Page 24 of Before Eve

“Want to try the ‘Where you from?’ question again?”

Pressing my lips together, I shake my head. “How about you talk, and I’ll listen?”

“Okay.” He closes his lyrics book.

Yes, definitely, that’s easier. The more he talks, the more I don’t have to say anything. Sitting here in our private little area, not touching, yet companionable and comfortable.

“I grew up in North Florida on an island. I went to an online school. No, I’m not a surfer, which is what most people think when I tell them I grew up in Florida. Yes, I dated pretty much every girl on the island,” he teases.

My lips twitch with amusement. West really is just so out there about everything.

“I met Simon when I was just a kid, and we’ve been playing in our version of a band ever since. One of songs got a lot of play on iTunes and we snagged a deal out of it.” He spreads his arms. “And here we are.”

“What about your parents?”

West shakes his head. “We’ll save that for a different conversation.”

Seems as if I was right. I’m not the only one with secrets.

He leans forward. “Now, you ready to tell me where you’re from?”

“Washington State.” Just saying the truth races a weird anxiety through me.

“There. That wasn’t so bad, huh?”

A ghost of a smile touches my lips. “No, I guess not.”

“What made you choose the crazy life of a roadie?”

“I like all the moving around,” I honestly tell him. “I need it.”

“Why do you need it?”

Safety. But I don’t say that and instead try to lighten the mood. “Wanderlust. It inspires me.”

He cocks his head and studies me, and I get the distinct impression he sees so much more than I want him to. “I’m feeling very inspired.” He opens his lyrics pad back up. “Think I’ll write.”

He seems different around me. More real, I suppose, and thoughtful. Does he even understand the facade he wears? It’s probably such a part of the music star side of him, and he’s done it for so long that he doesn’t realize it’s just a role he plays.

A role…we’re more alike than I thought.

He marks through a line and starts another, and we fall into a comfortable silence. I study his pen scratching across the pages, and with each hypnotic scrape, I find myself zoning out and drifting away…

Today I turn ten. We’re supposed to have a big party but Mommy cancels it, tells me to go to my room, and to not come out no matter what I hear.

At first, it’s okay being in my room because I open presents and play with all my new things. But then the daylight goes away, darkness comes, and my stomach growls.

I haven’t heard anything beyond my bedroom walls so I don’t know what Mommy is talking about but surely it’s okay I leave now. I’ve been in here for hours.

My stomach growls again.

I tiptoe over to my door and crack it open, peering out into along and dark hall with only one nightlight plugged in and offering a gentle white glow. Way down at the end sits Mommy’s room, dark, the door cracked. Grayson’s room is upstairs. Downstairs is the kitchen and so I move toward the stairwell.

I’m not sure what makes me go to Mommy’s room instead of the kitchen but I move in that direction, coming to stand in the slivered open door. The curtains are closed and darkness smothers her room, but my vision adjusts quickly, seeing her curled on the bed, her back to me.

“Mommy?” I whisper.

“Go away,” she speaks in a clear voice that contradicts the darkness.