“If further association with this group is your desired outcome,” Gil said, “it will necessitate engaging in a structured mentorship program. I’ll send the details by the end of the day. Oh, and Tori, try to limit personal visits from friends to the office.”
He dismissed her with a little wave. Out in the hall, she parsed the corporate language. She was being put on some kind of probation, although she didn’t know exactly what that looked like. Her skin was boiling hot and she felt like she couldn’t breathe.
She was at risk of losing everything. This had to end.
That night, after dinner and reading Leo to sleep, she wrapped herself up in her pink kimono, lay in bed, and told Cyrus she needed some advice.
“All right, I’m listening. What’s going on now? And don’t you dare tell me ‘nothing’ because I can alreadysee it written all over your face.” The disembodied voice could not have any idea what was written on her face, but Tori didn’t care.
“It’s bad.”
“Tell me. You know I don’t have time for games, so spill it.”
“It’s the guy I’ve been seeing. I am ready to end it and he’s not taking it well. He’s younger and won’t stop texting.”
“Oh honey, NO. Just… NO. First of all—and I say this with love—what did I TELL you about these young boys? They don’t know when to back off because their little brains are still developing! Listen to me very carefully: Block. His. Number. Right now. I’m not playing.”
“I don’t know if I should do that.”
“Don’t you dare give me that ‘but he’s sweet’ nonsense. Sweet doesn’t pay your rent. Sweet doesn’t keep food on the table. You worked too hard to get where you are to let some twentysomething mess it up because he can’t take a hint.”
She didn’t have the guts to tell Cyrus that Van was not twentysomething but nineteen. “He lives on my street. I can’t just block his texts.”
“Okay, okay… so blocking won’t work because he’ll just show up at your door like some lovesick puppy. Great. Just GREAT,” Cyrus said. “Here’s what we’re gonna do.”
Her heart skipped a beat at the “we’re”—they were in this together, she and Cyrus.
“The next time he comes by, or calls—you’re gonna lay down the LAW. Not some wishy-washy ‘let’s cool it’ garbage. You tell him straight up: ‘This is DONE.’”
It was a great plan, in theory.
On Tuesday night, Tori was just finishing bathing Leo and was helping him into his Spider-Man pajamas when Autumn stuck her head in the door, her pretty round face tight with concern.
“I’m really, really sorry to bug you,” she said, her eyes wide and her face pink. “But there’s some guy here and he insists on seeing you. I think he lives in the house behind us? He seems kind of upset.” Autumn’s fingers nervously twisted the hem of her T-shirt. “I told him you were busy but…” She shrugged.
“Did you let him in the house?” Tori’s stomach dropped.
Autumn shook her head no.
“Good. It’s okay. He’s the landlord’s kid. He’s just helping me with a house thing. Tell him to wait for me on the porch.” She thought of him outside, skulking around, visible to anyone who walked by. That wouldn’t work. “No, on second thought, tell him to go around to the back and wait for me, okay? I’ll meet him there.”
Autumn frowned. “You sure?”
After Autumn left the room, Tori rushed through reading Leo’s favorite book,There’s a Nightmare in My Closet, which lay open on his lap. After she’d tucked Leo in and shut off the lights, she went downstairs and stepped out on the back patio, where Van was waiting in the shadows. The night air was humid. In the distanceshe heard laughter and squeals, kids enjoying the summer nights. She could picture happy, normal parents in their lawn chairs, drinking beer. She didn’t know how she ended up here, in the dark.
“You can’t do this,” she told Van in a low voice, wrapping her pink kimono around her tightly despite the warm summer air. “You can’t just keep showing up. At my house. At my work.”
“I wouldn’t have to if you’d talk to me.” His tone was sulky, a mix of belligerence and hurt. “I’m not gonna let you ghost me.”
A light went on in the Allards’ yard and they both turned at once. Tori sucked in a breath, terrified that Jo or Daniel might come out and confront them. Could they see Van and her here in the darkness? She doubted it but she couldn’t be sure.
“Probably just a fox or raccoon triggering the lights,” Van said once it was clear no one was coming out of his house.
“Go home. This is too risky.”
She started to turn back to her house but he grabbed her shoulder, his grip tight. “This isn’t fair. I didn’t do anything.” He was close, and she could smell alcohol on his breath. A primitive part of her brain buzzed to life, a survival instinct kicking in. She had witnessed how alcohol plus rejection equaled violence. She would need to tread carefully. Van was young, but he was strong, impulsive. Who knew what he was capable of?
“I just meant,” she started in a sweet voice, “that we should be careful. We should meet somewhere lessvisible.” So much for taking Cyrus’s advice. She gently pried his fingers from her. Somehow, in doing that, her fingers became entangled with his.
