Page 53 of Sing For Me

“She doesn’t like taking your money?”

Eva sighs. “I don’t think it’s that. I think she just feels bad about the sacrifices I had to make when she was younger. Which is so ridiculous because she’s mysister. My family. Of course I was going to give her everything I could.”

There’s a familiar note in her voice when she saysfamily. She feels the same way about her sister as I do about my siblings and cousins. She might not have as big a family as I do, but it’s obvious what she does have means everything to her.

I find her hand on the railing and squeeze. “How wasyourday? Free of sudden influxes of little girls with sleeping bags, I assume.”

She smiles, but her eyes look a little sad. I peer closer at her, noticing for the first time the faint purplish smudges darkening the pale skin under her eyes.

“Pretty light day today.” I watch the smooth column of her neck as she swallows. “Just physical therapy.”

There’s a beat of silence. “Your hip?” I ask, determined to keep my voice light.

She nods, eyes fixed firmly on the ocean instead of on me, definitely uncomfortable with the topic. “I go three times a week.”

“Do you have a lot of pain?”

“Um. There are good days and bad days, I guess? It kind of depends what I’m doing. Too much walking or standing around and it gets rough.” She takes in a deep breath. “Today’s not the best.”

The darkness is falling around us quickly, the pink and orange light over the sunset turning to gray. Her deck lights must be on a timer or a sensor because they flicker on behind us, casting her face into shadow. Somehow that makes it easier to ask my next question.

“Your hip was injured in the fire?”

She nods, her jaw so tight I think that’s all the answer I’m going to get until she clears her throat. “I, um, got stuck. A scaffolding fell on the side of the stage when the stampede started and I was right underneath it. Tore up my side pretty good.”

I have to fight off a full body shudder. Holyshit. She was trapped under a scaffolding while a fire raged around her? I think about what River told me earlier—she was one of the last people to make it out. My hand tightens on hers.

“So.” Her voice is falsely bright. “You’re probably st…starving, right? I made reservations at a little bistro a few miles away. We could… head over now, if you wanted. They’d probably seat us early.”

She’s stammering, voice shaky. “We don’t have to go anywhere, Eva,” I say. “I know you said it’s not always easy for you to get out and—”

“It was my turn to plan the date.” Her voice is sharp. “I don’t expect you to hole up in the house with me just because…just because…”

“Hey.” I pull her around to face me, hands on her shoulders, but she doesn’t look at me. I rub my thumbs over her bare skin, back and forth, over and over, trying to soothe her. “It’s been a busy few days. We had the gala and lunch the other day and—”

She cuts me off with a laugh, but it’s not the husky sound that always hits me right in the solar plexus. This time she sounds bitter, angry. “Yeah, big week. I went outtwice.”

“I was actually talking about me,” I say, moving a hand up to cup her face, forcing her to look at me. “I’ve been working crazy hours and I’m honestly beat.”

She closes her eyes. “I’m sorry. I kind of had a shitty day.”

“You wanna tell me about it?”

She pulls away, returning to the railing, eyes fixed on the rapidly darkening horizon. “My manager is being…persistent,” she finally sighs. “He feels like I should be getting back to work, but I don’t think I’m ready.” She lets out a bitter laugh. “I haven’t written anything in more than a year. How does he expect me to just jump into a recording studio?” she rubs absently at her hip. “And I’m obviously in no physical shape to perform.”

I swallow hard, trying to keep the sick feeling in my gut from rising up. He wants her back to work. Writing music. Performing.

“You told him to fuck off, right?” I ask, voice rougher than I intended.

She looks over and manages a small smile. “That’s one of the many reasons I keep Marissa around. She loves nothing more than to tell Dennis to fuck off.”

I reach out without thinking, wanting to take away the desolate look in her eyes she’s obviously trying so hard to cover. I run a fingertip over the darkness under her eye. “Don’t let him pressure you, Eva. You need to put yourself first.”

She leans into my touch. “I try to tell myself that, but then I think about all the work I put into this career. All the sacrifices I made. What if he’s right and the world forgets about me before I’m ready?”

Then you can quit,I think to myself. Leave the fucking industry behind.

“And there’s Katherine to think of too,” she continues. “I mean, the whole reason I signed the record deal in the first place was to make sure I had the money to take care of her.”