25. Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five

M icah froze, his question ringing through the quiet.

Eva couldn't pull away or pretend she and Pixie hadn't happened, not with the way he found them. Her mind whirled like a roulette as panic reigned. Micah's brows drew together, and the flash of his eyes wasn't any sort of joy.

Eva yanked the sheet up to cover her chest as Pixie slipped off her lap to do the same. This conversation was always going to be awkward, but it was a thousand times worse like this.

"We're together," Pixie stated calmly. "I know we should've told you—"

"What you shouldn't have done is slept with my sister behind my back," Micah snapped. "You've made it clear lately how little you value our friendship, but this? Fuck."

"It's not her fault," Eva said, even though those weren't the right words. They were both consenting adults, and they'd both chosen this.

Micah pointed at her. "And you."

Eva swallowed down the spike of fear. She couldn't lose him. He was the only family she had left.

"I was stupid enough to believe we were getting closer. That you were staying here because you wanted to spend more time with me. Clearly, I was mistaken." He balled his hand into a fist and thumped it against the doorframe. "Fuck. I need to get out of here."

With that, he stepped out of sight, and his footsteps thundered in the opposite direction.

Shit, shit, shit.

Eva slid from the bed even though she could barely feel her feet hit the floor. Her chest spasmed, but she forced her breath to even. She'd piled her clothes by the end of the bed, but right now, she needed something simple. "Can I borrow some clothes?" she asked, shocked her tone remained steady.

The creak and click from the front door echoed through the condo.

Micah had left.

Her stomach dropped as she rooted through Pixie's dresser. She found a pair of yoga pants and a stretchy blue tee. When she pulled on the clothes, her arms were fucking shaking.

"What just happened?" Parker appeared in the doorway and glanced between the two of them. "Well, I should've seen that coming. "

"We hadn't expected it." Pixie sat on the bed with the sheet curled around her, haphazardly draping her. "But Micah—"

"He caught us in here," Eva said, her voice coming out sharp with the anxiety churning through her. "And if I'm not mistaken, he just left."

"Oh, fuck," Parker swore, squeezing the doorframe. "Did he say where he was going?" Parker looked like he would bolt in the same direction Micah had, which was what Eva wanted to do. Maybe they could catch up with him, get him to stop and talk so they could sort out this whole mess. Eva's body vibrated, the need to run after him thump, thump, thumping through her.

Fuck, she'd hurt Micah so badly.

The look of betrayal on his face carved through her chest. She'd failed him so much growing up when all he'd ever been was kind. All he'd ever been was supportive, yet he'd had to bear the brunt of Mom and Dad's casual homophobia by his lonesome.

And when they'd cast her out, he'd welcomed her in with open arms.

This was how she'd repaid him. Bile rose in her throat, and she leaned against the dresser, her breaths coming in a little ragged.

"I wouldn't go rushing after him." Pixie's calmness was a stark surprise, given her best friend had caught them.

"He's my boyfriend, Pix," Parker said, a raw edge to his voice. "Of course I'm going after him."

She sliced the air. "Not like that. I'm not heartless. I have the feeling I know where Micah ran off to." Pixie let the sheet drop and rose from the bed, stark naked, and went to the dresser next to Eva. Not like Pixie needed to worry about modesty around Parker, since they'd scened together plenty in the past. She tugged out a pair of stretchy red pants and a black tank top and pulled them on. "Back in college when he needed an escape, he always went to Anarchy Records."

"Then that's where I'm heading," Parker said. "He's taken me there a few times."

"I need to go with you," Eva said. "There are some conversations he and I have been avoiding, and that tactic hasn't helped either of us."

Parker folded his arms over his chest, looking massive and intimidating, but Eva knew what a softie he was. "I don't disagree. And I'm not referring to you and Pixie either. You're both grown-ass adults and can make your own choices. But Micah finding out you were bi through your folks hurt."

