Page 12

ELEVEN

willa

“Family meeting!”

“Jesus Christ, Callahan,” I complain, rubbing my right ear. “Look around you before you start screaming. We’re all sitting right here.”

“I’m standing. Not sitting,” Maverick says, grinning at me from where he is, in fact, standing next to the hotel window. Ever since Harlow found the pictures of Ezra in New Hampshire alive and well after he was assumed dead for years, Mav has been in a great mood.

“Dada,” Cora says in a tone that sounds disappointed. I laugh, hard. I love that little girl.

“What are we meeting about?” Harlow asks, passing me a paper plate that’s already soaked in grease from the pepperoni pizza on it.

“Harlow and I are hosting Thanksgiving. You’re all invited,” he says and looks around the room, waiting for some sort of reaction.

“This could’ve been a text,” Jo says, not having lifted her eyes from her phone since we checked in over an hour ago.

“Don’t make me take away your invite, Demon Barbie,” Cal says, shaking his finger at Jo, who acts like she hadn’t even heard him.

“Was that it?” Belle asks.

“Well, we need to figure out who is bringing what,” Cal says, a little defensively.

“We’ve been sleeping on the bus for a week. Everyone needs time to relax and sleep in a real bed. We can figure out what needs to be done later,” Kai says, patting Cal on the shoulder as he stands. “You coming?” he asks Belle.

“I want to hang out with Willa. I feel like I’ve barely seen her, and we live on the same street.”

I tense for a moment before forcing myself to smile. I had planned to go back to my room and call Declan. Something feels off between us, but I don’t know what it is. It’s like the week we spent together made the distance so much harder. I thought we were used to the distance, but maybe it was the closeness that we weren’t ready for.

“Willa?”

“Sorry,” I say to Belle. “I’d love to hang out. We can go back to my room and watch a movie. You can help me touch up my roots. The blonde is coming in.”

Belle smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes. I don’t like the way she’s examining me right now.

“Anyone else want to join us?” I ask, hopping up from the couch and throwing the rest of my pizza in the trash.

“I’m in,” Mav says, pushing off the wall and following me to the door. Belle walks closely behind him, still giving me a weird look.

I pull out my phone and quickly text Declan while we walk to my room.

I can’t call you tonight. Belle wants to hang out.

Hockey Boy

You could both call. I’ll be nice to her. I won’t even flirt.

I bite the inside of my lip and peek at my friends over my shoulder. They’re quietly chatting about our manager, Jon. He’s been acting weird lately too. Fucking men.

I’m sorry, hockey boy. Not tonight.

Did I do something wrong? I’m sorry if I haven’t been as awake on our calls as I used to be. Coach Jones is running me ragged, and Boston plays differently than San Diego, so I’ve had a lot more to learn than you’d think. I’ve been really tired.

I’m really sorry, Princess.

I don’t think I’ve ever felt more like an asshole than I do in this moment. I’m not trying to blow him off, but I don’t want to answer the questions Belle is going to have.

I swipe my card against the reader and swing the door open. “You guys go pick a movie. I’m going to run downstairs and get some snacks.”

I turn towards the elevator without waiting for them to answer. The moment I’m behind the elevator doors, I hit call.

“Princess,” Declan answers, and I hate how unsure his voice sounds.

“I’m sorry, Dec. I didn’t mean to make you feel like you upset me somehow. You haven’t,” I rush to tell him. “I’m just stressed.”

“You’re my best friend, Willa. I miss you,” he says softly.

“I miss you too, hockey boy.”

“I’m sorry I interrupted your night.”

“You didn’t. If anything, they interrupted our night,” I say, trying to force a laugh.

“How come you never call me when any of them are around?” he asks, surprising me so much it takes me a moment to answer.

“I wouldn’t be able to hear a word you said. There’s five or more people with me at any given time. I’m only alone when I get into bed at night and call you.”

“Promise that’s it? Because I was starting to feel like you were embarrassed by me,” he says, laughing half-heartedly.

“I promise. I could never be embarrassed by you,” I tell him truthfully.

