Chapter Twenty-Four
Skylar Parish
By the time we reach OceanSide Inn, I’m a nervous wreck. Everett shouldn’t check out until tomorrow morning, but the odds that he stepped out for a moment are high. Who just sits in their motel all day?
But then again, he’s not necessarily on a vacation here. For some reason, Everett left town. He traveled three hours from home with only half of his clothes and, if his silence is any indication, no cellphone.
Why?
I’m almost positive that his adoptive parents play a role in this, but I can’t imagine a single reason as to why he wouldn’t just come to my apartment if things went south.
It’s obvious that Ash found out about our relationship, and he most likely kicked Everett out. But why this small little town, so far away? Why did he run before graduation?
Why did he run without me?
I thought that the plan was for me to come along. I thought that his eyes had so clearly declared that he could not live without me. I swear that I felt deep within me that my coming with him was the only way any of this would have been worth it.
Did he hear what his adoptive father had to say and then decide otherwise? Did he run into Jacob, who told him how cruel I truly can be?
Why didn’t he take me with him? I told him at Angie’s that I would go wherever he went, and yet he up and left me alone.
I don’t want to be alone. I want to be with Everett, wherever that may be.
Kelly parks the car, and we look around the relatively empty inn. It’s nothing special, only two stories high with concrete steps and a singular unit up front as a main office.
The sign blinks ominously as the sun sets in the distance, and I release a long breath.
“Well, we made it, but how do we find his room?” Kelly asks.
“We could ask the front desk,” Henry suggests.
“I’ll pretend to be his boyfriend. That I’m locked out or something,” I add.
A choked sound comes from the backseat, but Kelly just stares emotionlessly.
“Why not his best friend? Why lie?” Henry asks.
“Because they won’t take a best friend seriously.”
And there is the fact that I am technically his boyfriend, but they don’t know that.
I take a moment to prepare myself, attempting to push aside all of the anxiety building inside of me. If everything falls apart after this one meeting—if Everett tells me to get lost—then so be it. But at the very least I’ll have an answer, and I’ll know that he is safe.
He has to be safe.
“Alright, I’m going to—”
“Wait,” Kelly interjects. “Let’s just follow him up.”
I follow her line of sight to the farthest staircase, spotting Everett as he lugs a gas station sack toward his room.
Everett. Finally.
He looks exhausted, even from this distance. His shoulders are sagging, his head hung, his feet dragging. Evie looks utterly defeated as he walks the outdoor hallway to room 249, the plaque shining in the orange glow of the evening.
“God, he looks miserable,” Henry mutters, leaning between Kelly and me over the console to get a better look.
“What happened, Sky?” Kelly asks softly.
“That’s what we’re going to find out. Come on.” I shove the car door open just as Everett slips inside.
We race toward the steps, and the entire venture from the car to the door of room 249, I am a ball of panicked energy.
What happened to him? Why didn’t he call? Is he okay? Does he love me? Why didn’t he come home?
My brain won’t stop. It’s creating scenarios and shooting them down, one by one, as I grow closer to him. With each slap of my sneakers against the concrete, my heart pounds faster until it’s sinking into the pit of my stomach.
I wish I could go back to Friday morning. I wish time would change and alter at my will, and I could be lying on his chest, feeling the beat of his heart and the puff of his exhales against my hair.
I wish I could save him from all the things that trouble him.
We stumble to a stop before his motel room, panting as we stare at the fading wood. Suddenly, Henry slams his fist against it. The frame rattles, and I can hear a soft curse resonate from the other side, yet he does not come to answer it.
Henry opens his mouth to speak, but Kelly clasps a hand over it and stares right at me, beckoning me.
I take a deep breath and then call out, “Evie? Open the door.”
It feels like déjà vu, this moment. I feel like him, waiting outside of my locked door as he pounded away manically.
Karma, I guess.
His approaching footsteps sound around us, but as they stop at the door, he still does not open it.
“Please,” I mutter. “Please let me in. I just… Let me in, baby.”
I feel Henry stiffen beside me, but I do not turn to take in their shocked expressions. Everett needs comfort right now, and though I don’t know the exact reason as to why, I will give it to him.
And it works—the pet name. Everett opens the door a moment later, his honey eyes landing on me immediately. Like a homing missile, he finds me, no matter where we are or what is happening around us.
