Stella comes flying at him with her tail wagging. He bends down to pet her as she jumps up, and they almost knock heads. Laughing, he scratches behind her ears and down her neck.
“Yeah, yeah, my dog loves you,” Trevor says gruffly. “Can we get back to the part about how I’m not going to New York with you?”
He straightens up. “Why not?”
“Because I told you I don’t want to leave.”
“Trevor.” He closes the distance between them and reaches for Trevor’s hand, keeping his grip loose so Trevor can pull away if he wants to. But Skyler hopes he doesn’t. “I understand how much this house means to you. I do. Iknow you have memories of your mom here. But your mom would want you to be safe more than anything else. Right?”
Trevor stares down at their hands, transfixed. Skyler’s not sure if he heard a word he said. But then Trevor looks back up at him and shakes his head. “I’ll go if they issue an order, but not before then.”
“If you wait, you might not have time to get out safely,” he reasons. “And what good does it do for you to stay here? I don’t want to go to worst-case scenario, because we know the fires haven’t reached Santa Monica since probably before we were born, and it’s unlikely that’ll happen. But this fire isn’t slowing down, and you need to be prepared. If the worst did happen, you being in the house when the fire comes won’t save the house. It'll kill you.”
“I know.”
“So what are you still doing here?”
Trevor looks down at their hands again. “I just—I can’t.”
Stella whines and paws at Skyler’s shoe. He’s reluctant to let go of Trevor’s hand, but he does, reaching down to give the dog a few pats. Then he straightens up and fixes his gaze on Trevor again. “What about Stella? Don’t you want her to be safe?”
Trevor’s eyes flash with anger, and all right, that was a low blow. But he’s willing to say anything at this point to convince him to go.
When Trevor doesn’t verbally respond, Skyler groans in frustration. “Look. I’m supposed to be flying out of here soon, and I’m not leaving without you.”
“You have to,” Trevor says. “You can’t stay in your house. The fire’s a lot more likely to hit Malibu. They’ll probably issue an order by the end of the day.”
“So I’ll stay here with you then.”
“That’s not…”
“Good enough, since they could evacuate here too?” Skyler says sharply, patience wearing thin and worry really starting to get the best of him. “I know. But if you’re staying here, then I’m staying here.”
Trevor frowns at him. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’m not leaving without you,” he repeats. He’s not sure if he’s bluffing or not, but Trevor knows how stubborn he can be, so hopefully he believes him. And it’s probably a childish tactic, but Trevor used to do anything to protect him when they were together. Maybe that instinct’s still there. His own instinct to care about Trevor certainly never went away.
They stare at each other for so long he half expects Mike to come barging in and force him back into the car. Force both of them, maybe. But he needs Trevor to get there on his own.
“I’m not sticking Stella under a plane. It’s dangerous.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I got us a private plane.”
“You got—”
“A plane. Yes. Out of a private airport. So you don’t have to worry about people seeing us together and Stella can fly in the cabin with us.”
Trevor stares at him another minute, and Skyler tries not to get his hopes up, but he seems to be wearing down. Then—“Fine.”
Yes!
“Thank god. Now let’s hurry up and get you packed.”
Trevor gives him one more scornful look. “You’re pushy, you know that?”
“Eh.”
“Wait. What about Mike and Hal? Do they have somewhere to go?”
