Page 58 of Five Minute Man
There were a few grumbles and protests as her father tried to round everyone up and out, but once Jack McTierney had made a decision, it was law. Everyone said their goodbyes and promised—i.e.threatened—to return the following weekend.
Holly gave a big sigh of relief when they were finally gone.
“God, they’re exhausting,” she said, closing her eyes and leaning her head back. Two days had felt more like two months. Now she remembered exactly why she had moved over an hour away.
“Yeah,” Liz agreed, sinking down beside her with the tub of Rocky Road and two spoons. “But they mean well. Do you think, if I managed to hurt myself in a totally random and completely believable, un-staged freak accident, they’d come over to my place? I mean, jeez, Holly. I’ve never seen this house so clean. I swear there are enough pre-made meals in the freezer to last a month!”
“Yeah, there’s that,” Holly sighed. As much as it chafed to admit it, her family had been a tremendous help. Lord knew she hadn’t felt up to running the vacuum, doing laundry, or cooking.
The downside was, Holly would probably spend the next couple days putting things back where they belonged. Holly’s mom’s idea of organization was based on appearance; Holly’s was based on accessibility and common sense.
A perfect example: her favorite zip-up hoodie was now hanging in the foyer closet instead of being draped across the kitchen chair where she could put it on when needed. Granted, her cottage had never looked so good, but Holly much preferred practicality over aesthetics.
Holly dug deep into the ice cream, relishing the total sensory experience. Ice cream was fucking awesome. Cold and rich and creamy, it never disappointed.
Unlike everything else in life.
“So ... Holly,” Liz began slowly, drawing out the words, “we should talk.”
The tone, the cadence, the phrasing—they were all clear indications that whatever Liz wanted to talk about, Holly was absolutely certain shedidn’t.
“Don’t, Liz.”
“Then don’t talk, just listen. Because I’m only going to say this once, and then I am never, ever going to talk about it again.”
Something in Liz’s voice kept Holly from protesting again. “All right.”
“I know you’re hurting, and I totally get it. What Adam did was just awful.But... maybe it wasn’t completely his fault.”
“Excuse me?” Holly said, stiffening. Liz was her best friend. She was supposed to have her back, no matter what. No questions asked, just blind, one-hundred percent loyal support. “You’re defending him now? You saw those pictures, Liz!”
“Yeah, I did,” Liz admitted, biting her lower lip. “And didn’t he, I don’t know, seem kind of out of it to you?”
Hollyhadthought the same thing, but mostly because she had stupidly gone and fallen in love with the betraying bastard. It was her mind’s innate self-defense mechanism kicking into gear, lessening the sting just enough to enable her to hang on to her last remaining shred of self-control.
“So, he got drunk first before he had sex with her. That makes itsomuch better.”
Liz was quiet for a minute, staring into the ice cream as she swirled her spoon around the top. “I know I told you I didn’t like Eve Sanderson, but I never told you why.”
“I just figured it was because she was a spoiled, rich, self-centered, cunt of a whore bitch.”
Liz’s lips quirked a little at that, but her eyes were sad. “Well, there’s that. But there is another reason, too.”
Holly waited; she knew better than to rush Liz. Whatever she was going to say was obviously hard for her, and important. Liz wouldn’t have brought it up otherwise.
“You know I have a younger brother, right?”
“Yeah. Nick, right? Moved out west somewhere?”
“Wyoming,” Liz confirmed.
“You don’t talk about him much.”
“No,” Liz agreed. “But, at one time, we were really close. We’re only about eighteen months apart in age, and we look enough alike that everyone always thought we were twins.”
“What happened? Why did he leave?”
“Eve Sanderson.” Liz spit out the name with more hate than Holly had ever heard coming from her lips. “I’ll give you the Cliffs Notes version. She saw him at some party and decided she wanted him. At first, he was polite; told her he wasn’t interested. Nick was crazy in love with his girlfriend, Annie, and was saving up money to get her a ring for Christmas.”
