“Did you tell her about Elliot yet?” Lathan asks, not bothering to lower his tone.
“Want to say that a little louder? I don’t think the next town overheard.”
“I’m gonna take that as a no,” Tres says before turning his back to us, whipping out his dick to take a piss in the dirt behind the trailer.
“I’ve got it handled,” I say. “Have you guys seen him lately?” After one of the Vixens pulled me aside to tell me that she thought she saw Elliot following Evan the night she got locked into the trailer, I’ve been keeping an extra close eye on him while keeping Evan away from him.
Eros combs a hand through his tangled hair. “Couple days ago, maybe?”
Tres turns back around, zipping up. “I saw him drive off the lot yesterday.”
“I think he’s lying about who he is.” I looked him up online. There’s nothing about Elliot Reeve anywhere. No article about the fire, no social media, nothing. I don’t know the first fucking thing about the internet, but I know something’s not adding up.
“Hard to say.” Lathan shrugs. “Everyone around here lies about their identity.”
“He’s hiding something,” I say, flicking the lighter, bringing a cigarette to my lips. “And I’m going to figure out what it is.”
I WALK ACROSS THE LOT, hoping to catch Sebastian alone at the bunkhouse. Jada showed up, letting me off face-painting duty early, and I wasn’t going to argue. I grabbed a funnel cake on my way because Sebastian said it was his favorite during one of my late-night interrogations.
I open the door quietly, wanting to surprise him, but when I see my music box on the table in front of him, I give myself up. “You found it,” I breathe, relieved. Sebastian jerks around, not having heard me, as I pluck the gold and green box off the table with my free hand.
“This is for you,” I say, slipping the plate of funnel cake onto the table. But then I freeze when my eyes fall onto what’s lying beside it. My heart stops, the music box crashing to the floor at my feet, shattering into tiny pieces. “Why do you have that?” My voice is barely a whisper. I’m unable to tear my eyes away from the Legacy Inn room key and envelope with numbers eight zero two written on the front.
“Evan…” Sebastian starts. I shake my head, backing away from him as the realization sets in. It was him. He was the one in my hotel room that night. He caused my dad’s fall. He stole from us. And then he lied to me. This whole time, he lied to me. “It wasn’t me.”
“Stay away from me, Sebastian.” My tone is resolute. I can forgive a lot of things, but this is not one of them.
“Evan, wait,” he says, reaching for me as I walk backward out the door, but I snatch my arm away.
“Don’t touch me.” My chin wobbles as my heart splinters in two. Sebastian’s face falls, his expression hurt, like he has any right, but then he schools his features, slipping back into the apathetic mask he wears so well.
“That’s some fucked-up shit,” Miles says, scrubbing a hand down his face. I didn’t know where else to go, so I came to his trailer, asking if I could hang here while he performed tonight. Miles is the only one I know with his own living quarters. He took one look at me, canceled his performance, and then called Kat.
I told them everything, not sparing any details from the day we first met up until now, while Miles poured us wine and Kat played with my hair as I lay on the couch with my head on her lap. My nose is red and congested from crying, and I know that if I looked in the mirror right now, my face would be splotchy, and my eyes would be bloodshot.
“What are you going to do?” Miles asks, handing me a second plastic cup full of cheap wine. I sit up, taking it from him.
“I can’t stay here,” I say sadly.
“Of course, you can. You can join the Vixens and stay with me. You don’t need Sebastian to stay here.”
“I don’t know.” It wouldn’t be the same. “I can’t even think right now,” I admit. My thoughts are still scrambling to catch up to what this means. I take a generous gulp of wine before setting it at my feet.
“Sleep here tonight,” Miles says. “Kat will stay, too.” Kat nods in agreement. “You don’t have to make any decisions right now.”
“I feel so stupid.” I rub my eyes with the heels of my hands.
Kat rubs my back. “Everyone’s stupid when it comes to love.”
“HE’S STILL OUTSIDE,” MILES SAYS as he comes back into his trailer, locking the latch behind him. Apparently, Sebastian’s been standing outside for God knows how long. After another glass of wine last night, I cried myself into a migraine and fell asleep.
“Maybe you should hear him out?” Kat suggests. I look at her like she’s grown three heads. “I’m just saying. Maybe there’s an explanation.”
I shake my head. There’s no acceptable explanation. How could I ever face my dad again if I continued to see Sebastian, knowing what he did?
“You’re going to have to face him sooner or later,” Miles informs me.
“I know.” We’re on our way to Omaha later today. Even if I wanted to go with Miles, all my stuff is inside Sebastian’s trailer.