Time (Laws of Physics #3)(37)

Unthinkingly, I covered Leo’s mouth with my hand, rocks in my throat. “You wouldn’t.”

He turned his head slightly to the side, lifting an eyebrow as though to say, You wanna bet?

I gritted my teeth, because I was angry. So angry.

He gently encircled my wrist, pulling it from his mouth and holding it. “Your hands are shaking.”

“Because I’m angry,” I seethed.

“Why?”

“You’re bullying me into this.”

Leo’s mouth curved into a sad smile. “I love you, Mona baby. So, yeah. Whatever it takes. Because that’s what family does. Because that’s what love looks like.”





10





The Theory of Special Relativity





Abram





“What are you thinking about?”

I blinked, struggling to focus, looking for Marie and finding her leaning against the doorframe. “What was that?”

Marie’s smile was soft. “I asked, what are you thinking about?”

My answering smile was flat. “Missed opportunities.”

She chuckled, walking further into the hotel bedroom and taking the armchair next to the bed. “So, Mona?”

I grinned and glanced at my hands. “Yeah.”

Mona had left eight days ago, keeping her promise to stay just twenty-four hours. Mona called every day since to check in, even if it was just for five minutes while she hid in a bathroom, stealing the time from her projects and work.

“You look better. Do you feel up to talking?”

“I do feel better. Yeah, sure, I could talk.” My label cancelled the rest of my commitments for the week—interviews, appearances—so I could recover, and my fever finally broke last night. I still had a little cough. My throat wasn’t bothering me much, thanks to Melena and her tea.

“So, let’s talk. Abram.”

“Marie.”

“You look better, but you also look frustrated.”

Inhaling deeply, because I finally could without coughing, I nodded. “I guess I am.”

I was better, but I was unsettled. Restless. Dissatisfied. I knew Mona couldn’t and shouldn’t stay. But that didn’t stop me from wishing things were different.

“What is this?” Marie pointed at my face, waving her index finger around. “Is this melancholy? Or ennui? Please tell me it’s not ennui. Ennui is for dissolute dukes, not dissolute rock stars.”

That made me smirk. “Maybe it’s melancholy. Maybe it’s Maybelline.”

She laughed, which had been my goal, and rested her elbow on the arm of the chair, tucking her hand beneath her chin. “I’m glad you told me the whole story—with you and Mona—when you got back from Aspen last month. I was pretty confused over the summer, after seeing her on C-SPAN and CNN, thinking I was going nuts.”

“Yeah.” I know how you feel. “Thanks for your help trying to track down her number when Leo wouldn’t give it to me. I appreciate your secrecy about everything, crazy as it is.” I hadn’t told her the whole story. Just enough to make sense of my desperate request.

“It is crazy,” my sister agreed readily. “Thanks for trusting me with it, but how you and Mona met might be the craziest love story I’ve ever heard. And you know how wacky my friends are.”

We shared a look and I grinned, thinking about her wacky friends.

“Anyway, sorry I couldn’t help you uncover the number. Quinn and Alex were very impressed with Exotica and DJ Tang’s security measures. They went to great lengths to hide their children’s contact information. If we’d had more time, Alex might’ve been able to narrow down some potential options.”

“But it makes sense, right?” I readjusted the pillow behind me. “They’re just trying to keep their kids safe.”

Marie made a face. “Eh, I don’t think that’s it. From what I know of Exotica and DJ Tang, I think it’s more that they want to be able to text and call their kids without fearing their own privacy will be violated. They’re extremely fastidious about public image. Speaking of which.” She gave me a pointed look.

“What?”

“You should let Alex do the same for you. The last thing you need is your phone getting hacked.”

Oh shit.

Staring at my sister, I was gripped with a sudden suspicion. “You looked at my photos.”

Immediately, she shook her head. “I did not look through your photos. If you recall, I texted Mona from your phone that morning in the hospital, asking her to call me at your number. You gave me the phone, you unlocked it, you asked me to send the message. And that means the last photo she sent to you before I texted her—the one of her looking stellar in a bikini—was already in the chat window when you gave it to me.”

Sometimes I forgot how great of a reporter my sister was. She had the most detailed memory of anyone I knew.

I shook my head, pushing my fingers through my hair. “Fuck.”

“Abram, it’s no big deal. I’m your sister. My job is to keep your secrets and love you unconditionally, and your job is to do the same for me. I don’t care what you and Mona send each other. You should see the stuff Matt and I send back and for—”