Evie slips her arm around his waist and snuggles up close to him. “Love makes people do stupid things.” She doesn’t seem the slightest bit angry with him. No, more like she appears blissfully in love with my sod of a brother.
“I hope you two are very happy together,” I say sincerely. And I do wish that for the both of them, despite my reservation at them actually working out. They seem like such opposites.
But maybe that’s what helps them get along. They balance each other out. Cannon and I are very different, and perhaps that’s to our advantage. Look at my parents. My father and mother are nothing alike, yet they’ve been married a long time. And they seem relatively happy.
Well. Sort of.
“I hear you’re driving Priscilla back to London?” George asks with brotherly concern. “It’s raining, you know. And it’s dark.”
He also knows how I don’t like to drive in the dark or during bad weather. The combination really sends me over the edge.
But for some reason, tonight I feel brave.
Oh, and then there’s the fact that I want the hell out of here.
“And what vehicle are you going to use?” he continues. “One of Dad’s cars?”
“You can drive my car,” Evie suggests.
My mouth drops open at her offer. “You’re going to let me drive the fancy Mercedes your father gave you?”
“Do you have a spare pair of driving glasses?” she asks.
“I do,” I reassure her. “I keep a pair in my bedroom, just in case.” The prescription might be old, but they should work. Shouldn’t they?
“Okay. Just…please don’t wreck the car. My father will kill me.” Evie disentangles herself from my brother and moves so she’s standing next to me. “It’s the least I can do after what just happened.”
“Priscilla seems all right,” I say. “If you were worried about her.”
I’m guessing from the look on Evie’s face that Priscilla really didn’t even cross her mind. “I’m glad. I didn’t want her to get her feelings hurt.”
“That’s for my brother to worry about, not you.” I grab her and pull her in for a quick hug. “I’m happy for you. If this is really what you want.”
“It is,” she murmurs just before she kisses me on the cheek. “I want to be with George. I just hope you’re not angry with me. Or with him too.”
“I’m not angry.” I pull away from her so I can meet her gaze. “I’m just…it’s weird? You and George? I can’t imagine it.”
“Well, imagine it. Because it’s true.” She sends a quick, worried look in Mother’s direction before she returns her attention to me. “That’s the one who scares me.”
“You should be scared. She might try to destroy your relationship.” Is it wrong I’m a little happy that my brother’s newfound relationship with Evie will take some of Mother’s focus off me? That’s selfish of me to think, but it’s the truth.
Maybe she’ll finally leave me alone now.
Ha. I could be so lucky.
I’m sitting around sulking in my hotel room when I get the first phone call from Susanna around one o’clock in the afternoon.
“Hey, baby,” I answer wearily, still depressed over my fucked-up knee and fucked-up life, but there’s no response.
Just dead air. A loud click, then nothing.
Huh.
I receive a couple more calls just like it, and they worry me. To the point that I send her a quick text.
You okay? I keep receiving calls from your number, but I can’t hear you.
Ten, twenty, thirty minutes later, and still no response.