Page 66 of Small Sacrifices

A small smile. It doesn't reach his eyes. "Me neither. I never get to talk to people like this. It's... nice."

That doesn't sound like it's the whole truth. But it also sounds incredibly sad. And solonely.At least Reid has his sister.

"What about Max?"

Everett's smile turns rueful. "Max has enough issues. I'm not the only one affected by our father's bigotry. And Max isyoung.I shouldn't be unloading all this on my sibling."

Sibling.As far as timing goes, it's quite inconvenient. But suddenly, Reid realizes that Everett has never once used the wordbrotherto refer to Max. Has he ever even used pronouns? A chill descends Reid's spine as he realizes what that might mean. If a gay child is unacceptable, then what would the governor think about a genderqueer child?

"That sounds reasonable," he says. His voice is a bit unsteady, and he can see Everett's eyes rove over his face as he talks. Can he tell what Reid is thinking?

"Yeah, well." Everett rubs at his neck. "So where does that leave us? Because we're not doing anything wrong. We're just friends. We can be friends, right?"

By now, Reid has his doubts about that. The way his heart beats at the hopeful look on Everett's face points to the opposite. But then again… that face. How is he supposed to say no when Everett is looking at him like that?

He's never been in a situation like this, never felt this way before. The current circumstances offer a reprieve from making a definitive choice, which is comforting. But he still wants something—he's just not sure what.

The way Everett is looking at him, with those earnest eyes and a small smile playing on his lips, makes Reid want to reach out to close the gap between them.

"Sure," Reid says softly.

Everett's smile brightens by a few megawatts. "Great!" He spears more lettuce, bypassing the grilled salmon in the middle of the bowl. "So how about we just… do this? We can talk here, and we can text, but we don't meet up outside of your working hours. This can just be a workplace friendship."

It's tempting to Reid to point out that he already has a workplace friendship with Marisol, and that feels different. But that's beside the point. If they're going to do this, he should try not to sabotage it right out of the gate. So he nods and agrees. And he laughs when, at the end of his meal, Everett picks up the piece of salmon with his fork and just takes bites out of it.

Something is wrong with that guy. It's probably telling that Reid really wants to find out what it is.

Chapter 22: Should have seen it coming

When his mother calls that evening, Reid wants to just ignore it again. But that way lies trouble. Instead, he wraps his blanket tighter around his body and taps the little green icon on his phone screen.

"Good—"

"Darling, you really need to stop ignoring my calls. I was worried about you." His mother sounds put out. "Briana said you were alright, but it'd be nice if you just let me check on you to make sure."

Right. Reid takes a deep breath. Experience shows it'll be of no use to tell her she could have texted. He's never ignored a text from his parents. If they could accept how difficult it is for him to call someone, communication would be much easier.Oh, well.He tries to appease her with an apology for his forgetfulness, but she won't have it.

"Reid, that doesn't make me any less worried. Do you know when you forget things? When you're stressed. I thought we agreed you should avoid stress."

If he rubs his wool blanket between his fingers hard enough, it's abrasive. Reid gentles his grip. Can't afford to hurt his fingers right now. He might have to type up a surprise report at a moment's notice.

"I said I’d try. But that's not practical, Mom, you know that. And it's not actually that bad. Things get hectic sometimes, but I don't take it home." He's happy with that response for the split seconds it takes for his mother to digest it and not a moment longer.

"Hectic? That poor little boy died, and people are falling over themselves to point fingers. I've seen the news conferences, Reid. That's a bit more than justhectic."

Reid wouldn't know that, actually, because he wasn't involved in any of them. He tries to tell her that, but she's already off on a tangent on all the different statements that have been given by the parties involved since Robin died.

"That Coleman woman is a competent public speaker, I'll give her that. But she keeps tiptoeing around like she has something to hide. It makes her look like a liar. You know what would help, Reid?"

A dull pain settles into Reid's temples. "No," he says, because it's always best to let these things run their course.

"If your governor said something. Don't think the people haven't noticed that he hasn't actually said anything.I've noticed.You know, I'm getting worried that he actually has something to do with this. Aren't you worried?"

Bullseye.Not that he can say that. If Reid is honest now, his parents are only going to punish him for it. He tries his best to deflect. "Mom, you know how politicians are. There's a strategy behind it."

"I also know what a liar looks like when I see one. Honey, I know you really admire him. But are you sure you put your trust in the right person?"

They don't have to be in the same room for Reid to know the exact expression she has on her face right now—eyebrows raised and scrunched up, eyes big, mouth pursed. His stomach clenches on its own accord.

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