Page 80 of Sing For Me

I’m going to strangle him.

“We’re here for you, Will,” he says in a mock-serious tone, placing a hand on my shoulder. “If you ever need to talk out your feelings—”

I push his hand off and scowl at him. “Shut the hell up, River.”

Rose rolls her eyes and pushes her brother away. “Stop being an idiot. I was trying to talk to him about something serious.”

“Rose, I’m not going to leave Eva in the middle of all this. She can’t even walk out of her house without having cameras shoved in her face.”

“I said nothing about leaving her. I think you should bring her.”

I stare down at her. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

She crosses her arms. “I’m not. I think it’s the perfect place for you guys to hide out for a while.”

“You want me to bring Eva to the Tennessee house?” I ask, aghast. “With our entire family?”

“Our family is not that bad, Will,” she insists.

“Santana literally screamed in her face when they met at the gala.”

“I can talk to Santana.”

I run a hand through my hair, the very thought of the trip making me nervous. “Our mothers will be hounding her about wedding dates and babies within twenty minutes.”

“He’s got a point there,” River says, grinning like he can’t think of anything more entertaining. I flip him off.

Rose raises her hands. “All I’m saying is that the Tennessee property is a really good place to get away from all the shit in the real world. I mean, why did my parents buy it in the first place?”

That shuts me up. My Uncle Daltrey bought the farm in the mountains of Tennessee for Daisy before they were even married. Aunt Daisy used to have a really hard time with crowds and the masses of Ransom fans. The original farmhouse was meant to be her escape from all that.

I think about my Aunt Daisy. And my Aunt Haylee. And how Eva has a lot more in common with them than I really let myself consider.

“You’ve both been cooped up,” Rose says. “I think a trip away might be good for you.”

“Yeah, butRose—it’s our whole family.” I don’t understand why she isn’t getting this.

She watches me for a minute. “You’re going to have to forgive them eventually, Will,” she finally murmurs, and my body goes rigid. Behind her, River is wearing anoh shitexpression.

“There’s nothing to forgive,” I force out, voice tight.

“Oh, please. You’re still furious with them about Skye.”

“We’re not talking about this right now.”

She shakes her head, looking sad now. “We never talk about it, Will. And I think we should.”

I want to push her out of the way, want to storm off out of the kitchen, out of this apartment. Want to drive and drive until I stop thinking about Skye and my dad and my uncles and their stupid fucking record label.

But Eva is here. And I can’t leave.

I release a long breath and meet her eyes. “Not right now, Rose.Please.”

She holds my gaze for what feels like forever before nodding, her expression defeated. “I’m going to go pack,” she mutters. But she stops on her way out of the kitchen to squeeze my arm—whether in apology or as a sign of support I don’t know. Maybe both.

River is uncharacteristically quiet as he gives me a brief nod and follows his sister out of the kitchen, leaving me alone with thoughts I don’t want rushing through my brain.

I pull out my cellphone and stare down at the blank screen, trying to make my fingers do the thing I’ve been avoiding for weeks now. Finally, I pull up a search engine and type her name. Eve Lidell.