My stomach rolled, a nervousness settling into my bones.
There was no way in hell I was losing Evie to Asher when I finally had a chance at her for myself.
“Like fuck are you sitting cuddled up with him to watch a movie.” I nearly jumped over the couch to her, but kept my composure enough to walk around. “We are leaving, Evie. We need to talk.”
I leaned down, close enough I could smell the hint of vanilla on her. “You are not staying with him tonight. I will drag you out of here kicking and screaming.”
“Like he would let you.”
“If there’s one thing Asher is not allowed to do, it’s tell me how to handle you.”
“Handleme? Am I a dog now?”
“I feel like I’ve walked into the middle of a lovers’ quarrel,” Asher said, not even looking up from his phone.
“You did,” I said, except Evie spoke at the same time.
“You didn’t,” she said.
