Page 131 of Dark Tangled Truths
“She is,” I admit. There’s a lot less partying when I could be with her instead.
“All three of you?” Mom finally bursts out.
I nod, but it’s not comfortable talking about this part with my parents. Because she’s not talking about thedatingpart. “Yes, Mom.”
Mom thinks about it for another minute and shakes her head. “That poor girl.”
Dad laughs. I think of how much we love Evan and how much she loves us and just shake my head at my mom’s drama.
On Wednesday night, I stand at the front door of Damon’s house with my parents. This feels all sorts of wrong. When Adam opens the door, he smiles.
“It’s great to see you again. Alex. Lisa. Cam. It’s been a while. Come in.” He backs up so we can walk in. Voices come from the living room as we follow Adam.
Hawk’s parents sit snuggled up on the couch with Hawk sitting a little apart from them. Evan sits between Heather and Damon.
“Please have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?” Adam asks like this is completely normal.
Mom and Dad let Adam know what they’d like. I ask for a soda and walk over to the other chair in the room. Evan looks at me like she wants out of here. Normally, I’d just catch her hand and drag her out to my bike, and we’d be gone. But this is important.
We’re not only reading our parents in on what’s happening. We’re deciding whose house she’s staying at on Saturday. It doesn’t really matter to Hawk or me, because we’ll both be with Evan wherever she ends up. But we’re doing this on the up and up. Which means our parents will be fully aware our girlfriend is staying at our house. Preferably in our beds.
My parents introduce themselves to Heather, and then Adam returns with their cocktails and a soda for me. He sits beside Heather, and we all take a sip of our drinks. So fucking awkward, but I guess someone will have to break the ice.
“Have you heard from Mia?” I ask Evan.
She inhales and shakes her head. “Whatever happened, she’s not allowed to talk about it, so she texts now and then. She’s not even sure if she’s going to be able to come back to Anteros at all. Security issues might be a problem.”
Damon meets my eyes. That means if Mia is part of the whole plan to do whatever to Evan, she’s a missing piece on the board. Maybe that’s why it’s been so quiet since she’s been gone.
“Is Mia a friend?” my mom asks, gently.
Heather reaches over to squeeze Evan’s hand.
“Yes.” Evan smiles. “She’s the lead in my play, and we’ve become friends. Her brother got injured about a week and a half ago, and she had to go home for a while.”
“Injured?” Mom takes a sip and looks thoughtful. “Wasn’t there something that happened to that one school...” She snaps her fingers like it will magically come to her.
My dad just shakes his head like he has no idea what she’s talking about. Mom reads a lot of news, but tends to forget pertinent details.
She touches his arm. “You know, that high school. Something went wrong at their homecoming.”
“I don’t remember, Lisa.” Dad’s voice is quiet.
Mom shakes her head. “Maybe I’ll remember later.” She turns her attention back to Evan. “I hope your friend is okay. Did you have to recast her part?”
“We weren’t sure how long she’d be gone. Or even if she’d be back in time to perform. We were down to the wire. Since I knew the staging and lines, I stepped into the role.” Evan glances down at her hands. “It looks like she probably won’t be back, which is a shame because she truly is a brilliant actor.”
Mom nods, and Heather squeezes Evan’s hand reassuringly. There’s a brief pause while everyone takes an awkward silence drink.
“So, Yale?” Dad says a little too brightly. “That must be exciting, Damon. Honestly, I’ve been trying to convince Cam to go up and visit. So he can see what it’s all about.”
“You should come with us.” Adam smiles.
My eyes widen, and I look at the slight panic on Evan’s face. “I don’t?—”
“That’s a great idea. It’s after hockey, and you don’t have anything on Sunday.” Dad glances at Hawk and his parents. “The problem we’re here to solve is where EvanAnn will stay while her mom is out of town, right? So she can stay with Hawk, and we can go to Yale with Damon.”
“Of course, EvanAnn can stay with us.” Naomi takes Paul’s hand and looks at him. “It’s only one night, and it’s not like she hasn’t slept over before.”
