Page 29 of Next to Everything We Wanted
“Nothing much,” I said, not wanting her to think somethingwasup. “Just making some coffee so I have enough juice for the rest of the day.”
“Don’t act like I don’t know something’s wrong, Sea.” She leaned against the counter. “You avoided Dallas’s question twice. We’re both worried about you.”
“Why?” Had Oliver told them that I’d been acting strange? Maybe everyone had hung out here without me earlier.
“Well, for starters, you were spaced out at lunch,” she said. “And when the café messed up your coffee order, you didn’t even complain. The Sienna I know would’ve demanded the right one immediately.” She looked at the top of my head. “And you’re not wearing anything on your head. No beanie, no headband, not even a clip.”
“Fine, you caught me.” I sighed in defeat. “I had a terrible day yesterday.”
She sat at the nearest table. “What happened?”
I filled her in on my day at the park with the twins as I finished making my coffee. After going back and forth on whether or not I should tell her what happened with Ivan, I knew that I wouldn’t feel better until I told her the full thing.
“You see,” I said, sitting across from her. “The guy who found Bailey wasn’t just any guy.”
Raina lifted her eyebrows. “Was he hot? Was he someone we know?”
“Kind of both.” I drew in a sharp breath. “It was Ivan.”
Her mouth practically crashed onto the table. “Y-You mean Ivan Hicks? From Somewhere in the Sky?”
“What other Ivans do we know?” I twisted my hair around my finger. “We went into my car to treat Adam’s wound, and then he came home with us to finish treating it and watch a movie.”
She gasped, her blue eyes so huge that I thought they were going to pop. “You drove home with him in your car?”
“Well, we couldn’t keep walking in the rain, and he was uncomfortable with telling me where he lived so I could drop him off. Then during the movie, he panicked and left.” I didn’t want to tell her about the name situation. “I’m not sure what happened. He said that he left his stove on, but it seemed like an afterthought.”
“That’s freaking insane,” Raina said. “Maybe when he stops by our table tonight, you can pull him aside and talk about it. He probably has a lot on his mind.”
“Yeah.” I fiddled with my bracelets, including the ones she’d made me. Raina had a wicked gift for making jewelry; she spent hours in her room putting bracelets and necklaces together for her small business, Raining Gems. I used them in my fashion and credited her whenever people asked about them. “I’m just nervous.”
“Please don’t worry about it,” Raina said. “It worries me when you’re worried.”
“Well, now I’m worried about worrying too much, because I don’t like it when you’re worried. It makes me worried.”
Raina laughed. “That’s the story of our lives right there.”
I smiled and gave her a hug. Some of the tightness in my chest loosened. I’d talk to Ivan tomorrow after his performance and let him know that his secret was safe with me and the twins.
Then we could move on like nothing had ever happened.
“I’m going to be sick.” I squirmed around in our booth, waiting for Somewhere in the Sky to come on stage.
“I told you not to drink that chocolate milkshake,” Dallas said. “I don’t care how good they make these things—they taste like dog poop.”
“Dallas,” Raina warned.
“It’s true!”
Hayden hit Dallas in the elbow before looking at the stage, where the band was coming out. A frown spread across his full lips. “Where the heck is Ivan?”
“He’s not here?” I asked, fixing my gaze on the stage.
Everett stood front and center, his guitar strapped around him as he adjusted the mic. He gave Celia a look I couldn’t discern, but it didn’t look like a happy one.
My heart sank from my throat back into my chest. “He’s not here.”
“What happened?” Adam asked with a frown.
