It didn’t matter that she was trying to manage my expectations, I ran for the phone.
Avery picked up on the third ring. “Hello?”
I could have cried at the sound of her voice. That’s what a month without her had done to me. “Ave.”
“Wes.” Her voice quivered in disbelief. “How?”
“Don’t underestimate me when it comes to finding you,” I told her. “Permanent, remember?”
She snorted a laugh. “Yeah, Ivy and Nolan weren’t all too thrilled when they discovered my tattoo.”
“How are you?”
“I mean, the house is big. School is fine, hard, but I have less than a year left, so it’s not like that matters. It’s a good distraction, though.” Her voice was distant, only emphasizing the miles between us.
“Tell me all about it when I visit.”
“You can’t.”
“You’re not allowed to have friends over?”
She hesitated. “They’re gone a lot of the time. But you have shows like every night.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll figure it out.”
Still, she was surprised when I showed up in the middle of December. Fool’s Gambit had finished a marathon of back to back shows in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Philly. It was just past one in the morning, and I’d come straight from our show atthe Bowery in Manhattan. The moment I was off stage, I was running to my rental car to make the drive to Hartford. I was finally going to see my best friend and I wouldn’t waste a minute I could be spending with her.
I slowed, pulling up to the closed wrought iron gates. My windshield wipers swished as they cleared the rapidly falling snow that had already blanketed the ground. I took a moment to appreciate the imposing estate peeking out over a tree line.
“You didn’t mention you lived in a castle,” I said, into the keypad intercom at the gate.
Avery’s voice crackled through the speaker. “God. They wish. And didn’t I tell you it was big?”
There was a buzz and the gates swung open, my heartbeat seemed to quicken as my tires cut through the snow. Trees stabbed up into the sky on either side, turning the winding drive into a claustrophobic corridor. When I caught sight of her standing at the top of the steps wrapped in a pink robe, she reminded me of spring. A flower pushing through the snow. Defiantly out of place.
She rushed to my car, snow fluffing up around her as she made a trail. I cut the engine, closed the remaining distance, and wrapped her in my arms. She buried her face in the crook of my neck. I doubted I smelled good. Along with the shredded shirt and snug jeans I’d worn onstage, I was sporting a layer of dried sweat from the three-hour drive. But that didn’t seem to matter.
I wanted to tell her that it would be fine now. That everything would be okay. But I didn’t know if that was the truth.
“You didn’t have to come. You had a show, and you have one tomorrow. Or, I guess, today,” she said when we pulled away.
I threw on a nonchalant smile as I retrieved a duffle bag from the backseat. “I was heading toward Boston anyway.”
I followed her up the steps and inside. I took in the grand stairway and gold-framed art along the walls. I could have staredforever, but Avery was moving so I followed her into the type of kitchen with lots of ovens and a cluster of industrial metal countertops I assumed only existed at the back of restaurants.
“Have you eaten since the show?” she asked.
My stomach answered with a gurgle. Her lips split into a smile. It had been too long since I’d seen it. The breath is knocked out of my lungs at the sight. No, that wasn’t right. It felt like my lungs were screaming for oxygen and I was finally able to breathe again.
“How are the shows going?” she asked, collecting sandwich supplies for PB&Js. It was odd seeing her easily navigate this space when she so obviously didn’t belong there, like we’d stepped into some alternate universe.
I’m a mess without you. We all miss you. You should be there with us and not stuck here.The thoughts raced through my head but I settled on. “Good.”
“Well, that’s bullshit.” She placed slices of bread on napkins and slathered each side.
I stood straighter. “And how would you know?”
“I’ve been reading articles about your shows. You forgot the lyrics to half a song two nights ago.” The knife in her hand glinted as she pointed it at my chest.
