She nods. “Yes, I get that. And for me, these guys have a strong bond and I’m not threatened by that. It sounds weird and maybe wrong but when they talked about it, when they were together, it was sex. An experiment with someone they trusted and nothing more.”
“Yes. I understand that and feel the same way.” I lick my lips and push on, getting to what I really want to know. “How did you get over it? I mean, you see Bianca and Jared all the time. You’re friends.”
She’s shaking her head before I can finish what I have to say. “Jared’s my friend, but I wouldn’t say Bianca is. We’re civil, and things are a lot better than they were in the beginning or even when I found out, but she’s never liked me and she didn’t hide it. I think she tolerates me because of Silas.”
“What?” My stomach is overcome with a sinking sensation.
“She’s your sister, and I don’t want to offend you but…”
“You won’t—go on.”
“There’s something about her, and I can’t quite put my finger on it. I don’t trust her. She says all the right things, and at times, I think it’s me and I want to give her the benefit of the doubt because of her relationship with the guys. But what she did to you and Jared…she knew you were alive and lied to him and then slept with him.”
It shouldn’t hurt to hear something I already know, but it does. Pansy’s hitting the mark. Bianca is my sister, and I don’t understand why she did what she did.
At least for Jared, as misguided as his intentions were, he was trying to find some part of me in my sister. He thought I was dead.
My nose stings and I look away, not wanting to cry anymore. He didn’t know I was alive. It was an attempt to be with me, and he said so himself—it didn’t work. He regretted it.
If he’d ever wanted Bianca, he had so many chances to be with her, starting from when we were teenagers. But in fact, they weren’t close back then either.
And now, hearing from Pansy about his relationship with Bianca as the band manager, it makes me wonder if he only ever tried with her for me?
“Thank you for being honest and for this morning. I’m going to go. Please text me when you know if Jared is okay.”
“Of course.” She pulls me in for a hug.
The sun is unrelenting, high in the sky and scorching at two in the afternoon. My hair sticks to the back of my neck. I wish I’d worn it up.
The cold blast of air-conditioning hits my body, a welcomed reprieve from the outdoors. If I’m inside too long, I may get cold in my spaghetti-strap sundress, but for now, I want the chill.
The police station is nothing and everything like I’ve seen in movies and on TV. People are lined against a wall, waiting in old, worn chairs—some tired, others frustrated, and still others, scared.
Miguel’s stocky build is the first familiar thing I spot. He stands to the side of a desk, collecting a clear plastic bag with what looks to be his belongings. He leans down to sign a clipboard the officer thrusts at him.
I push back a few wild strands of hair and fix my handbag on my shoulder. He turns, fishing his phone out of the bag, and stills when he sees me.
A wide smile breaks out on his tired, cut-up face. “Eva, you came.”
Quickening his pace, he stops in front of me as if going in to kiss me, and I step away. The nerve of this guy.
“I didn’t come for you.”
“Eva.” He wrinkles his thick, dark brows, and it’s clear to see he’ll never understand that he isn’t in control of my life.
“A fight with Jared. Really?” I don’t even try to hide my irritation. “Look at you.”
A small cut runs along the side of his jaw, and his nose is red and puffy with a thick white bandage across the bridge.
“The lunatic almost broke my nose.”
“Oh, and let me guess, you did nothing? You were the perfect gentleman?”
An exaggerated huff skates past his lips, and he rolls his eyes to heaven as if I’m some tiresome child. “Come. Let’s go.”
“No. Where’s Jared?”
“How should I know?” He shrugs, looking at anything but me.
“I think you do.” Folding my arms, I cock out a hip to one side. My stare is implacable.
“He’s still in there.” His hand waves dismissively in the direction of a hallway, and he curls his other hand around my bicep trying to pull me in the direction of the entrance.
“Let go of me.”
“Eva. Stop this nonsense.”
“No.” I press my finger into his chest. “You stop. I don’t want to hear another word about Jared.” He opens his mouth to speak and I add, “Ever.”
“This is ridiculous.”
“Ridiculous?” I feel my eyebrows climb to my hairline. “Do you want to know what’s ridiculous? How you can’t get it through your thick skull that we are divorced. It’s you, a grown man starting a fight, and what for?”
“I didn’t start anything.”
“Don’t you dare.” My pointed finger is out, inches from his face, and he scowls. “The bartender said you threw the first punch. Actually, he said since Jared is a public figure and you started the whole thing—you provoked Jared into defending himself.”
His features harden, but he has the decency to at least flush, looking away.
“The hotel dropped the charges against Jared. They were going to pursue full restitution and legal action against you.”
Miguel’s eyes widen ten-fold as does his mouth. “What? That’s outrageous.”
“Is it? Do you know why you’re out?”
“They told me the charges were dropped. I figured the hotel decided not to go ahead with it. Or maybe you or your father were able to talk some sense into them.”
“No to all of that. You’re out thanks to Jared. They were going to release him yesterday afternoon. They told him he could leave.”
That’s why I’m puzzled that he’s still here. Pansy texted to let me know Jared refused to leave despite all that Silas tried to do. I then went to the hotel manager and found out what happened in the bar and everything else.
“It was Jared who got the hotel to drop the charges, and he isn’t going to file any either. Which he can, as can you.”
I hold up a finger when there’s a flicker of retaliation in Miguel’s gaze. “But you will not press charges because you will lose. Just consider the situation. All the witness accounts say you started it.”
“Fine. I don’t know what you want me to say. I don’t like him for you.”
“Well, guess what? It doesn’t matter what you like or think, now does it?”
“Eva, don’t be foolish. Can we talk about this? Let’s go back to the hotel and make arrangements to go home.”
There’s so much about his response I want to set straight.
“You can’t stay at the hotel. Your bags will be sent to you once you let the hotel know where you’re staying. You aren’t allowed to go back there.”
“That’s insane. And Jared? I suppose he can come and go as he pleases?”
“Jared’s none of your concern. As for going home, this is my home. I’m not going anywhere with you.”