“Yeah, I think so, too. Give me the glass and we’ll go lay down, okay?”
“In a minute, I wanted to show you . . .” Paige pointed at the album in front of her. “You’re in so many of these pictures. Back then we actually got them developed instead of just hoarded them in our phones. This was our sixteenth birthday. We had a joint party, remember? DJ and everything. Jack didn’t want a girly sweet sixteen but we had a blast. Guess I’ll be celebrating our birthday alone from now on . . . and look at this one.”
My chest constricted as I realized their birthday was next week. This was the first March eleventh they wouldn’t spend together.
Paige pulled back the clear wrapping and peeled a photo off the page. “That’s you and me. We danced that night.”
I took the photo from her hands and chuckled to myself. I had always been so damn tall, I towered over her. Even at sixteen, Paige was breathtaking. Her long blonde hair cascaded down the back of her off the shoulder black dress as her emerald eyes beamed at the camera. My hand looked huge resting on her tiny waist. I remembered every second of that one slow dance with her all those years ago.
“I think we should frame that. We looked good together, right?” She had a fever, and almost half the bottle of Bailey’s was gone, but she was talking a mile a minute.
“Yes, we should.” I cupped the side of her face and stroked her cheek with my thumb. She leaned into my touch as her jaw trembled. “You were always so beautiful. None of us could take our eyes off you that night. I didn’t even give a shit that we danced to *NSYNC.” Paige closed her eyes and laughed.
“The things you remember. You amaze me.” She sniffled as she took my face in her hands and kissed my forehead.
“No, you amaze me.” I leaned my forehead against hers. Her body was quivering, but I wasn’t sure if it was from the fever or her trying to hold everything inside. I stood from the floor and gently pulled her up and off the couch. “Does your head hurt?” Her pale cheeks were pinkening, almost as if she had sunburn. She gave her head a small shake and looked away. “Your mom is going to come over later. She’s worried about you.” Paige nodded and bit her lip.
“Was he . . .” Paige took a deep breath and wobbled in my arms. “Was he in pain? Was it quick?”
“In his sleep, Daisy. He was watching TV and drifted away.” She sunk her face into my chest, slowly panting as she clenched the material of my T-shirt with her fists.
“I . . . I should have stayed. I had a feeling in the pit of my stomach that today was the day, but I ignored it.”
I pulled away to draw her gaze up to me. “Ellie was laying with him. He wasn’t alone.” She nodded and shivered even more. I was afraid to mix Tylenol with the liquor in her system, but the way her fever was spiking made me nervous. I took my jacket off and led her back to the couch.
“Come sit with me.”
Paige cuddled into my side, her arm wrapped around my stomach. “You really remember that dance?”
I chuckled and kissed her forehead. “Absolutely. Best five minutes of the entire night. You wouldn’t still have that dress by any chance, would you?” Paige peered up at me and smiled.
“Nope, but I bet I could find another dress just like that one if you liked it so much.” She let out a long sigh as she rubbed my chest. “I’m so tired, babe.” Her voice was barely a whisper. I held her closer and kissed the top of her head.
“I know, Daisy. Go to sleep. I’ll wake you when your mom gets here.” Paige huffed at me.
“Like I’d be able to sleep through that. We talked about you today. Jack and I. He said he was happy we found each other. That he was relieved. He said you talk about me a lot.” Paige rested her chin on my chest as she gazed up at me. My heart squeezed in my chest as I ran my fingers through her damp hair; I hoped the sweat on her brow meant the fever was breaking. I loved her so fucking much and it gutted me to watch her suffer at all. I nodded slowly.
“I do. When you have the best girl in the world, it’s hard to keep it to yourself. Especially when you waited for her for over a decade. I’m desperately in love with you, in case you haven’t noticed.” I gave her a soft kiss on the lips. She shut her eyes and trembled in my arms.
“I love you, Evan. I love you so much.” Sobs ran through her as she collapsed to my chest, wailing and gasping for breath. I rocked her as I cried with her.
“I love you too, Daisy. Always have. Always will.”
“Could you sing for me?”
I chuckled into her hair. “Of course. What do you want me to sing?”
“Same song.” I sang the first verse of All My Loving, and before I knew it she was asleep.
I let myself really cry, finally, even though I was careful not to make too much noise and wake her.
I cried for more than my dead best friend. Everything about me revolved around Paige; my past, my future, my heart and soul.
Something was wrong, though. I knew it. I was as sure of that as I was certain the end of her would mean the end of me.
Two days after Jack’s funeral, I was back at the office. Taylor’s Flooring was now all mine. Mine to manage—and mine to fuck up. This was Ellie and Jack Junior’s income, and there was no way I’d let Jack’s legacy go to shit. But there was one problem: I wasn’t a businessman. Not an experienced one, anyway. I texted Jessica the night before I returned to see if she could come in early to help me go through the books. I wanted to see if we were turning a good enough profit, and if there were any money leaks or extra expenses we didn’t need.
I was no psychiatrist, but I was aware this was my way of avoiding the reality of what life had become. My best friend was dead and my girlfriend was sick. Putting my energy into the business was the only thing that made me feel useful, that maybe I was accomplishing something, anything.
“Find anything?” I strolled over to Jessica as she poured over the books. There was nowhere else for her to sit other than Jack’s desk. I got used to it being empty over the past couple of months when Jack couldn’t really be in the office, but it still didn’t feel right to see someone else in his chair.
“Nope. Not so far. Jack kept great records, and things look good from what I’ve seen so far. As long as business keeps coming in, you should be in good shape. I’ll keep looking and let you know if I find anything you should be concerned about.” Jessica gave me a small smile, and I nodded back. I was leaving myself wide open for her to take money and run, but Ellie knew her pretty well and trusted her. And although she seemed like a cold fish when I first met her, she was understanding about me hovering over her all day and asking question after stupid question. Maybe she felt sorry for me, but whatever it was, I thought I’d ride it out.
I was on edge about the business, and about Paige. She felt fine some days, but there were others when I could tell even getting out of bed was torture for her. All the doctor told her after a zillion blood tests was that she wanted her to make an appointment with a specialist. Paige’s appointment was at the end of the week. I wanted to go with her, but Tess said she would, and I was sure she wouldn’t leave that office until someone gave her an answer she was satisfied with. I was thankful she seemed to like me, because I sure as hell didn’t want to be on her bad side.
I sat back at my desk and shot a text to Paige.
Me: Hi, Daisy! How’s my girl today?
Paige: Tired but not awful. I finished my freelance project so I’ve been laying on my couch like a bum. Doesn’t totally suck. How’s your day, babe?
Me: Be a lot better when I see you. Jessica probably thinks I’m a nut case for making her go over all the books.