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“Do you want to switch?”
I scan the interior but through the purple lights, spider webs, and dark trees, I can’t see a thing.
“Uncle Rock’s in Wrath’s office with the girls,” Heidi says, guessing correctly who I’m searching for.
The door whooshes open behind me. Damn. “I better get back to my post.”
I turn and smack into Lilly. “You’re here! Any chance I can talk you into working the front door?”
Z’s standing behind her and he grins down at me.
“Where’s Chance?” I ask.
Z lifts his chin. “Out back with Uncle Bricks and the kids.”
“Rock’s in Wrath’s office.”
Z and Lilly share a look, a sort of silent communication they’ve developed. After a second or two, he nods and disappears into Halloweenland.
“I have to talk to you,” Lilly whispers, grabbing my arm and tugging me outside.
“I’m supposed to be collecting money,” I protest.
Heidi steps in to take my place. “I’ve got it, Hope. Go ahead.”
Lilly practically drags me to the edge of the side parking lot and wedges us in between two trucks. “What’s wrong, Lilly?”
“We stopped at my brother’s on the way here.” She waves her hands toward the building. Something shook Lilly. She’s usually so calm.
“Is Alex okay?” I ask. I always liked him. Once upon a time, he supposedly had a crush on me. The one occasion he tried to ask me out, I shot him down.
“Oh, he’s ducky.” She shakes her head and stares somewhere over my shoulder. “He wasn’t alone.”
“Really?” I wiggle my eyebrows. “Alex is seeing someone? Good for him.”
“Notsomeone.” She takes a deep breath and shifts her gaze back to me. “Sophie.”
It takes a moment for that to sink in. “Wow. That’s, uh, unexpected.” I shrug. “Good for them. Didn’t you say they hooked up in high school or something? They rekindled their…romance or whatever? That’s kind of sweet.”
She blows out a breath and relaxes her shoulders. “You’re not mad?”
Confused, I frown. “Mad? No. Was it weird foryou? He’s your brother.” I know why Sophie and I aren’t friends anymore, but even so, I don’t wish her ill will or anything. We’ve both just moved on with our lives and I’m fine with that.
Lilly, on the other hand, has never quite told me what caused the rift in her relationship with Sophie.
“Maybemadwasn’t the right word.” She bites her lip. “I felt like I was…I don’t know, betraying you by being forced to hang out with her.”
Forced.Yikes. Lilly’s really not taking this well. “She was your friend long before you and I met. It’s okay.” I nudge my shoulder against hers. “I understand.”
“Yeah, but you’re like my sister now,” she says softly.
“Aw. Come here.” I pull her in for a hug. Slowly, she wraps her arms around me. We stand like that for a few minutes and eventually, she seems to relax.
Finally, she pulls away. “Thanks.”
“I never asked,” I say as tactfully as possible, “why you two aren’t friends anymore? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” I add quickly.
Her eyes take on a distant look. “I…uh…something shitty happened to me and when I tried to talk to her about it, she blew me off. Kind of blamedmefor it, actually.” She stares at the trees lining the edge of the parking lot. “It stung. I didn’t bother calling her again and she didn’t reach out either. I know she was still drinking at the time…hell, I’m not even sure she remembers. She says she doesn’t.” Lilly bites her lip. “No, she remembers, she had this guilty look in her eyes when she apologized.” Lilly shakes her head. “I don’t know what to think. It’s in the past.”