“Hey, pup,” he whispers, and his cheeks are flushed, his eyes glassy.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, keeping my tone gentle and placating. “Why did you run away?”
Everett becomes suddenly aware of our current company, straightening his spine and clearing his throat. “Oh, uh… No reason. Just needed a break, I guess.”
“A break from what?” My gentle tone snaps, replaced by something agitated and startled.
Everett flinches, lowering his gaze. “N-not you. I… Fuck.”
He looks caught, as if we’ve found him doing something disgraceful, and it breaks my heart. Whatever has forced him to travel three hours from home was most likely not his fault.
He’s a wounded animal, lying on the side of the road and praying that someone will take him in and offer the slightest bit of compassion.
“Let us in,” I tell him, and Everett backs up, leaving the door open as he moves to stand on the opposite side of the queen mattress.
I spot his baseball duffel sitting on the dresser next to the TV.
“Sorry you guys came all this way. It’s probably best that you leave now,” he says solemnly.
He is telling us to leave, yet he opened the door for us to enter.
I have learned over the past few months that Everett has a hard time being selfish.
Before we had a tangible relationship, he would suffer in silence or make slight comments if I got close to someone else.
He was willing to give me up if it meant that I would be happier with someone else.
And now, as he desperately craves support and company, he is sending us away. But not without showing us the path pointed toward him first.
“Why are you here?” I repeat. “Don’t tell me it’s nothing. Talk, Evie.”
“And we aren’t leaving,” Kelly interjects. “There are far too many secrets between this friend group, and I’m tired of sitting in the background of the Sky and Evie show.”
She doesn’t necessarily look upset, but her tone tells everyone in the room how serious she is. Kelly is done being lied to, and I can understand that.
But forcing Everett to come clean about his family? About us? I don’t know if that’s morally correct either.
Everett sighs, aiming his kicked puppy eyes toward the bed to avoid looking at us straight on.
A moment passes before he says, “Ash made me leave. He said that I had to leave, or he’d… He has something that he can hold over me. And after he found out about Skylar and me, he ran me off.”
“Sky and you?” Henry repeats, confused.
“They’re dating, you idiot,” Kelly snaps.
“You knew?” I whip toward her, my mouth gaping as I try to wrap my head around this realization.
She rolls her eyes. “Of course I did. I heard you two moaning through the bathroom door at your birthday party. Besides, anyone with eyes can see the way you two look at each other.”
“Rude,” Henry mutters. His eyes dart between Everett and me. “I wasn’t expecting it, honestly. But good for you guys.”
Well, that’s one secret out of the bag. I didn’t expect them to be assholes about it, but I still get a warm feeling in my chest at their acceptance.
Everett sighs once more, kicking the edge of the bedframe with his Converse. “That’s not the point. He said that I can’t stay in Florida, so I’m taking a bus to Georgia tomorrow. You guys better head home. It’ll be bad if he finds out that I talked to—”
“He can’t just kick you out of a state,” I deadpan. “He can suck my dick for all I care. Come on, we’re going back to campus.”
I reach for his arm over the mattress, but Everett jerks away, taking a step back.
“No!” he shouts. “You don’t understand. If he finds out I didn’t leave, that I’m talking to you, really bad things will happen.”
“What could he possibly have on you that’s so horrible?” Henry asks.
“I can’t think of a single thing you’ve done that could warrant something this extreme,” I add.
Everett meets my eyes, and I can see in them that he’s pleading. He is quite literally begging me to leave him here; he wants me to leave him behind.
Like fucking hell I will. Doesn’t he know that I have a penchant for not listening to others?
“Listen,” I continue, “we can help. Whatever it is that you are so scared of, we can handle it together. We have plans, remember? Maine or Washington, somewhere cold where we can be together. Just… come home.”
Everett shifts his gaze to the ceiling, releasing a long, deep breath. “You don’t understand.”
“Then tell me,” I insist. “If you don’t, I will sit in this room until you check out, and then I’ll follow you until you agree to stop running.”
He shakes his head but reluctantly moves toward his duffel. After shuffling for a second, he returns to his spot and throws a stack of papers onto the bed between us.
Then he stares. He stares at them with a deep sadness that I can feel in the very marrow of my bones. And it aches.
“What are those?” Kelly asks, inching forward.
I finally drop my eyes to the papers, taking in the bold title of the first page: Juvenile Court Report.
And everything around me just… stops.