“She made it clear that she didn’t want to see me.” Eve was right to feel that way .
An exasperated look crossed Lindsey’s face. “Just think about it, okay? Right now, you’re hurting. Eve isn’t the only one who isn’t seeing things clearly. Promise me you’ll take some time to think it over?”
“Fine,” Faith muttered.
“Good.” Lindsey placed her hands on Faith’s shoulders. “You can’t give up on her, Faith. What you have with her, it’s something special. I don’t even know her, but I can tell. You’ve been different lately. Happier. More like the Faith I met our first day of art school.”
“Is that a good thing?” Back then, Faith had been newly eighteen and still adjusting to the real world after years of being caged. She’d gone a little wild.
Lindsey smiled. “I think it is.”
Faith sighed. The years that had followed had been tumultuous, but she’d felt freer than ever before. And Eve had given her back that feeling.
But that was all over now. She’d screwed everything up for Eve. Eve was right to get rid of her. Right to ask for space.
It was better if she just stayed away.
Chapter Twenty-Four
F aith lay on her old gray couch, staring up at the ceiling. She had nothing to do now that she was out of a job. Sure, Eve hadn’t explicitly fired her. But she’d made it clear she didn’t need Faith’s services. And she’d made it clear she wanted nothing to do with Faith.
Faith hugged a cushion to her chest. Several days had passed since that night in Eve’s office, and she’d been consumed by worry ever since. It wasn’t just Eve she was worried about. What was going to happen to the twins if Eve gave up fighting for them?
Faith didn’t know much about Harrison and his family other than what Eve had told her. They’d certainly made Eve’s life hell. But that didn’t mean they would treat the twins the same way. Leah and Ethan had never had anything bad to say about their father and grandparents. Maybe living with them full-time wouldn’t be so bad for the twins.
Faith threw the cushion across the room. She was deluding herself. There was only one thing about the situation that Faith was certain of. Eve was a good mother. She was a good person.
She didn’t deserve to lose her kids.
Lindsey’s advice played in her head again. Faith had a potential solution to Eve’s problem in her lap. Didn’t she owe it to Eve to tell her? It was a solution Eve couldn’t see for herself. She was too scared. She wasn’t thinking straight. She was giving up when she could still fight.
Faith sighed. Wasn’t she doing the exact same thing Eve was? Letting fear win? Wasn’t that why she was so adamant that she had to stay away from Eve? She kept telling herself that Eve wanted her gone, but that wasn’t what was truly keeping her away. She’d shut herself off from even the idea of ever seeing Eve again, not for Eve’s sake, but for her own. She’d fled at the first sign of rejection, just to keep herself from feeling that same pain she’d felt so many times before.
Faith steeled herself. This wasn’t about her, or her feelings. This was about Eve and keeping her family together. Faith owed it to Eve to help her in any way she could.
She just hoped Eve would listen.
Faith rang Eve’s doorbell and waited. She didn’t even know if Eve was home. She still had a key, b
ut she wasn’t about to waltz into the house after everything that had happened.
She glanced at the camera by the doorbell. Had Eve seen her already? Was she ignoring her, waiting for Faith to give up and leave? Faith wouldn’t blame her. If she was in Eve’s shoes, she wouldn’t want to see Faith either.
She was about to leave when the door swung open .
“Hello, Faith,” Eve said.
Faith’s heart sank. Eve looked as put together as ever, but her face was a mask of worry. It hurt to see her like this. Faith longed to wrap her arms around her, tell her everything was going to be okay. But it wasn’t her place. And that wasn’t why she was here.
She pulled herself together. She had to focus on helping Eve.
Eve stepped to the side. “Why don’t you come in?”
Faith followed Eve through the house and into the living room. There was no sign of the twins. Eve sat down stiffly on the couch. Faith joined her.
Eve looked at Faith, her eyes filled with emotion, and gave her a faint smile. “It’s good to see you.”
Why was Eve smiling at her? Why, when she was in the midst of this crisis, caused by Faith herself?