Chapter 9

Embarrassingly enough, I found myself knocking on my brother’s studio apartment door the next morning. I hadn’t been able to sleep and instead tossed and turned throughout the night while I thought about what Willa said.

But I wanted to know what Holland saw in Addie that kept him coming back to the sad, drowning girl. Maybe that same thing kept Eliza at the forefront of my mind.

The door opened, and Holland smiled warmly as he invited me inside. He was dressed down today, in a blue Foo Fighters t-shirt and gray joggers. His hair was soft and undone, falling onto his forehead.

Addie sat on the red velvet couch on the opposite side of the studio apartment, the sun shining on her face. Some purple yarn and what looked to be a crochet hook were in her lap. The windows were open wide, letting the cool spring air into the room. She called a greeting, raising her hand to wave.

“Sorry to interrupt your day,” I said, fidgeting with the tips of my hair.

“You aren’t interrupting anything,” Holland said. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Water, please,” I replied, crossing the room to sit with Addie on the couch. “What are you doing?”

She blinked and looked between me and the mess of yarn on her lap. “Pretending I have a hobby when I was having sex with your brother thirty seconds ago.”

“Adalyn!” Holland almost squeaked.

I burst into laughter, clutching my chest. Upon second examination, their bed was a mess, and there was a red stain on one pillow that matched the unhealed bite mark on Addie’s neck. Addie cackled alongside me, kicking her feet in amusement.

I accepted the glass of water Holland offered me, laughing at the bright red blush on his cheeks. Addie nudged him when he sat next to her, shaking his head.

“Now I’m really sorry to interrupt,” I laughed.

Addie waved her hand dismissively. “What are you up to today?”

I took a deep breath and looked between them, my eyes settling on Holland before I asked the question that had haunted me. “Why Addie?”

Holland blinked in surprise, and Addie tilted her head in confusion. Licking his lips, he asked, “What do you mean?”

I sipped my water, placed it on the coffee table, and pressed my shaking hands against my thighs. “What was it about Addie that made you want her?”

My words didn’t feel quite right, but Holland thankfully understood. He sucked in a breath and leaned back, draping his arm over her shoulders. “When I saw her in the Palais Garnier, I thought I’d never seen someone so sad in a place so beautiful. I asked her to dance—I’m sure you know the story—and something brightened in her, and I thought it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.”

I’d heard the story a dozen times before, but this was the first time I found something familiar in it. I’d seen Eliza brighten in such a similar way, and it had stolen a piece of my heart.

“I left her there, but I kept thinking that I would do anything to find the sun within her.” He looked at her affectionately; Addie leaned into him like his words were nothing new, but her eyes brimmed with unshed tears. Holland’s eyes flicked back to me. “Why do you ask?”

I told them everything I’d told Willa the night before about the cool and indifferent vampire I found in the Louvre and how she’d lit up yesterday—becoming someone else entirely. My chest felt tight while I talked, like it was forcing the words out of me. Addie and Holland said nothing all the while, watching me with curious looks in their eyes.

“So, Willa told me to talk to you, which I’m realizing was stupid because you and Addie are a dream—star-crossed lovers and all that—and this is just a girl I’ll never see again,” I finished breathlessly, lifting my water cup and gulping the rest of it down.

“You sound like you love her already,” Addie said with a wrinkle of her nose.

I drew back and shook my head. “No, god, no. You can’t love someone after spending six hours with them. I’m just asking—I don’t know what I’m asking.”

Addie placed her hand over Holland’s. “I was drowning when I met Holland, and he was my breath of fresh air. But I don’t love him because he saved me, or however you want to put it. He brought out the real—albeit broken—version of me, and she fell in love him.”

I nodded in understanding, drawing in a deep breath.

“If you’re asking me, every love is worth the chance. If you see her again, you could find something real. And if you don’t, you spent a few hours with someone you connected with on some level,” Addie said.

“What are you so afraid of?” Holland asked.

I inclined my chin. “Goodbye.”

After I left Addie and Holland’s, I walked instead of taking the metro back to my apartment—which would have taken less than ten minutes. Flowers were blooming throughout the streets, bringing pops of color to the already vivacious city. I stopped twice to admire almost-bloomed roses and peonies, and eyed the cherry blossom trees as I walked beneath them. Their time would come, though not yet.

I turned the corner of my apartment building, pulling my key card from my back pocket. Before I could scan it, my eyes found the woman sitting on the bench across the street.

She watched me like she’d been waiting for me and straightened the moment I saw her.

Eliza wore light blue jeans and a pink cardigan, the spring colors making her seem softer around the edges despite the hard set of her jaw.

I crossed the street, tucking my key back in my pocket. Eliza did not stand as I approached her, though her eyes never wavered from watching my every movement. “What are you doing here?” I asked, attempting to keep my voice soft. It came out a little accusing anyway.

Eliza took a deep breath, and when she raised her eyes to meet mine, they were as soft as the tide. “I’m ready to go see the Eiffel Tower.”