"What happened to your face?" she asked, horrified, when I answered the door.
I'd forgotten about my injury. It seemed so long ago. "Long story. Come on to my room and I'll fill you in," I said, leading her toward the garage.
"Obviously you and Josh are still on," she said, letting Player out of his carrier when we entered my room. "And for god's sake, will you please tell me what you did to your face?"
Bending down, I scooped up Player in my arms as he purred loudly, nuzzling his head under my chin. "Did you drink a case of Red Bull or something before you got here?" I asked as Farrah bounced on my bed.
"I'm just excited to be home. Nice try at dodging my questions though. What's the deal with you and Josh? You two serious or what?" Just like my eye, so much had happened between Josh and me in the past few days that I didn't know where to begin.
"She's madly in love with me and can't stand for us to be apart," Josh answered as he entered my room.
I blushed at his declaration. Love was a strong word that I didn't like to throw around on a whim, but I also knew how quickly I was falling for him. My feelings for Josh could write their own romance story. They were new, but deep rooted in the tragedy we had shared. "Works for me," I finally answered.
"Aw, that's sweet," Farrah said. "Now what the hell happened to your face?" she continued without skipping a beat.
My heart dropped as I exchanged a look with Josh. Judging by the way Farrah was acting, she had no idea about anything that had happened with Evan and Larry. "Um, Farrah, did you hear about Evan?" I asked.
"No, why? Are you telling me that jerk had something to do with you looking like Two-Face? Is that why his dad put their house up for sale?" she asked, brimming with curiosity.
"He did?" I asked in shock. "He's selling their house?" Farrah's news took me by surprise. Evan had only been found yesterday. His dad must have had plans to move in the works.
"Yeah, I saw a moving crew there when I walked by. I looked for Evan, but he must already be back in New York."
"Farrah, Evan died in the storm," I said quietly, sitting next to her on my bed.
"Get out of here," she snorted. "I told you he probably headed back to the city."
When I didn't laugh with her, she began shaking her head in denial. "You're serious?" she asked.
"Yes," I answered. "He got into a major blowout on the phone with his dad. I came home and he was here, waiting for me. He was drunk and pissed at the world, so I invited him in so he could cool down a little and maybe sleep it off. We talked for a while until he stumbled and smacked me in the face with his head. Then Butch came in and all hell broke loose before Evan took off," I said, pointing to my eye.
Not wanting to add any fuel to the fire, I left out the part where Evan had tried to kiss me, just like I had done when I told the story to the cops. That secret would forever be between Evan and me. "I think he thought he was going to get in trouble," I added. "The cops said they would talk to him and make sure he calmed down, but I don't know if that ever happened. The report we got was that he called his dad drunk during the storm and told him he was going surfing."
Farrah gasped, putting her hand to her mouth as her eyes welled up. I reached over and held her hand. "They sent patrols out to rescue him and one of them also didn't make it," I said as a lump formed in my throat. I looked over at Josh who stood silently against the wall.
"One of the beach patrols died?" she whispered, horror-struck. I felt bad dropping all the bad news on her at once. I'd had the last couple days to digest everything and I was still struggling with it.
"Larry," I answered. "Remember, the guy you worked with?" She looked away, unable to keep her tears from falling down her cheeks.
"Oh my god. That's awful. Evan could be a dick, but he also had his good days. His dad just never gave him a fair shake. He was always riding his ass."
I nodded. "I know. It broke my heart when he disappeared that night," I said. "In a way, I feel partly responsible."
"You shouldn't. It wasn't your job to go save him. Believe me, Rain, the bad blood between Evan and his dad was going on long before you came around," she said, swiping tears from her cheeks. "I'm sorry about Larry," she said to Josh. "He was a really great guy."
"Yeah, he was," Josh said. Watching him mindlessly toying with Player, who was reaching for his toes while they wiggled, I got the impression Josh was barely holding it together.
My news deflated all of Farrah's previous bubbly energy. She sagged beside me on the mattress as we discussed what Evan's parents might do for his funeral. "I'm sure my parents could find out," she said. I could tell at that point she wanted to go home to digest everything I had dropped on her. I felt bad. She had known Evan longer than I had.
"That sucked," Josh said from his perch on my floor after Farrah left.
I nodded, sitting cross-legged on my bed. "I have a feeling tomorrow is going to be a hundred times worse. You know, you don't have to sit down there," I said, scooting over to give him room on the bed.
"I didn't want your dad to come in here and get pissed," he said, joining me.
I couldn't help but smile, knowing Butch and Buttercup better than he did. "I guess you don't know my parents. They'd tell me to be safe before I act," I blurted out. It almost sounded like I was giving us permission to do the nasty with my parents' blessing along with it.
Josh smiled when my face began to heat up, obviously turning red.