Page 55 of For Eva

I reached into my back pocket and pulled out my wallet, tossing a hundred dollar bill on the bar.

“Come on, Eric, let’s head out. Hopefully this covers the tab,” I said to Tracey, whose eyes grew wide as she grabbed for the money.

Eric pushed himself back from the bar. “Duty calls, friends.” He lost his footing as he attempted to stand, and I caught him as he stumbled forward. I motioned for Keith to come over, and we placed his arms over our shoulders before guiding him toward the door. Eric eyed Keith, confused, but didn’t question why he was there. Eva hung her head and walked ahead of us.

Fortunately, the rain had stopped, as it proved challenging to haul Eric’s semi-limp body along the sidewalk. His head wobbled back and forth between me and Keith, until he caught sight of Eva and managed to steady it.

“Aw, Danny, that’s so sweet. You brought your girl along to rescue me. Although, she wasn’t very nice to me this morning.” He paused, then expelled a laugh so bitter I could almost taste it. “Danny and Eva foreva!” he yelled as we stopped at a crosswalk, cars whizzing past us, whipping Eric’s long hair into his face.

I exchanged a look with Keith, then glanced over at Eva, who stood with her arms folded across her chest. Her jaw tightened as she stared impatiently across the street at the flashing light signaling it would soon be safe to cross.

“Foreva! For Eva! Get it?” Eric leaned forward and cackled, nearly causing us to stumble out into the road. We took a step back from the oncoming traffic, and he lifted his head. “But you wouldn’t get that, would you, Danny?”

“What the fuck are you talking about, Eric?” I asked.

The signal on the other side of the street changed, allowing us to cross. Eva walked ahead, creating as much distance as possible between her and the scene Eric was causing.

“I’m talking aboutyou,” Eric slurred loudly. “’Cause you’ve never really beenforEva, have you? You didn’t even want her on this tour with us. You wanted to keep her back in LA, stuckin some shitty bar job.” He raised his head and called out to her. “Did you know that, Eva?Did you?”

Fuck.

Eva stopped abruptly and turned to us, stray pieces of hair darting around her face in the wind. “What did you say?”

“Danny doesn’t fucking want you here,” Eric announced as we approached her.

She shifted her eyes to me, her piercing stare slicing through my heart. Without another word, she twisted on her heels and started toward the hotel, quickening her pace until she was running.

“Eva, wait!” I slipped out from under Eric’s arm and jogged ahead, but she only sprinted farther and farther away.

I scrubbed my hands over my face and blew out a long breath before heading back down the sidewalk, where Keith was struggling to keep Eric upright against the side of a building.

Motherfucker.I wanted to fucking pummel him, but that would cause even more of a scene, and the look on Keith’s face told me he was done. So, I grabbed Eric’s arm, threw it over my shoulder, and slogged toward the hotel as he mumbled incoherently, then passed the fuck out.

After depositing Eric with Keith, I trudged down the hallway to our room, where I rested my hand on the cold silver handle and leaned my forehead against the door. Inside, there was loud music and the sound of drawers slamming shut. I took a deep breath and turned the knob, bracing myself for the worst.

Eva was in a flurry, her hair flying wildly as she threw clothes into the open suitcase on the bed. Joan Jett blasted from the boom box on the dresser, drowning out my entrance. As shewalked over to empty out a drawer, she caught sight of me and stopped in her tracks, her stare freezing my insides. Then, just as suddenly as she had stopped, she released me from her spell, and began tossing more clothes into the suitcase.

I took a deep breath and walked over to the boom box, turning the volume down. Eva immediately pushed past me and adjusted it back up.

“Can we talk about this?” I asked, raising my voice above the music.

She ignored me, zipping the suitcase and lugging it off the bed onto the floor. As she attempted to push past me toward the bathroom, I grabbed her arm and turned her around to face me.

“Hey! Can you fucking listen for one second?”

Eva yanked her arm away and shoved her hand into my chest, sending me backward into the dresser. “Don’t fucking touchme.”

As she stomped off, I turned around and fumbled for the stop button on the boom box. Without a word, she stalked back over and pressed play on the tape, the sound of Joan Jett singing about hating herself for loving someone once again blasting from the speakers.

I turned and punched the eject button. “Fucking stop this already!”

Eva’s chest heaved as she looked up at the ceiling and pressed her lips together.

“Can we please talk?” I asked again.

“What, Danny? What do you want to say?”

“What Eric said,” I began, inching closer to her. “It’s not what you think. He’s a goddamn addict, Eva. He just wanted to start some shit because he’s fucking miserable and wants everyone else to be miserable, too.”

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