Page 59 of Something Cryptid This Way Comes
He eyes the clock, but doesn’t say a word about it being ten in the morning. “Want a mug or a tumbler?”
Even though I’m pissed beyond belief at her, I take a page out of Agnes’s book. “I’ll take a mug.”
I’m as at home in Ever’s kitchen as in my own. I press the button on the electric kettle and pluck a tea bag from his collection. “Remember us talking about the dark figures Agnes and a few other people said they’d seen late at night in town?”
“Of course. And you and Bram saw one that night at the festival.” He shakes his head. “I still can’t believe he hopped a fence to chase after something unknown in the dark.”
“I did the same thing last night.” I pour the boiling water into the mug. Then add the splash of whiskey. “We confirmed the night of the festival that it was someone in a costume. They were outside my place last night. Thedogs wouldn’t stop barking, so I took them out. They saw the thing and raced after it.” I take a sip of my tea, wincing when I burn the roof of my mouth, then add another splash of whiskey. “Long story short, the person dropped their mask. It was Agnes.”
His eyes widen. Resting his forearms on the island, he leans forward. “But Agnes told Jo and you how unsettled the creatures made her feel. Why would she make them up, and then feel the need to run around pretending to be one?”
“Apparently, for love.” Having already burned a layer of skin off, I sip my too-hot tea again. “According to her, Bram and I were hopeless, stubborn cases who wouldn’t act on our feelings for each other.”
“Huh.” To his credit, he doesn’t agree, just waits and listens.
“So she felt compelled to intervene.” I set the mug down. “That involved making up all the new cryptid sightings and getting her friends and other people in town to go along with it.”
“Damn.” He rocks back in his chair. “She never said anything like that around me. No one else did either. I’d have told you if I’d heard something like that.”
“I know you would.”
Ever gets up and pours water from the kettle into his own cup. Then stirs a spoon of honey into it. “I take it Bram knows?”
“Oh, yeah.” There’s that awful bitter laugh again. I sip my tea to soothe it.
“Where is he?”
“Took off.”
He stops stirring, his eyebrows nearly to his hairline. “Took off? As in, he threw his belongings into a bag and bolted?”
“No. As in, he grabbed his dog and drove away.” I puff out a sigh that sends the steamrising from my mug sideways. “He needed to, and I quote, ‘get the hell away from here’ and he ‘didn’t want to see any Maplewoodians.’”
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m furious on his behalf. Breaks my heart too.” I rub my hand over my chest, and my fingers bump my medallion, sending fresh shards of pain through me. “Because he did the podcast episode and Cryptid Night, when word gets out about the hoax, he’s worried people will twist the details and think he was in on it. This could fuck with his career. Maybe ruin it.”
Ever blows out a long, low whistle. “I know Agnes meant well, but wow.”
I turn the mug around, following the looping line of an illustrated bee in flight. “You know how people in this town like to talk. If asked to keep a secret, they don’t. Someone always slips. Then the rumor mill adds new details and turns things around. We’ve seen it happen.”
“We have.”
I blow out a breath and raise my gaze to his. “I’m worried this might make Bram leave.”
Ever ponders the liquid in his mug for a second, then considers me, tipping his head to the side. “Did he seem angry with you?”
“No. Not me. But he might be too disgusted and annoyed with the whole situation and it’ll always be associated with how we got together. Maybe he won’t be able to get past that.”
He taps my foot with his. “You’ve been best friends since you were ten. You talk to each other nearly every day. He’s not going to cut you off.”
Heat sears into my hands. I’m gripping my mug too tight, but I need something to hold on to, something to ground me while my world rips apart. “You didn’t see the anger and anguish on his face. Feel his body stiffen. Hear thepain in his voice.”
The corners of his eyes and mouth turn down. “I’m sorry, Trev.”
If Bram doesn’t want to stay here, but still wants me, could I leave this place? I love Maplewood. My business and my friends, my whole life is here. I’ve never wanted to live anywhere else. But now that I’ve had a taste of what I’ve shared with Bram, I don’t want to lose it.
A stained glass bee on the window catches my attention. Bright and sunny, the exact opposite of how I feel. “How can I fix this for him?”
