Page 126 of Jump on Three

“Yours,” she whispered back.

Then she took my face in both hands, giving me a hard, intense stare. “Mine.”

I would never disagree. I had belonged to Evelyn Kastanos before she ever acknowledged my existence.

“Yours.”

Chapter Forty-two

Evelyn

The next day, Ivan was gone.

His father had called, then he and Vóva were on a plane together to Miami.

His sudden exit was jarring. I’d consoled myself by telling myself he had wanted to leave even less than I had wanted him to.

He’d called me, told me everything was going to be fine, but our call didn’t last long. Phones weren’t my thing. Without having someone in front of me so I could discern their tone and expression, it was impossible to really follow along in a deep conversation.

So, I studied. I swam a lot. Delilah attempted to get me out of my room, but I could really only concentrate on one thing at a time, and missing Ivan was it. Being with others just took time away from what I truly wanted to be doing, which was counting down the minutes until he returned.

Two days. That was all it was. But my nails had been bitten to death, and I’d begun a doom spiral with thoughts of Ivan never returning, running away from me, our relationship, my too-muchness.

I climbed out of the pool when I finished my morning swim, and he was there, holding my towel open for me. I did not know how to react or even process his presence, so I allowed him to wrap me up, then I just stared at him, my stomach doing strange flips.

“Evelyn.” His throat was raw and gritty like he’d spent the night screaming. “Hello, angel. I missed you.”

My feet were leaden, but Ivan was more determined than my frozen limbs. He took me in his arms and pulled me into his chest. It was his familiar warmth that snapped me out of my shock.

A choked whimper escaped, then I was hugging him back, pressing myself to his front, all but climbing inside his skin.

In between kisses to the top of my head, he told me he loved me again and again. In the back of my mind, I knew I should have been asking questions about his trip, what had happened, how he was doing, but I couldn’t grasp any of those thoughts well enough to force them from my mouth. Ivan was the only thing I could hold on to.

The sound of the locker room door opening and closing did not break my hold on him, nor did Layla and Clarice’s blackboard-scratching voices. They passed us, and I didn’t even look up or register the words they were saying.

Ivan was the one to step back, keeping both hands on me. “Go get dressed and we will go to breakfast. Okay?”

Though parting from him was the last thing I wanted to do, I nodded and whispered, “Okay.”

As we walked from the pool to the dining hall, Ivan told me he wanted to sit apart from our friends so he could tell me about his trip. Once we had our food, we found a quiet corner for just the two of us.

I picked at my scone and stared at him as if he might disappear if I looked away.

“You look tired,” I remarked.

He sighed, shoving his fingers through his hair. “I am. I only slept five or six hours over the last two days.”

“You should have slept on the plane.”

His mouth hooked. “Where do you think I got those hours?”

“Did you rest your head on your seatmate’s shoulder?”

“No.” He breathed a laugh. “I sat up straight, like a soldier.”

This was my first true giggle in days. “I will always remember when I’m sitting up straight, I’m being a soldier.”

“As you should.” After a moment of silence and chewing, Ivan took my hand in his. His thumb rubbed the place between my thumb and forefinger.

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