Chapter 33 #2
“Hey little Liv. What’s up baby?” Instantly his voice makes me feel better.
The last time we spoke he sounded stressed and tired.
He had turned 18 on our birthday which meant he was officially out of the system and officially homeless.
I have been calling him every day since then.
He was always in a different place. When I asked about the most recent place he said he was on a job cause he needed some quick cash.
That confused me because he has one of those reloadable debit cards that Rissa and I would put money on for him.
Not a lot, just enough so he could buy food or clothes if he needed something.
I had logged into the card and saw that not a single penny had been spent from that card.
It broke my heart. He chose to struggle rather than use what Rissa and I gave him.
Not because he was being rude but because he didn’t want to take from his friends.
“Hey. I'm just at this party and really don’t want to be here.” I tell him. “So, I thought I'd check in on you.”
“I don’t need to be checked on.” He laughs into the phone.
“Yeah, well whatever.”
“You just wanted an excuse to walk away.” He teases.
“Yeah yeah. But I really did want to call you and make sure everything was ok. Where are you at right now?”
“Honestly, I've got no idea chica.”
“Well, I don’t like the sound of that.”
“I'm just headed to a place that has a job for me tomorrow, that's all.” He reassures me.
“Did you eat dinner?” I ask quietly.
He sighs on the other end of the phone. “Actually, I had McDonalds.” He says like he’s proud of himself.
“Gross. But at least it was food and not those freaking chips you always have.”
“You leave my Funyuns alone.” He gasps playfully.
“Well, I guess I should get back to the party. I really miss you though Ev.”
“I know you do candy cane. I miss you too.” He tells me, using my nickname he gave me from the first time he smelled my new shampoo.
“I love you. I’ll call you tomorrow.” I tell him and we hang up.
I toss my phone back in my bag, close the door and head back to where my friends are.
Not long after I show up Maddison returns and slithers up to Rafe. I roll my eyes and look away until I notice him walk off.
Rafe stalks off and I turn back to Morella who’s animatedly talking about last years party.
Apparently Maddison got sloppy drunk and made a fool of herself.
Everyone is laughing and I turn to see how mad Maddison is but when I look at her she's not mad.
She's staring at me smirking, arms crossed across her midsection. I roll my eyes and shake my head, turning away from her and back to Morella’s story.
I sit on the edge of a cracked headstone, barely feeling the cold through my dress. The party feels miles away now, just bass lines and broken laughter echoing through the cemetery.
Rafe returns, stopping a few feet in front of me, hands balled into fists, the fake dog tail on his costume dragging through the dirt behind him.
“You’ve been talking to someone.”
It’s not a question. It’s a statement. One that sounds awfully angry.
I blink at him, thrown. “What?”
“I saw the texts,” he says. “The calls. You two telling each other how much you miss each other. How much you love each other. You really think no one would notice when you’re on the phone for eight goddamn hours in the middle of the night?”
My stomach turns. “You went through my phone?”
His jaw clenches. “I was worried for my friends. So yeah. I looked. If I’m concerned for my friends, I’ll go through whatever phone I have to.”
I don’t know what to say. My mind is still catching up when Silas stumbles into view, now in nothing but his boxers, holding his costume in a ball under one arm.
“Okay,” he grins, “either someone dared me, or I just had the best worst idea ever.” He says stepping up to the group. “What’s going on? Why does Rafe look like he wants to throw someone through a tombstone?”
Rafe doesn’t hesitate. “Ask Liv.”
Silas looks at me, confused. “What?”
“She’s been talking to some guy,” Rafe says, voice rising. “Evan. Some long-distance whatever. Calling him baby, saying she misses him. Saying she loves him. You thought she was serious about you? Just a few days ago, she was on the phone with this guy from 9PM to past five in the morning.”
The words hang in the air like smoke. I look at Silas as his expression collapses. His cocky grin vanishes, eyes unfocused, like he just got the wind knocked out of him.
“Liv,” Archer’s voice cuts in. “I saw you on the phone.”
I turn to him, heart thudding. “What? How?”
He doesn’t answer me.
“Archer,” I press. “How would you know that? Were you watching me?”
Rafe steps in, like he’s defending him. Blocking Archer form my view. “He didn’t need to spy on you. We noticed. We all noticed. You were different. Checked out. Now we know why.”
Silas takes a small step back.
“Silas,” I try, but he won’t look at me.
His voice is flat. “You told him you loved him?”
From the shadows, Maddison materializes like a shark smelling blood. She leans against a tree with that smug little tilt to her head, arms folded. “Of course she won’t explain,” she purrs. “She likes the attention. Apparently the three of you just aren’t enough for her.”
I blink hard, but the tears come anyway. I shake my head, furious with myself for letting her see me cry.
“It’s not true,” I whisper, but no one responds. I turn and walk away from everyone. I don’t look back. Even as I hear Morella calling after me.
I find Rafe’s SUV and dig through the backseat for my bag. My hands are shaking as I pull out my phone and open the app. My Uber is en route almost immediately.
When it pulls up, headlights cast long shadows across the grass. I’m already climbing in, except a hand grabs the door before I can close it. Morella doesn’t say anything. Just slides in next to me and slams the door shut behind her.
I stare at her. “You don’t have to come.”
“I want to,” she says gently.
The car is quiet for a while, save for the sound of gravel crunching beneath the tires. Angie hums along to the radio in the front seat like this is any other drive.
“I thought you’d be mad,” I say quietly. “I didn’t want to tell anyone.”
Morella turns her head, waiting.
“His name is Evan. He’s not some random guy. He’s… he’s important. He’s my best friend from California. We’ve known each other forever.” My voice breaks a little. “Our birthdays were a few days ago. We always spend them together, but we couldn’t this year. So we stayed on the phone all night.”
I wipe my face with the back of my hand, “Normally my dad bakes three cupcakes with three candles. Me, Rissa and Evan would meet up and spend the majority of the day together. We would all sing happy birthday, eat the cupcakes and then exchanges gifts. Usually hand made. We would do the same for Rissa’s birthday.
This was the first year without her completely. The first year without each other.”
Morella’s face softens. She pulls me into her arms and hugs me tight. “You should’ve told me,” she whispers into my hair.
“I didn’t want to. I didn’t want anyone to know anything about my life in California. Those are difficult memories for me.”
She pulls back and wipes under my eyes with her thumb. “When and if you’re ready to tell me any more, you can. I'm always here for you, no matter what.”
I nod.
Morella turns to Angie and says, “Can you stop at that gas station up ahead?”
A few minutes later, we’re standing in the fluorescent light of the snack aisle. Morella grabs three chocolate Hostess cupcakes and holds them up like a prize.
“Three,” she says, “for tradition.”