“Maybe not most people, but my mom and brother have no tolerance with alcohol. The car ride plus the alcohol plus you said you hadn’t eaten much today...” Livvy shrugged. Eve had just made it out of the car before throwing up in the bushes outside the condo.
She wondered if Eve would tense up at the mention of the other Kanes, but she only closed her eyes. “I’ve never been good with alcohol either. This is the second time this has happened.”
“When was the first time?” Gingerly, Livvy sat on the edge of the bed.
“College. I was trying to impress a boy.”
“Ah.” College had been expected of all of them. Nicholas and Paul had gone off and gotten business degrees, so the company had been secure. She’d enrolled in a local art program, while Jackson had attended a prestigious culinary school. Neither of them had graduated.
“I promised myself I’d never try that again.”
“You only tried to impress a boy once in fouryears? Better record than me.” She’d only ever tried to impress one boy. Countless times. Nicholas was tough to impress.
“Three years.”
Livvy raised an eyebrow, a shot of something that felt strangely like pride rushing through her. “Well, damn. Smart girl.”
“Lots of people graduate in three years.”
“No, they don’t. Be proud of your accomplishments. No one will be proud of them for you.” Her tone was probably harder than it needed to be, and she wasn’t exactly the best person in the world to play big sister to anyone, but the girl ought to know.
The world was unkind to women. It was devastating to women who didn’t believe in themselves.
At Eve’s silence, Livvy glanced over her shoulder to find the girl looking at her. Blue shadows ringed her eyes. “You dress differently now,” Eve commented out of the blue.
“I’m not a teen living at home with a disapproving mother,” she said dryly. “Also, my clothes-buying budget isn’t quite what it used to be.” The words slipped out of her mouth, and she regretted them instantly. Not because they were false—the hardest part of losing a financial safety net was figuring out the essentials and nonessentials and creating a budget—but because she didn’t want to slip into the same barb and parry game with Eve that she played with Nicholas.
Nicholas was her equal. Eve, despite being of legal age, was still a child in her eyes.
Eve nodded. “Yes, I imagine so,” was all she said.
The sound of the door opening had Livvy coming to her feet. Eve’s apartment was surprisingly small for a Chandler, a two-bedroom place in a quiet, middle-class part of town.
“Don’t worry, that’s probably my roommate. I texted her.” Eve closed her eyes again.
A second later, a pretty black woman wearing jeans and a purple Hello Kitty T-shirt entered the bedroom and gave a sympathetic wince at the sight of Eve in bed. She smiled at Livvy and held out her hand. “Hey, I’m Madison.”
Livvy nodded and shook her hand. “Livvy.”
Madison bustled closer to the bed and stroked Eve’s hair. “Oh, Eve. How many?”
“Two, but in my defense, they were potent.”
Madison tsked, dropped her backpack on the floor, and perched next to her friend. “Alcohol and you are not friends. A few sips, max.”
Livvy tucked her fingers into her back pocket. “I guess you’re in good hands now.”
Eve gazed at her somberly. “I am. Thank you.” The words were stiff but sounded genuine.
The apartment’s front door thudded open, and Livvy jolted. “How many roommates do you have?”
Eve groaned. “Oh God. I accidentally dialed Nicholas after Madison. I hung up, but...”
Livvy tensed.She couldn’t avoid the Chandlers even when she tried.“Nicholas?”
Eve’s eyes widened, probably because she’d just realized she’d brought together two people she’d spent the evening trying to keep apart. “Oh, shi—”
“Eve?” came Nicholas’s voice from the living room. “Why are your lights on? Where are you?”
