I narrow my eyes, trying to read her meaning. Is she suggesting that my father and uncle killed themselves because they were depressed, and not because of the curse? “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying that there is such a thing as a self-fulfilling prophecy.”
My mind races as I try to make sense of what she’s saying. There’s no way that nearly every male in the past one hundred fifty years has died prematurely because of depression. Suicide made up a good portion of those deaths, but what about the floods, the car accidents, the plane accidents? What about the drownings and the fires and the freak accidents and brutal murders?
“Why are you just now saying all this?”
“Because you’re only now hearing me. I’m not saying we aren’t cursed. Tragedy surrounds this family, but there is always hope. Even when there is nothing else, there is hope.”
I stand, overwhelmed, needing to get some air. “I’ll stop by tomorrow,” I tell her.
“Bring Evan. I’ll make your favorite for dinner. Your mother wants to meet her.”
I give her a suspicious look. Bringing Evan around my family is not something I’m looking forward to, but you don’t say no to Valeen. Giving her a brusque nod, I turn to leave.
“Tell her, Sebastian. Don’t take the choice from her.”
Bracing my hands on the top of the bunk, I peer down at Evan’s sleeping form. She’s on her stomach, her preferred way to sleep when she’s not tangled up with me, her blonde hair spilling down her back. She’s kicked the blankets off, but I can tell by her pebbled flesh that she’s cold. I shouldn’t have brought her into my bed that night weeks ago, but I was sick of seeing her die in my dreams, and after the trailer incident, I wanted to keep her close. Now that she’s with me every night, I don’t have to. I don’t have nightmares at all anymore, oddly enough.
I pull my shirt over my head and kick off my jeans before sliding in next to her. She turns, curling into me, even in sleep. Her head rests against my chest, her eyelashes fanned across her cheeks. Valeen’s words float through my mind, and for the first time, I wonder what it would be like to have a real future.
“You’re thinking too loud,” Evan mumbles into my chest. She opens her eyes, lifting her head to peer down at me. “I heard from my dad today.”
“Yeah?” I ask, trying to keep the disapproval out of my tone. I don’t like the guy, and Evan would be better off without him. Though, the same could be said about me.
“He called me from rehab,” she says sleepily. “He’s finally getting help.”
I don’t say anything. I want to be happy for her, but I know how these things work. It isn’t a quick fix. There’s no magic pill.
“I mean, it was court-ordered, but what matters is he’s there, right?”
“Right,” I say, my fingers tracing circles on the sliver of exposed skin between her tank shirt and sleep shorts.
“Where’s your dad?” she asks. “You never talk about him.”
“You’re awful chatty for a girl who was asleep about five seconds ago.”
“This is the only time I get straight answers out of you. When we’re in here, like this, you’re not as guarded.”
She’s not wrong. I blow out a breath, thinking back to what Valeen said about giving her a choice. I might as well give her some information so she isn’t blindsided tomorrow. Knowing my mom and Valeen, they’ll blurt everything out over dinner.
“He’s dead.”
“I’m sorry,” she says, her eyebrows pulling together. I see her wheels turning before she asks, “What about Lathan and Tres’ family?”
“Dead.” Even their mothers.
“Sebastian…” she says sadly. “I had no idea.”
I shrug. “We’re used to it.”
“What do you mean, ‘used to it’? How do you get used to death?”
This is it. This is either the moment I choose to keep lying to Evan by omission or lay it all out on the table for her. Maybe the truth will make her realize she should run far, far away. Maybe I should’ve told her sooner.
“It comes with the territory,” I start off.
“The territory of what? Being a stuntman?”