Page 62 of For Eva

“Is Eric alive?”

“Are you Eric’s girlfriend?”

“Can you tell us what happened tonight?”

“Did he really let his mother die?”

We pushed through the revolving door, leaving the mob behind us. Two doormen stood watch to ensure no one followed us as we hurried to the elevators at the back of the lobby.

Keith let out a long breath as the doors clicked shut.

“I…I don’t know what to do,” I said, my voice shaky. “What do you need me to do?”

He turned to me, his eyes softening as he put his hand on my arm. “I’ll handle it. I’ll talk to Matt and Will and make all the calls. You need to get some rest.”

“No,” I managed, shaking my head. “It’s my job. I want to help. Tell me who to call, what to do, where to—”

“Look, kid,” he said, his face turning to stone. “You saved Eric’s life tonight. He’s alive because ofyou.”

The words hit me like a ton of bricks, and I gripped the silver handrail on the wall to steady myself.

“But I need to—”

“That wasn’t a suggestion, Eva. As your boss, I’m telling you. Get some rest. We’ll go to the hospital tomorrow.”

I sighed and nodded.

“And fill Danny in, okay?” he added as the elevator came to a stop and we stepped into the hallway.

My mouth went dry, and I licked my lips.Danny. In all the chaos of the past several hours, I’d forgotten what awaited me in the hotel room. How could I even look at him after he’d walked away like that?

“Okay,” I said, staring down at the carpet.

“You were brave tonight, Eva. Don’t forget that.”

I brought my eyes up to him and managed a weak smile. “Thank you, Keith. For everything.”

He nodded as we turned and headed to our rooms. I held my breath as I inserted the key into the lock and turned the knob. The room was dark, so I flipped on the light and made my way into the suite, expecting to find Danny, sitting on the bed, stewing over the events of the night and chain-smoking. But he wasn’t there.

“Danny?” I called, though it was clear no one was in the room. Maybe he’d gone to find a bar, which was fine with me since I didn’t particularly want to talk to him. I needed to lie down and process everything that had happened.

I moved to the dresser to pull out an old T-shirt to throw on for bed, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed an empty space where Danny’s suitcase had been earlier in the day. He never unpacked his suitcase, except to hang up some of his stage clothes. My stomach dropped as I dashed to the closet and threw open the doors.

I stepped back and swallowed hard, my breath quickening when I saw it was empty. My eyes darted around the room, looking for a sign he was still at the hotel, but only spotted a piece of paper on the nightstand. I froze in place, my chest rising and falling. When I finally managed to make it to the table, I picked up the note and read the words scribbled in Danny’s handwriting.

I can’t do this anymore. The band. Us. I’m so sorry, Eva. This isn’t what I thought it would be.

My body dropped to the bed, and I covered my mouth with my hand as I choked on the tears that fell and blurred the ink on the paper. After all the promises…after everything we’d been through…Danny Kincaid had left me.

Again.

“That motherfuckingasshole!” Denise screamed, slamming the apartment door so hard the room vibrated as I hauled the last of my luggage into my bedroom.

I caught a glimpse of myself in the full-length mirror hanging on the wall when I walked out to the living room. No makeup, tired eyes, my hair in a mess of a ponytail. I looked like shit. Ifeltlike shit. I’d spent four days in Denver. Four days in the hospital, hoping they’d let me see Eric once they’d taken him off the machines, and he’d begun the detox process. But his withdrawal symptoms were too severe, so eventually, Keith, Matt, Will, and I had decided it was time to get on the bus and head home.

Without a word, I trudged over to the couch and flopped down, curling into a ball, my head resting on the arm.

“Hecannotfucking do this to you, Eva,” Denise continued, collapsing into the chair across from me. “This isn’t fucking high school. He can’t break up with you in a goddamn note.”

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