Selene and Lorraine were already there, and Abe had arrived, perched on the arm of the couch.He was the only one she hadn’t seen regularly since—
She couldn’t think about that now.
“Anyone want tea?Coffee?”Lorraine wrung her hands.She and Selene sat close beside one another, but they weren’t touching.To Ellery, it looked like there was a row of fire between them, keeping them apart while the warmth drew them together.
She found the energy to shake her head.
“I’m cool.Thanks, Lo,” Dante said.
“I’ll get my own.”Abe headed into the kitchen.“Lo, you want tea?”
“Okay.”
The room fell silent again, and the weight of their stares bored into her.
She was the leader of the band, wasn’t she?Or she was supposed to be.It was all overwhelming.Someone else should be in charge, someone better.
“Is Logan coming?”Her voice was scratchy from disuse.
Selene and Lorraine exchanged a look.“He’s due in ten minutes.El, we should talk.”
“About what?”
Dante cleared his throat.“Is this the right time?”
“Maybe.”Selene leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees.Abe emerged from the kitchen with two mugs in hand and handed one to Lorraine.
“Is this about Logan?”he asked.
Selene nodded.“It’s just, we always said that after the competition, we were going to…reassess Logan in our lives.”
Frost threaded through her veins.Logan had been helpful.Logan had gotten things done so she didn’t have to worry about them.“What do you mean?Logan’s been there for us.He—he helped us.He’s been nothing but supportive.”
“Not now.”Lorraine said it under her breath as she lifted her tea to her lips, but Ellery could hear.She clenched her fists into the fabric of her sweatshirt, knotting it around her hands.
It didn’t help.She was still freezing.
“El?”Dante rubbed her back in small, concentric circles.
“Please.”She hated begging, but it was all she was capable of at the moment.“He’s been so helpful these past few months.Please.”She would cry but her tear ducts were dry.“I can’t lose anyone else.”
Dante rubbed her back again, but it burned with loss.She knew he was leaving her and he wasn’t saying anything.She just wanted to cling to whomever she could.
A loud knock broke the waiting silence, but no one moved for a moment.Not until the second knock.
Please.Ellery squeezed her eyes shut, but every time she did, all she saw were her parents’ faces, all she heard was her sister’s laugh.
Abe moved first, taking his mug with him as he answered the door.
None of the rest of them turned, but she knew they all heard Logan’s tenor.
“Hey.Are we ready to get started?”
She was not in the best state of mind, which did not help when staring at the mock-ups Logan had set on an easel.The band waited on her, though, their tension thick and oppressive.
“I don’t get it,” she finally said.She tilted her head to read it from a different angle, but it still made no sense.There was a black-and-white photo of her, hair windswept, mouth open, and across the top of the poster the title readElvie.“Where is everyone else?”
“What’s up with her name?”Dante stirred beside her.Ever since Logan had arrived, he’d changed, altered minutely.His face had settled into stony lines and his reassuring posture had stiffened.
