Chapter 17
Everly
One Month Later
“I’ll be fine.” My declaration is met with eye rolls and jeers. Standing in the middle of their open floor plan living room, Tatum and Lennon are giving ridicule in stereo. Twin thing, I guess. “Seriously, I’ll have you guys—and Lilly promised to show, too.”
“We finally get to meet the legendary Lilly. Are her hot boy toys coming with her?”
“I promised them surfing, so yeah, I think they all are. They tend to run as a unit anyway.”
Lennon rubs her hands together and arches her brows at her sister.
I deadpan, “You know you can’t hit on them, right?”
They hold their right hands up in a mock scout salute at the exact same time.
“Creepy.” My comment sends them into a fit of giggles. “You guys really get off on this twin telepathy thing, don’t you?”
“It takes more than that to get me off, but maybe Tatum.” Lennon sidesteps her sister’s shove. Tatum’s face turns crimson, the shier of the two and younger by six minutes.
“Lennon, not all of us are ferally thirsty.” Tatum rallies from her embarrassment quickly.
Lennon shrugs shamelessly.
I raise my hand. “Can I leave the sister slug match? Thank God Via lives five hours away. Still, we were never as bad as you two.
“Twin thing,” they say in unison.
I roll my eyes. “I’m out. Gotta see what last-minute help they still need anyway.”
“Wait,” Lennon calls as I reach for the door. “We didn’t finish the Julian discussion.”
Hearing his name doesn’t pierce like it used to. Still, I avoid it as much as possible. “Nothing to discuss. It’s in the past. We’ve moved on.”
“Uh-huh. Totally. That why you blew off Bronson when he asked you out? Because it’s so in the past?”
“Fuck, Lennon, is this a roast? I blew off Bronson because he’s a fuck boy and I don’t want to be his next conquest.”
“I think he’s a recovering fuck boy,” Tatum chimes in but doesn’t look up from her fidgeting fingernails.
“Sounds like Tatum wants to be his next conquest,” Lennon quips.
“Nah, she wants to shrink him. It’s a psych major thing.
I get it. And he’s a perfect specimen.” I toss her a lifeline because I see the way she looks at Bronson.
That’s another reason I ignore his attention.
Girl code. “Girls, I’m out. Gonna have to save the Ever saga for another time. Come early and have a drink with me.”
“You mean be your airbags?” Lennon’s voice follows me out the door.
I ignore the question—it was rhetorical anyway—and their tinkling laughter that trails me out the door. I stayed over at their house last night because their kickback went late. Now I’ve gotta book it back to Ashley’s to help set up for the ASH anniversary party tomorrow.
With all the windows down and my hair twisted into a messy knot on top of my head, I cruise down PCH to Ashley’s as the rising sun glimmers on the ocean.
The salty air and the volume of GNR drown out the thoughts, if not the images, in my head.
Still, my heart pounds in my chest and my pulse jumps in my wrists.
I ignore the white knuckles gripping the steering wheel. I can do this. God, I miss his face.
The urge to pull into the beach parking lot and catch a wave is strong. My dad’s old-school playlist used to be my foolproof distraction. Now it’s surfing. It still requires too much of my concentration to allow for anything else, like worry and stress or blue-eyed boys that shatter your heart.
As I pull through the gates of Ashley’s property, I continue around the back of the main house to my private drive that leads to the remodeled cottage I now rent.
I insist on paying rent, though it’s the same conversation every month.
Just keep it in case you need it for books or something.
I’ve resorted to dropping it to his Venmo so I don’t have to hear about it.
He really gives the cutest dad vibes though, and I love him for it.
Slamming my foot on the brake, I gasp at the sight of the white Jeep in my spot.
Nooo. Fuck. I crank the wheel and squeeze my 4Runner in beside the Jeep and the hedge that separates my little driveway from the backyard.
Pressing the button to cut my engine floods my world into deafening silence.
Slowly the sounds of the property trickle in: birds, the pool sweep, the buzz of a distant hedge trimmer.
I want to tiptoe out of my car and into the cottage to hide.
Why do I feel like a little kid caught doing something wrong?
The adrenaline rush lands like too many espressos.
My fingers flounder on the door handle. Pull it together, Ever.
Ducking into the cottage, I lean back on the door gulping for air. My phone buzzes in my pocket, startling me.
Allie: Julian’s not here. He drove up last night. Luke took him to tour the new gyms. They’ll be gone all day.
Me: No worries. Grabbing a quick shower then I’m all yours.
My heart rate slows with the information—a reprieve, for now at least. Before I drop my phone on the entryway table, I text Lilly.
Me: What’s your ETA tomorrow?
Lilly: What if we came tonight?
Me: Hell yeah. Hurry up. Just helping Allie all day. Come whenever.
Then I text the twins in our group chat.
Me: New development. He’s here. Guess I needed that pep talk after all.
Tatum: Oh. My. Fuck. Are you okay? What’d he say? What’d you say?
Lennon: Yeah. What she said.
Me: Haven’t seen him yet. Just his Jeep. Guess he’s gone all day with Ashley. Thank God! Lilly’s coming tonight though.
Lennon: Okay, tell us the plan, who we hate, how to act, when to show up.
Me: Lol you’re the best. I’m good. Just be here tomorrow to distract me.
I’m not sure when I became such a girl. I’ve never let myself have true girlfriends besides Via, then Lilly.
I guess Lilly opened me up to the possibility of real friends—that I don’t share DNA with.
Lennon and Tatum are like the ocean air though—like a full dose of negative ions.
They just make you feel good being around them.
Kinda like Lilly but different. I’m so lucky to have such beautiful souls in my life.
Twin rows of tears roll down my cheeks before I even realize I’m crying.
Swiping them away, I trek down the short hallway into one of the two master suites the renovated cottage boasts.
I asked Allie if I could have the lavender decor from the bedroom I used in the main house.
Instead of transferring it all to the cottage, they had it replicated.
I bawled when I saw it. The last seven months here have healed me in ways I never even knew I needed healing.
From the summer classes Pepperdine approved, to meeting the twins, to settling into my new role with ASH, my nervous system is calmer than it’s ever been.
Current development notwithstanding, I vow to keep it that way and let the pounding heat of the shower work its magic, despite the climbing heat of the SoCal summer day.