Chapter 2

"Don't call me that."

Mom's face twisted.

"If it weren't for Delaney, I would've gone insane years ago dealing with you dragging everyone down.

"Adrian told me the truth. That fire never would have reached him.

"You ran in there on your own. Everything that happened afterward was your own doing."

Adrian frowned.

"Linda, stop."

Then he looked at me.

"Evelyn, go calm down. We'll wait outside."

I went into the restroom.

The woman in the mirror had no color in her lips.

One cheek was swollen.

There was blood at the corner of her mouth.

I took out my phone and opened the email I'd received three days earlier.

Ms. Evelyn Marlowe, welcome to the Renewal Program at the Hermann Trauma Research Institute.

International travel can be arranged in three days.

I read it twice.

Then I walked outside.

Near the car, Delaney was talking animatedly.

Adrian watched her with soft eyes.

Mom was laughing.

The moment they saw me, the laughter stopped.

Mom opened the rear door and got in.

Adrian opened the front passenger door.

Out of habit, I walked toward it.

He blocked me with one arm.

"Evelyn, Delaney gets carsick. Sit in back."

Delaney bent down and took the passenger seat.

Adrian leaned over and fastened her seat belt himself.

I said nothing.

I went to get into the back.

Mom stopped me again.

She spread a disposable waterproof pad over the seat.

"Delaney said people who pretend to be sick often fake incontinence too."

I laughed once.

Then I sat down.

No one spoke to me during the drive.

Delaney and Adrian discussed her forum presentation in low voices.

The car stopped outside a restaurant.

A private room was already full of their classmates and friends.

Everyone turned when I entered.

Curiosity, amusement, and that particular look people wore when they already knew a joke I hadn't been told.

Delaney was surrounded and guided to the head of the table.

That was when I understood.

This wasn't my birthday dinner.

It was a celebration for her.

There wasn't even a chair set aside for me.

Mom handed me a glass.

"Toast Delaney. Thank her for curing you."

Adrian took the glass from Mom and held it near my mouth.

"I'm allergic to alcohol."

"It's not alcohol."

He lowered his voice.

"Trust me, Evelyn."

Then he lightly pinched my cheek.

That little gesture had belonged to the two of us for ten years.

Delaney walked over with flushed cheeks and clinked her glass against mine.

"Bottoms up. I'll go first."

The room erupted.

"Come on, don't ruin the mood."

"Adrian, control your girlfriend."

"Don't embarrass everyone."

Adrian pressed the glass closer.

His hand landed directly over the wound in my palm.

Pain jolted through me.

I gasped.

The liquid poured into my mouth before I could stop it.

I started coughing immediately.

Red welts spread across my neck.

Delaney covered her mouth.

"Oh no. I think I mixed up our glasses."

Adrian looked alarmed.

He reached toward me.

Then Delaney swayed dramatically and pressed a hand to her forehead.

"Adrian, I'm dizzy."

His arm changed direction without hesitation.

He caught Delaney and wrapped both arms around her.

"Are you okay?"

She leaned against his chest.

Over his shoulder, she looked at me, smiling.

Mom shoved me aside.

She didn't even look at the rash spreading across my face.

I refused to stay there and let them turn me into the evening's entertainment.

I walked out fighting the tightness in my throat and the burning across my skin.

My phone buzzed. It was a text from Adrian.

[Get a ride home yourself. I'll bring medicine when I come back.]

I didn't answer.

I went straight to the emergency department.

By the time the IV was finished, it was after midnight.

When I opened the front door at home, every light in the living room was on.

Delaney was sitting on the sofa wearing my new nightgown.

Adrian was crouched in front of her, massaging her ankle.

"I told you I'd carry you."

His voice was full of concern.

"You insisted on walking, and now look. You twisted it."

When he noticed me, his hands paused.

He lowered Delaney's foot into a slipper.

"You're back.

"I bought you soup and medication. Eat first, then take two pills."

I didn't answer.

My eyes were fixed on the pendant around Delaney's neck.

"Take that off."

My voice shook.

"Who gave you permission to wear it?"