Resonating Souls (Bermuda Nights #1)(10)
Evan had tucked his guitar into a soft black bag, and he slung it over his shoulder, coming over to me. He raised an eyebrow. “Beads?”
I stood, chuckling. “She means the Mardi Gras beads will be on the door handle,” I explained. “I’m homeless for an hour or two.”
He glanced at the doorway to the club, his brow creasing in concern. “Oh?”
“I’ll be fine,” I reassured him. “I’ll just hang out here, and –”
A rail-thin girl with heavy owl-eye makeup, looking barely legal to drink, staggered into me, splashing me with the martini she balanced precariously in one hand. She let out a shriek of laughter, then staggered back to her friends.
Evan brushed me down. “I have somewhere I go after gigs, to unwind. If you wanted to come along –”
“Sure,” I responded instantly, gathering up my purse.
He hesitated for a moment, his gaze shielding from me as if he’d slid on internal sunglasses. Then he nodded, took me gently by the arm, and led me out.
We crossed the length of the ship, down mostly deserted hallways. The occasional passenger we crossed seemed bleary-eyed and unable to hold a straight line. Then we reached the double doors to the Stardust Theater. He put his hand against it for a moment, as if contemplating something, then he drew it open, inviting me through.
The theater was vast, seeming even larger in the soft lighting. He led me up the side stairway to the balcony, drawing me along the row until we reached a nook in the front, tucked in the shadows. There was a curved, plush bench seat there, fronted by a small round table. He put his guitar to one side, then slid into the bench. His arm came up onto the back of the bench. I moved in after him, tucking myself in, and his arm came down along my shoulder as if it’d always belonged there.
I sighed, resting my head on his shoulder, and the world settled into place. After the cacophony of the evening, the silence seemed stunning.
I smiled. “This is nice.”
He nodded. “I found this spot pretty early on in my tour. If you think your rooms are tight, you should see the crew quarters sometime. We have the four of us stuffed into a space the size of a breadbox. You can’t inhale without three other people hearing it. It’s as if they can listen in on your very thoughts. And sometimes …” He closed his eyes. “Sometimes I just need to be alone.”
I nuzzled my head against his chest. “You’re not alone now.”
He gave a soft chuckle, and he pressed his lips against my forehead. “That’s quite all right,” he murmured.
I nestled closer into his nook. “Guess I’m lucky that Kayla put the beads out.”
A smile lit his voice. “You two must have been hell during high school,” he teased. “Thelma and Louise. The boys never stood a chance.”
I shook my head. “We were Charlie’s Angels,” I corrected. “There were three of us.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Oh? And what happened to the third?”
Darkness descended on me, swirling me into its depths, and I let out a breath.
He drew me in, his lips pressing to my forehead again, holding there. “I’m so sorry.”
My voice was tight. “She … it was freshman year, and Tanya became obsessed with this senior. Eddie. Eddie seemed to have it all. Tall, dark, brooding, lots of cash. Drove a bright-red Ferrari. Tanya set out to catch him as if she were planning to climb Mount Everest. It was all she ever talked about.”
He nodded against me, letting me tell my tale at my own pace.
I eased against his sturdy chest, wrapping my arm around him. “He told her heroin would make their sex fantastic. Turn it into a mind-blowing trip like she’d never seen.” The ache delved into me. “And of course, she dove in. Anything for her Eddie.”
He twined a hand into my hair, comforting me.
Tears brimmed in my eyes. “I’m the one who found her. It was junior year, right before Christmas. We were supposed to go out shopping, and she never showed at my house. She wasn’t answering her phone, either. It was the middle of the afternoon, so I drove over there and let myself in. We were always visiting each other; were practically members of each other’s families. So we all had keys.”
Hot tears trickled down my cheeks. “And there she was, sprawled across her lavender bedspread. She still had some of her purple unicorns on one shelf. I remember it. She had on jeans, and a black lace bra, and her closet door was open as if she’d been deciding what to wear. But she was covered with vomit, and her eyes were wide, glassy, and not moving. And I just screamed … and screamed …”
He held me tight as the sobs shook me, as the horror of that afternoon dug into me, taking root, twisting me inside out.
At long last the pain eased a little, and I wiped my face off on his t-shirt.
His voice was rough. “I’m sorry you had to go through that. Sorry for you all.”
I slid my hand along his waist. “And you know the worst part? That bastard, Eddie, never even paid for it. He vanished. Turns out he’d been supplying heroin to half the school. A number of kids went into hard withdrawal when their supply dried up. But I suppose it was still better than what happened to Tanya.”
I pressed my lips together. “And most of the kids had been like Tanya. Hadn’t really been interested in starting. Did it because he lured them in. He convinced them that it was safe, that it was fun. Like riding a roller coaster, and you can just step off when the ride is done.”