Page 49

And I told her to take the job, she thought.Like it didn’t matter. Jo’s gloves slammed into the bag, her arms shaking with effort. Her lungs burned. Her legs burned. Her heart burned. With a cry of anger and pain, she collapsed onto the mat, breathing hard, her chest heaving. Her whole body buzzed with adrenaline, and still her mind raced. Pulling off the gloves, she tossed them aside and grabbed a nearby towel, wiping sweat from her face. Finally, she reached for her phone. The screen lit up, and she saw a new message from Evelyn. Her hand shaking, she opened it. “I also wanted you to know that I did accept the job. It starts in two and a half weeks.” Jo stared at it for a long time as the sweat cooled on her body. She didn’t reply. Instead, she tossed the phone beside her and lay flat on the mat, her head resting against the cool surface. Closing her eyes, she let her mind drift. Deep down, she wasn’t truly mad at Evelyn. She was mad at the timing. At the universe. At the way life had kicked her when she finally let someone in.And now that person is leaving, she thought. Jo didn’t cry, she didn’t yell, but only lay there, her body aching, her fists bruised, and her heart breaking.

Fighting five o’clock traffic, Evelyn barely remembered the drive to Jasmine’s. Her brain was fried, her back was tight from sitting at her desk all day, and her heart was a quiet, persistent ache that pulsed every time she thought about Jo—which was often. She parked in front of her sister’s townhouse and sat in the car for a moment, staring out the windshield. Her phone sat in thecupholder beside her. It had been all day, and still no reply from Jo.

Evelyn checked it at least thirty times throughout the day, pretending she wasn’t disappointed. Pretending she hadn’t felt a small flicker of hope every time it buzzed, only to realize it was only another calendar alert or a group text from her coworkers about the office coffee machine. With a sigh, she grabbed her bag and headed up the walkway.

Jasmine opened the door before Evelyn even knocked, wearing yoga pants and a Seahawks hoodie, and holding a half-full glass of wine. “Ah ha,” she said, stepping aside. “If it isn’t my favorite sister with the world’s most complicated love life.”

Giving her sister a tired smile, Evelyn stepped inside. “I brought chocolate,” she said, holding up a paper bag.

With a wide smile, Jasmine snatched it with one hand. “Then you may enter,” she said and led them to the small but tidy kitchen. The room smelled like lavender and garlic, which shouldn’t have worked together but somehow did. A candle burned on the kitchen island, and a pot of something simmered on the stove. Evelyn dropped her laptop bag on the kitchen table chair and kicked off her flats with a sigh of relief. “God, my feet hurt,” she said. “Everything hurts actually.”

“Then you are officially in the right place,” Jasmine said, already rummaging through the sack Evelyn brought. After a beat, she pulled a dark chocolate sea salt almond bar that Evelyn always brought when she needed comfort. Jasmine popped a piece of it in her mouth and closed her eyes to savor the treat before refocusing on Evelyn. “Wine?”

“Yes, please.”

Handing her a glass, her sister gestured toward the hallway. “Go change. I laid out some leggings and one of my sweatshirts in the guest room,” she said. “Get out of your ‘I’m a professionaladult’ outfit and into something that says ‘I’m barely holding it together but at least I’m cozy.’”

Evelyn laughed despite herself. “You know me too well.”

“You’re easy,” Jasmine said with a wink. “Go. I’ll serve up some dinner.”

Doing what she was told, Evelyn headed to the bedroom. Once inside, she shut the door behind her and leaned against it for a moment, clutching the glass of wine. The quiet pressed in around her, a stark contrast to the chaos of her thoughts. With a deep sigh, she took a long sip before peeling off her blouse and slacks. She caught her reflection in the mirror and paused. Her eyes were rimmed with red, and the blankness in her expression startled her. “You’re fine,” she whispered, though it didn’t sound convincing.

After pulling her hair up into a messy bun, she scrubbed the makeup off her face and pulled the sweatshirt Jasmine had laid out over her head. It read “SHE PERSISTED” across the chest, making Evelyn smile the first time all day. By the time she tugged on her black leggings, she felt more like herself.

Emerging from the guest room, she dropped onto the couch with a sigh. Jasmine handed her a bowl of pasta and curled up beside her. “Okay,” she said. “Start talking.”

Pausing to collect her thoughts, Evelyn took a sip of wine before answering. “I started the paperwork today,” she said. “For the job.”

“So this is one hundred percent real?” Jasmine said, her eyes widening, and Evelyn nodded.

“It’s real,” she said. “No regrets.”

“Wow, Evie,” Jasmine said, looking impressed. “I mean, that’s huge. I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks,” Evelyn said as she poked at her pasta. “It’s only that I thought I’d feel more excited.”

“You don’t?”

“I do,” Evelyn said. “Kind of. I mean, it’s an amazing opportunity. I’ll be doing work that matters. I’ll be leading a team. I’ll get to travel and meet people and see real progress on the ground.” She paused, then sighed. “But it’s like there’s this weight on top of it. Like I’m carrying two things at once. Excitement and guilt.”

“Guilt?” Jasmine asked around a bite of pasta. “About Jo?”

Evelyn nodded. “I told her,” she said, feeling a pang of pain. “And she was fine.” She took a deep breath. “Too fine. Like she was already letting go.”

Jasmine winced. “Ouch.”

“I thought maybe she would say something,” Evelyn said, staring into her bowl. “Not so much that she would ask me to stay. But at least say it sucked or show some emotion. But she told me to take the job. Like it didn’t matter.”

Pursing her lips, Jasmine was quiet for a moment. “Maybe she thought that’s what you wanted to hear,” she finally said. “Have you considered that?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean. You’ve spent your whole life being the responsible one. The achiever. The one who doesn’t waver,” Jasmine said. “Maybe Jo thought if she gave you an ounce of hesitation, you would think she was trying to hold you back.”

“But I don’t think that,” Evelyn said. “And I truly appreciate it. It’s only…”

She trailed off, and Jasmine nodded. “You wonder if Jo thinks things are over.”