Page 48 of Heartbeats and Hashtags
Daisy nods, brown eyes warm with understanding.
I go on, “Don't get me wrong. I'msograteful for the community I’ve built. Knowing my story and videos have helped people make positive changes in their lives meanseverythingto me. And I do enjoy it, but…”
I sigh, shoulders slumping. “I don’t know. Nobody one warns you about the pressures that come with a following. The constant need to present a perfect image, to watch everything you say and do.Sometimes, I don’t feel like OhItsEverly.”Admitting the words I’ve been afraid to say feels like a weight being lifted from me. Daisy sits, smiling gently.
Twisting the tissue between my hands it breaks apart a little. “I miss the freedom to just live my life offline like a normal person. But so many people are counting on me now as this role model. It's suffocating.”
“I love you, Ev. I can’t tell you what to do, but I know you’ll figure it out.” She pulls me into a tight hug. “However you move forward, I'm here,” she assures me. “And talk to Cole,” she encourages.
I scoff. “Yeah, talk to the guy who's lied to me for weeks.”
She gives me a sympathetic smile, as though she knows something I don’t. “I just think you should give him a chance.”
COLE
SEVEN HOURS EARLIER.
My heart lurches when I search the apartment and can’t find her. Everly has gone without a trace.
Clara and Lily have arrived to surprise me and are waiting for me in the lobby, grumbling something about the receptionist not letting them in. Neither of them have seen her around.
“You sure?” I pant.
“Yeah, Cole, she’ll be alright, ‘kay?” Clara’s words fall short.
I tell them I’ll be back soon and to go a café. I know I shouldn’t be dismissing them like this, but right now my focus is on my missing client.Is that all she is? my brain whispers, but I shut it down. Now isnotthe time to unravel our complicated situation.
I take the parking garage stairs four at a time, peeling out onto the streets in my SUV. I dial Everly again as I white-knuckle the wheel, gut twisting when it goes straight to voicemail.
Jaw clenched painfully, I scan sidewalks for any flash of her vibrant ponytail. But the neighborhood is empty, no glimpse of Everly in sight. Irrational panic starts to build, winning over the ingrained tactical training to react logically, assess clues.This is why attachment isn’t good. It stops you from thinking straight.
I'm moments from calling local police department when a text notification from an unknown number pings my phone.
I swerve the SUV to the curb with a screech, fumbling to open it. The previewed words drain every ounce of panicked tension straight from my coiled muscles in an instant.
“She's safe, Cole. She's at my place. She needs some time, some breathing room. She'll talk to you when she's ready. Just hang in there. P.S. We’re getting Benny to come here with us too.”
It's her friend and Mr Park's daughter, Tanya. I reread the preview six more times before the meaning penetrates.Safe. She's unharmed and not in immediate danger.
I slump back against the headrest, dragging a badly shaking hand over my face and then back through disheveled hair. My adrenaline crash leaves every limb heavy. She is okay and with Benny, who I trust. But he isn’t me. He can’t protect her like I can.
I update Tanya with a simple acknowledgment and appreciation for her help.
I head to Tanya’s apartment building, gaining her address after exchanging a few texts back and forth, indicating that I need to go wait in the lobby for when Everly is ready to see me.So it’s me she needs a break from. I don’t even know what I have done that she needs a break from.
After waiting there for six hours without hearing anything, Benny comes down to the lobby to update me. Everly has decided to spend the night here before heading back to her place tomorrow provided it’s given the all clear to go back.
I shift restlesslyin the sticky diner booth, glancing over at Lily absorbed by her phone in the next seat. I’m already regretting my decision to leave my post at Tanya’s lobby, but Everly wasn’t moving, the building is secure, and I am starving. I squint. The garish overhead lighting feels suddenly too revealing.
“Thanks for coming out here on short notice,” I tell Clara awkwardly across the Formica tabletop. “I just...needed some air.”
My sister-in-law smiles kindly, tucking a blonde strand behind her ear. “Of course, Cole. I’m just glad Everly’s OK. But Cole, I know you. What’s really going on?”
I clear my throat, “It’s Everly. I’m struggling with maintaining…boundaries recently.”
Clara's expression shifts knowingly. “You've developed feelings for her.” I feel relieved that there is no hint of judgment there.
I nod stiffly, my shoulders knotted with tension I can't uncoil. Admitting my emotions, even to Clara, feels like messing with explosives — one wrong move andboom.
