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‘Lock your door.’
I meet Agatha at Fergus’s bar a few days later for a drink.
With everything going on, I didn’t get the chance to meet up with my friends.
Fergus stands behind the counter, wiping a glass carefully, blatantly eavesdropping on the heated discussion Ian and Philip are having just a few feet away from where Agatha and I sit, eyeing them balefully since we were told to mind our own business.
“I’ve never seen a bartender wearing gloves,” Agatha remarks loudly and Fergus looks over at her.
“It’s called hygiene. You can learn from me.”
I snort and Agatha immediately shoots me an insulted look. “He said it.”
“How’s Eve?” Fergus asks.
I swirl my drink in my glass, watching the golden liquid swirl around. “She liked the food you sent her. She sends her thanks.” I glance at Agatha. “I guess I should thank you for trying to defend my honor the other day. You shouldn’t have said anything though.”
“I don’t like her,” Agatha says abruptly.
Instead of getting resentful, I prod her with my foot. “Because she was mean to me?”
Agatha just glares at me and sips at her mango juice with a scowl. “She thinks the worst of you.”
“At least she hasn’t tried to suffocate me with a pillow,” I say with a straight face.
Ian looks over at us, narrowing his eyes at his fiancée. “Not again.”
Agatha frowns. “It’s not like I killed you.”
“You put the pillow on my face and sat down on it,” I scowl. “And you’re heavy.”
Agatha’s eyes widen with horror. “Did you just call me fat?”
My mouth falls open, and I scramble to fix this because if I know one thing, calling Agatha fat these days is a suicide wish.
“You’re glowing,” Fergus says, smoothly. “Zayn’s a general asshole. Everybody knows that.”
“Yeah,” I agree, half-heartedly, grateful that I am saved.
Then, as an afterthought, I add. “You and the girls could do some girl time thing with Eve. You’ve not exactly been very welcoming.”
Agatha stiffens. “I don’t think she likes me very much either.”
“She doesn’t know you well enough. She’s met all of you before, occasionally, but aside from Fergus, none of you ever took the opportunity to befriend her or get to know her.”
I try to keep the accusatory tone out of my voice, but it must have slipped because I see the hint of guilt slide on Agatha’s face.
Ian and Philip have now moved towards us, and they stand around us as we make a complete circle.
“She was invited to the barbeque,” Ian says. “I understand she doesn’t want to come.”
I feel a hint of frustration. “All I’m saying is give her a chance and try to get to know her. Eve doesn’t trust people that easily and I want her to be a part of my life.”
Philip takes a chug from his beer and looks curious. “Not to step on your dainty little toes here, Zayn, but didn’t Eve want to keep your relationship limited to Mila? I didn’t know you were trying to be more involved in her life. Or that she was even interested in getting involved in yours.”
I wonder how to best answer that.
Fergus’s mouth twitches and I know he suspects.
