Page 3 of Hearts Adrift
“You broke into a house?”
“Well, it’s mine, technically,” I reason, “until I run out of money.”
“You? Running out of money?”
“Anything can happen now, anything’s possible. Don’t write it off your bingo card just yet.”
“Where are you exactly? I still live in Austin. I can be there by midnight. Is it Galveston? Corpus Christi?”
“Details of my precise location have been redacted for your safety. Best stay out of this, keep your hands clean.”
“I’m a lawyer, my hands are never clean. Riv, listen to me.” She adopts that tone she always gets when shit gets serious. “I know I’m not your legal counsel by any means, but please, just stay put, don’t talk to anyone, even online, and if you love me at all, on your dear mother’s life, swear to me you won’t drink.”
“Eight years sober in a week and two days. You think a measly thing like the self-destruction of my career will put an end to my sobriety?”
“I’m going to make some calls,” she decides, because no matter what I say or do, Anya makes my unhinged life her pet project to fix. “I’ll assume your own people are, as usual, useless. Do you have a TV there? Internet? Look upCissy Sees. It’s this brilliant series with a non-binary lead named Cissy who is secretly solving a murder while trying to plan their own wedding, unaware that their fiancée’s dad is the murderer. Tiny spoiler, but you learn it in episode 2, so whatever. Put that on, and I’ll call you back before you get to the first twist. It’s a big one, total jaw-dropper.”
This is what Anya does: sits me in a highchair, stuffs a pacifier in my mouth and a rattler in my hand to keep me distracted, then sorts my shit out.
I wonder when the day will come that I sort my own.
No matter who’s at fault, I always get myself into these messes, don’t I? I’m always the reason my team scrambles to figure out how to handle my latest act. Whatever they’re being paid, it isn’t enough. I’m a lot to handle. No one ever realizes what they’ve signed up for until it’s too late when they become responsible for wrangling River Wolfe.
Actor. Model. Part-time Director-Puncher.
“Are you seriously rubbing yourself?” blurts Anya.
I let go at once. My hand has a mind of its own. “Nope. By the way, I read this place is cursed. Do you still believe in evil spirits?” I’m off the couch and in the kitchen, bag of Cheetos hugged to my chest as I stare down at the shards of glass left on the floor. My arm still stings under my half-assed bandages. “One of the reviews of this place said you can hear them if you press your ear to the—”
“I don’t believe in anything that can’t be litigated.” She leansforward. “Cissy Sees. Episodes are just forty minutes. Don’t just jerk off the whole time. I’ll call you back soon.” She hangs up. After a minute in the silence, I crouch down, set the bag of Cheetos aside, then gently press an ear to the floorboards and listen.
You know, just in case.
Chapter 2 - Finn
“How are you holding up after the breakup?”
This is a question I’ve sadly gotten used to. Everyone’s so concerned. Everyone’s hearts are bleeding all over the place. All I’m trying to do is run my afternoon errands.
“I’m fine,” I assure Malik, manager of the Blue Coral Bakery, as I help carry the last box of his delivery into his back office. “Just dropping by some flyers for the Fair and saw your delivery, thought I’d help.”
“Sure you’re fine?” he asks again, eyebrow poked up.
No one believes me. Everyone thinks I’m shattered. On the floor every night sobbing and gripping my heart. Here I am, out and about, racing around town getting chores done just to keep myself occupied so I don’t gorge every tub of ice cream in my freezer. That’s what they think I am now.
I don’t know whether to be comforted by everyone’s sympathy or annoyed.
“I would have handed out these flyers you brought me without you helping me carry all these heavy boxes in,” he says, “but a strapping young gentleman like you, built like an Olympic gymnast, why am I gonna risk throwing my back out when you’ve dropped by just in time?”
Honestly, I didn’t even break a sweat. “It’s no big deal, Malik, I’m happy to help.”
“Seriously.” He stands back and lets his eyes wander. “You could bench press me in half with those guns.”
I blink at him.
Malik is married, by the way. To a woman.
Is it my imagination, or did everyone on Dreamwood Isle get thirsty as fuck since I broke up with Theo? Even all the straight men. Maybe Malik is bi and he and his lovely wife have an open thing going on I don’t know about.