Eva's throat squeezed tight. And that was the truth, unvarnished. Micah had deserved more of an effort from her for a long time now. She'd been so consumed by running from her hometown and her parents that she'd left him behind inadvertently. "I know. So now I need to make it up to him."

Silence settled between them, loaded and intense, the sort that dwelled before imminent action.

Pixie's phone ringing sliced through the quiet.

She snagged it from the tabletop and accepted the call. "Hello?"

Eva didn't know who was on the other end, but Pixie's eyes widened, and she gripped the phone tighter. The call hadn't been good news.

"Thank you for contacting me," Pixie whispered.

Eva glanced at Parker, who shot her a sharp look in turn. The prickle beneath her skin was telling, and she had a gut feeling who the call was about, but that didn't make it any easier.

"Yes, I'll be there shortly," Pixie said and pulled the phone from her ear. It dropped from her hand, and she stood there, staring at the wall as if it might give her answers .

"What happened, dove?" Eva asked.

"We shouldn't have left last night," Pixie whispered. "I knew she wasn't in the right mental state, but it seemed like she was in good hands with her friend. Like she'd be fine."

Eva's fears were confirmed. "Where is your mother?"

"Novato Community Hospital," Pixie replied, her blue eyes dull, lifeless.

"Shit, Pix." Parker stepped into the room. "Is she okay?"

"I…don't know. All they said was she got in a car accident. They're trying to stabilize her now," Pixie said.

Eva's chest tore in two. Pixie needed her…but Micah did too. And she'd failed him too many times.

Parker's gaze met hers. She hadn't spent a ton of time with the guy, but he made Micah happier than she'd ever seen, and that was enough for her. But the understanding in his gaze struck her square between the chest. As if he understood exactly what she was going through.

"Go get Micah," Pixie said, those blue eyes pleading. "I'll handle this. I can't stand the idea of Micah wandering out through the city thinking we hate him."

Eva's eyes burned a little, and she clenched her hands into fists. "But I can't leave you. That's the whole point in having someone—so you don't have to face shit like this by yourself."

"The whole point in having any relationship—friends included—is you don't need to face life by your lonesome," Parker said, fixing Pixie with an arch look. "And I have the feeling you've been doing that for far too long. I'll drive you to the hospital. Eva, you get my boyfriend and have the talk you need to. Then both of you can meet us at Novato."

A hot tear slipped down her cheek at the way Parker stepped in to help. She would never have been able to make the call on her own, not with the stark fear of losing her brother. Six months ago, the idea would've been ridiculous. However, after watching her parents walk away from them both, that was a reality she now entertained. Yet Pixie had been alone for so long, shouldering everything herself. Eva didn't want to be anywhere other than her side.

Except she understood Pixie had been keeping her friends at a distance. And one of them was her brother. If they hoped to pull any scrap of their relationships from this wreckage, she needed to get Micah.

Eva walked to Pixie and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. Pixie's shuddered breath against her mouth almost made her cave, and she placed a steadying hand on Pixie's waist. "I'll find Micah, and we won't be long after you and Parker. It's all going to be okay—and even if it's not, I'll catch you when you fall."

Eva didn't want to pull away. The urge to protect Pixie burned so strong inside her that walking from her right now would welcome a hell of a lot of pain. Pixie's expression was so open, sadness and fear flaring in those blue eyes. All Eva wanted to do was stay with her—prove to her she didn't have to face the world alone.

If Eva had it her way, Pixie never would again.

Yet the logical part of her understood Parker's suggestion was the right move to make.

Eva pressed one more soft kiss to Pixie's lips. "Soon, dove. I'll be with you soon."

She forced herself to pull away, though the loss of contact drove shard after shard through her chest. Eva crouched to the side of the bed and grabbed her purse with her wallet, phone, and keys.

"Let me nab my stuff, and we'll go," Parker said to Pixie.

Eva swallowed hard as she left Pixie's room and strode to the door.

The moment she walked outside, resolve settled in her bones.

Time to find her brother.