Dec yawns loudly. “How much longer until you’re home?”

“Six weeks,” I say. “Actually, hold on.” I look at the calendar on my phone and count the days. “Thirty-eight days until I’m home, but you won’t be. So, forty-one until we’re in the same place.”

He sighs. “How is it we’ve gone years at a time without seeing each other and it wasn’t a huge issue, but now it sucks so hard?”

I snort. “Probably because you can’t sleep with everyone anymore.”

“I don’t want to. Haven’t in a while.”

I don’t know what to say to that, so I just stare at my reflection in the shiny elevator door.

“You want to know what I think it is?” he says.

“Tell me,” I say quietly.

“I think it’s because now I know what it’s like to have you in my life permanently. Is our friendship lifelong anyway? Sure as fuck is. But now we live together, and I get to hang out with my best friend every night. When we’re in the same city, anyway. Now that I’ve had that, I don’t want to go back.”

“I think you might be right, hockey boy.”

“When aren’t I?” he says. I laugh but can still hear him yawn.

“Get some sleep. You have a tough game tomorrow.” They’re playing Seattle, who came out of preseason as the favorites.

“You’re going to watch, right?” he asks, yawning again.

“I’ll be onstage while you’re playing, but Nate is recording it for me.”

“Who the fuck is Nate?” he asks, suddenly more awake.

I laugh and shake my head. “Our tour manager. He’s married and also like fifty. Relax.”

“You work with too many men, wife.”

I laugh so hard I start wheezing. “You’re nuts. Get some sleep, husband. I’ll text you with my notes on your game tomorrow.”

He laughs lightly. “Oh, I’m sure you will. Good night, Princess.”

“Good night, hockey boy.”

The door pings and opens, revealing Jo eyeing me suspiciously. “What are you doing?”

“Uh, going to my room,” I say, stepping around her. I never hit a button for a floor, so I’m still on mine.

“Right,” she says, hitting the lobby button. Her eyes stay on mine as the door shuts.

“Perfect,” I grumble to myself and head back to my room. I walk in to see Belle and Mav on my bed watching ESPN. “What are you doing?” I ask, my voice shaking. Do they know about me marrying Declan? I have an alert set, but the news is quiet so far.

“Mav wanted to watch the interview with Jasper. That baseball player that knew Ezra. He threw no balls or something,” Belle says.

“A no hitter?” I ask, instantly relaxing. Belle knows nothing about sports. Mav might know even less. Kai and Cal are huge sports fans. I’ve worried about them figuring something out before I can tell them. “He threw a perfect game?” I ask Mav after Belle shrugs.

“That’s what her dad said.” He gestures to Belle. “Hey, where are the snacks?” he asks when he looks at me.

“There wasn’t anything good,” I say, crawling in bed next to Belle. She turns to face me, examining my face like she can find all my secrets written there.

“Are you seeing someone?”

“Who?” Mav asks. “Her options are Jon or your dad. Actually, I think Harrison is single too.” He looks around Belle so he can see me. “Do you have a thing for older men?”

I roll my eyes. “No, I don’t have a thing for my friends’ dads.”

“But you’re seeing someone?” Belle asks.

“No, I’m not.”

“Promise? You’d tell me, right? I know I wasn’t around for a few years, but I thought we were close again.”

Well, that hurt my heart. “I promise I’ll tell you if I’m seeing someone.” I lean my head on her shoulder. “We’re good, Belle. It’s like those missing years never happened.”

“There he is!” Mav says, pointing at the TV where Jasper is speaking with an ESPN analyst.

“Why are we watching this?” I whisper to Belle.

“He thinks he can get some clues from Jasper about Ezra,” she whispers.

I lean up so I can see her face. She shrugs and turns a worried look towards Mav. Jasper may have known Ezra, but he told us he doesn’t know where he is now. So I’m not sure what Maverick thinks he’s going to get out of this.

My eyes feel heavy, so I let them close, letting sleep take me while snuggling up to my best friend. But in the moment between awake and asleep, I can’t help feeling like it’s the wrong best friend.