Page 16 of Our Lips Are Sealed
Jamison waved a hand at the bed. “I think we’re even.”
In and out.
In and out.
Forcing steady, even breaths in and out, Evie told herself not to scream. “Is there anything else I need to know?”
The anger on Jamison’s face morphed into guilt, and she bit down on her bottom lip. “I talked to Judy this morning.”
After everything she had just heard, it took Evie a minute to figure out who she was referring to. “Why are you calling her this early?”
“She wants to see us, and her health isn’t great.”
“What does that have to do with anything?” Evie asked, not understanding what Jamison was getting at. “We’ve discussed this already. I agreed to go, but only after Cohen left.”
“Yeah, well, you’ll have to get over that,” Jamison replied. “Because I told her we would be there tomorrow morning.”
Blinking in confusion, Evie looked her sister over. “Have you lost your mind?”
“It takes four hours to get there, and if we leave this morning, we could stay the night in New Orleans, and meet her tomorrow first thing.”
Annabeth took a step towards them. “Jamison, honey, no.”
“It’s more like, no way in hell,” Evie scoffed. “You’re upset and not thinking clearly.”
“If you won’t go, I’ll go by myself.”
Evie laughed outright, while Annabeth had the decency to cover her smile.
“You can hardly find your way to the college. How do you think you’re going to make it to New Orleans?” Evie didn’t want to be cruel, but if it made Jamison abandon this ridiculous notion, she would do what was necessary. “You have no sense of direction, just like Mom.”
Jamison’s hands fisted at her side. “I wouldn’t know,” she shouted, her anger exploding out of her. “Laura Jean isn’t real to me. She’s just a story I’m told in pieces. I don’t know her. I can’t. She’s gone.”
Remaining quiet, Evie let her talk. Her sister might not realize it, but she understood that pain. The small tidbits of stories involving Albie she’d clung to over the years were fading with time. He had never been anything more than a name—a ghost of memory she never truly possessed.
“This woman is our grandmother,” Jamison said. “And I want to meet her before it’s too late.”
Evie’s heart broke for her, it really did. But what Jamison wanted was impossible. “I can’t leave with Samuel under suspicion.”
“Then I’m going by myself.”
Jamison stomped out into the hall, heading for her bedroom. “I’m leaving in thirty minutes. Either be ready, or stay out of my way.”
Evie ran after her with Annabeth, but Jamison’s bedroom door slammed in their faces.
“Go find the keys to Betty.” Evie rattled the knob. “She can’t get far without a car.”
“My keys are in here,” Jamison said through the door. “Try again.”
Annabeth pulled out her phone. “We can disconnect her car battery.” She scrolled through search results on how to do it. “Problem solved.”
Jamison’s muffled laughter carried into the hall. “Will you be doing it yourself, Annabeth?” she asked. “You know the car isoutside, right?”
Outraged, Annabeth smacked her palm on the door. “That’s not fair!”
“Nothing is fair.” The door flew open, and Jamison stood there with desperation flashing in her eyes. “It’s not fair that you can’t go outside, or that I don’t know my mother. And it’s really not fair that my brother fucked my sister.”
Evie grinded her teeth hard enough that she thought she might crack a molar. Jamison’s dramatics were getting on her last nerve. “Stop saying it like that!”
