Right, I knew that, but…
But what? Evelyn was trained in this world. If something happened to her, she would be fine, I knew that. And anyways, what would I do about it if she was gone? Nothing. I’d stand around and pace, that’s it. Worrying and doing nothing to help the situation.
I pressed my lips into a thin line and nodded, shoving that note away, the rock in my stomach only growing. I had maybe an hour left. After that, I would call Everett, tell him about the note, but there was no point in worrying or leaving now.
I released a breath and forced my smile back. “Sorry, how are you doing?”
Everything would be fine. It would be fine.
Everything was fine.
~~~
“I hope you do too,” I told the last person.
She smiled brightly, clutching her things to her chest as she headed off the stage.
I leaned back, releasing a breath of relief and rubbing my right hand. “God, I need to figure out some hand exercises or something.”
Katie laughed, joining my side again, her expression one of pure exhaustion. “Yeah, I can understand that.” She placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “You did good, kid. Head back to the dressing room, take a beat, I’ll close this down.”
I grimaced. “You sure? I can help tear—”
“Stop,” she laughed. “We’ve got people for it. Go, get home, take a hot bath, I know I’ll be doing the same when I get home.”
“Hopefully with some company?” her husband asked, sliding his hands around her hips.
She giggled, leaning back into him. “Definitely with some company.”
I couldn’t help but smile. I always admired their relationship. “Okay. Thanks again, Katie, I owe you everything.”
“Just give me another best seller, eh?” she teased as I pushed myself to a stand.
I laughed lightly. “Yeah, I’ll get right on that.” With a wavegoodbye, I finally headed back towards my makeshift dressing room. God, I was exhausted. I could barely keep my eyes open. My face hurt from all the smiling, and the wig was starting to itch. All I wanted to do was fall into bed and sleep for a week.
I blinked slowly, trudging through my dressing room door, only to slow when I saw Everett leaning against the far wall, half in the shadows, waiting for me.
My heart skipped a beat, but as much as I wanted to go to him, I was also drained of energy. I didn’t even think I had the capability of kissing him right now. Just before I was about to tell him how tired I was, I remembered the note. “Is Evelyn okay?” I asked, walking over to the musty couch they had set up for me.
“Is that what that note said?” he asked, pushing away from the wall.
I wasn’t surprised that he knew about it. If he hadn’t been watching me, Azrael would have told him, I was sure of it. Without replying, I pulled out the note and held it out to him, my right hand shaking.
It was going to be swollen tomorrow; I was sure of it. I would definitely need to stick it in an ice bath tonight.
“Evelyn is fine,” he said a second later. “There are four other women in your life though, Olivia. Katie, your mother, Stella, and Baily.”
I let my head fall back into the couch and draped my arm over my eyes. I had a migraine. “Oh, well then it was probably some guy mom hired to freak me out. She knows about all of my signings, she just never wanted to make the drive.”
I could feel him step up to me, in front of me. “I’ll make a call. What did he look like?”
Sleep. I just wanted to sleep. “Unremarkable,” I mumbled, feeling myself slipping slowly into unconsciousness. “Brown eyes, brown hair, 30’s, striped shirt…corduroy pants…” Iyawned. “The complete opposite of you. Memorable, beautiful, a siren in this world of silence. Your violence is…peaceful…”
10
Everett
July 2nd, 2022
