Page 25 of Wild About You
I walk toward her with slow, measured steps. It’s been at least fifteen minutes since she left the classroom. Way too long to be outside in this weather.
“Is everything okay?” I ask as I approach her.
“I’m fine.” She lifts her chin proudly, but the dots of red on her cheeks and the chatter of her teeth say otherwise. “I’m waiting for my ride. He should be here pretty soon.”
“Tyler?” I take a seat next to her. The metal bench is like ice.
“No, River. He had to work late at the record store to cover for his ex.” She tilts the screen of her phone to show me a picture of what I assume is River and a girl with long, jet black hair. “That’s her. His ex, Molly. She works with him at Empire. Should I be worried that they’re still friends?”
“I don’t know,” I say. “But just because she’s his ex, doesn’t mean he still has feelings for her.”
“I’m not sure I believe you can be just friends with an ex after you break up. It seems like it would be weird. I mean, look at you and my brother. You two can barely stand to be in the same room together.” Small snowflakes start to drop from the sky and land on the screen, and she slides her phone into her coat pocket.
“It’s freezing out.” Literally freezing. “Is there anyone else you could call?”
She shakes her blonde head. “No.”
“What about your brother?”
“He’s out of town.”
Right. He did say he was going to be traveling with the team the rest of the week. I’ve tried to block out everything he said that night, but it’s replayed in my head on a loop.
“Who stays with you while he’s gone?”
“Umm…” She looks nervous. “Scarlett checks on me sometimes or Declan, neighbors, whoever Tyler can convince to pop in on me.”
“Scarlett Miller?” I ask.
She smiles. “Yeah. You know her?”
“I do.” I pull out my phone, but Everly stops me.
“She’s traveling with the team this week. Leo likes having her in the stands.”
I smile because I can hear Scarlett in that.His family hardly ever comes so I love being there for him. He gets the biggest smile on his face when he looks up and sees me in the stands.
“Okay, so who is watching you this weekend they’re gone?”
She gets a defensive glint in her eyes. “Declan is going to check in on me later. I don’t need a babysitter. I’m eighteen.”
“Who is Declan?”
“One of my brother’s teammates. He’s injured so he isn’t traveling, but he’s at physical therapy until five.”
I’m starting to get a pretty good picture of the chaos of Everly’s life. I know it can’t be easy for Tyler trying to juggle everything, but no wonder Everly is acting out. She has no certainty in her life.
I stand. “Come on. I’ll give you a ride.”
“For real?”
“Yeah, but no judgment when I eat a share size Kit Kat on the drive. It’s been a long week.”
* * *
Everly gives me the address and I punch it into my phone before we leave the school. I eat my Kit Kat as promised, and Everly stares down at her phone. The snow has picked up and the sky darkens.
When I get to the gated community, my jaw drops. In the back of my mind, I knew Tyler was a wealthy hockey player now, but it hadn’t really hit me until we’re passing the large homes of his neighborhood that he isn’t the young guy struggling to make something of himself anymore.
