The Brightest Star in a Constellation

12: You're as Cold as Ice

☆ Evan ☆

"Hello, you have reached Adrian McKenna. If you are calling for a work matter, please leave your cellphone number and the relevant extension after the beep. If you are a telemarketer, the government, or Nina Isaac, never call this number again. As far as you are concerned, I do not exist."

I mouth the words along with my father's voicemail message, listening to it for the third time in fourteen minutes. I wait for a while between each phone call, but it has the same outcome every time.

Pressing the end button with my finger, I don't bother leaving a message. As soon as the screen fades, Elaine's playlist resumes on my headphones; some far-too-peppy Ellie Goulding song. I have six minutes and eleven seconds before Claire is supposed to come and pick me up, which I don't remember agreeing to, and so I should really get dressed at some point in the next eternity.

I sigh, trudging to the bathroom to brush my teeth. By this point, dad is probably off gallivanting in Alberta, living a good life and doing whatever the fuck he does that keeps him occupied and permanently unable to call me back in a timely manner.

As far as you are concerned, I do not exist.

I finish getting ready and as I'm about to toss on a sweater, Carolyn's voice yells from the kitchen. "Evan!"

"Coming. I've got the door!" I tug my earbuds out and dash to the living room. Letting Claire inside my apartment is already a stupid decision, and I intend to keep her from talking with my mother about any topic of substance for as long as I can.

I slide past Carolyn, my hands fumbling with the lock. I open the door in time to see Claire walking through the hall, and when she spots me, she grins. The lopsided smile on her face increases as she gets closer. She reaches to fix a piece of my hair that has rebelled against me by curling to the wrong side. "Did you just wake up?"

"Guilty as charged," I reply.

I crack the door open, inviting Claire inside. She scans the kitchen area as if searching for a flaw. Her cheeks are flushed a bright shade of salmon pink. "I like your place. It's quaint." But her tone is taut, and it gives her away.

"Do you live in the area?" Carolyn asks. Barely an inch taller than Claire, but somehow her presence overtakes her, and it makes me shudder. "You drive a Mercedes."

"I'm closer to the downtown area," Claire replies, which is putting it mildly. Her house is smack dab in the middle of the downtown area, overlooking the ocean.

"I see. Well, have fun." Carolyn watches as I recede closer to the door, my hand on the knob. "And, Evan?"

So close. So very close. "Yes, mom?"

Her eyes bore into mine, the smile she puts on shining like a warning sign. It's a veneer, and I know that, but it's far too convincing. "Be back before eleven. I worry for you if you stay out too late."

"Sure," I say and pull the door shut behind me.  Once outside, I stick my hands in my pockets and trudge down the hallway.

"If I'd known I was seeing your mother again, I would have brought her something," Claire says from behind me. "She's so sweet. How about cookies? Do you think bringing some would help your sister like me?"