Page 85 of The Other Side of Green

“Oh no. He’s definitely not interested in being anything other than friends.”

“Friends with benefits?”

Eva scrunched her face. “I suggested it, but he still didn’t snap up the offer.”

“Clearly, he doesn’t know what he’s missing.”

“Anyway, I think I’m in love with your brother, so it would be silly for Alex to waste his time.”

I laughed loudly. “In love with Luca? You haven’t even spoken to him.”

“I have! I said hi.”

Chuckling, I tucked my legs up and hugged my knees. I never thought I would have missed this. Since I’d arrived in September so desperate to go back home, I would never have thought in a million years that I would have missed being in here with Eva. But still I had, and as surprising as that was, I let the feeling wash over me.

“Really, I don’t think you saw the best of Luca, or my town, during your flying visit.”

“Are you kidding?” Eva battled to sit upright. “I haven’t had that much excitement in weeks.” Her grin dropped as tears stung my eyes. “Have you heard from Jack?”

I shook my head, swallowing hard and refusing to allow the tears to fall. “No.” Of course, Eva didn’t know that Luca had gone to hand himself in for a crime long ago committed. I could hardly tell her that. I was just starting to enjoy our time together.

“You know what you need?”

“No… but I don’t think I’m going to like whatever you suggest.”

She winked. “A party.”

“Eva, the last thing I need is a party. I need to keep my head down and get on.”

“Now you see, you say that, but what you need is a party, so everyone knows you’re back and that you aren’t going anywhere.”

“So everyone can stare at me and work out how black I am? Do you know how many times I’ve been the source of that conversation throughout my life? What it’s like for every member of your family to look completely different to one another?”

“Who cares, Lyra! I’ve told you before, the Collins family messed up by taking you on. Not only because you aren’t what they thought, but also because you aren’t what they thought.”

I narrowed my gaze at her. “You are making zero sense right now.”

“They thought you were one thing: turns out you aren’t. But also, because you are the perfect person to prove that your background, who you are, or where you come from has little bearing on what you can achieve. Lyra, your mother is an addict, you’ve grown up in what some us can’t even imagine as trying circumstances, but look at you… look at who you are. People want you on television as an example of achievement against the odds.

So yeah, the Collins family didn’t get what they wanted, a grateful student desperate for any chance, but they also got something else they didn’t want.”

“Yeah, what’s that?” I checked the floor to see if there were any empty bottles of alcohol.

“They got you. A fire starter.”

“Eva I’m not a fire starter. I don’t want to be a beacon for social change. I don’t even know if I want to play the violin for a career.”

She snapped her fingers at me. “Something else I wanted to talk to you about.”

“I’m actually scared what other nonsense can come out of your mouth.”

“Rude! But you shouldn’t be focused solely on the violin. You should be singing as well.”

“Ugh no,” I said with the wag of my finger. “I only sing in church.”

“Ever heard of a mixed-race violin playing singer superstar before?” She met my stare head on.

“No.”