“What’s up, Ash?” I grit my teeth, wincing at the musicblaring from somewhere in the house.I won’t make it an hour in here.
“Well, we may have gone overboard with how many people we invited tonight. None of the games I’ve planned will work.”
Shewouldbe panicking about how to entertain guests who are perfectly capable of entertaining themselves. I point to the oversized sectional covered with people in the living room. “It seems like everyone’s happily preoccupied. Crisis averted.”
She rolls her eyes. “For now, maybe. But I need ideas on how to keep the night alive. I don’t want people talking about me in the break room for throwing a trash-ass party.”
“How old are you again?” I try to ignore the urge to twitch at the music. It’s so loud, I feel it shaking my insides.
“Girl, do you have any ideas or not? I’m freaking out here.”
Dramatic ass.This isn’t even close to a problem. She’s a lot better than she used to be, but her people-pleasing tendencies die hard. “Pull out your karaoke machine and let everyone entertain themselves.”
She gasps, cheesing so hard you’d think I just solved world hunger. “You’re a genius, Wills!” Her shoulders shimmy as she pulls out her phone. After a minute, Hunter, in a matching skeleton costume, comes downstairs holding tablecloths, followed by Trevor, who’s wearing a suit and tie.
As soon as Trevor sees me, he breaks out in a smile and comes to my side, placing a hand on my shoulder with a squeeze. “Hey. You alright?”
Nodding, I painstakingly mold my scowl into a tight-lipped smile. He squints at me until I relent. “It’s just busy in here. I’m fine.” I wave my hand up and down his suit to change the subject. “What are you supposed to be?”
“Oh!” Plucking sunglasses out of his pocket, he slides them on his face. Then he opens the lapel of his jacket, flashing a badge. “I’m a federal agent. At your service, Ms. Aphrodite.” He finishes the look with a self-satisfied grin. I roll my eyes, despite the smile trying to make an appearance.
Ashlie turns to Hunter, batting her lashes. “Love, can you set up the karaoke machine? Please?” She flits off to the living room, expecting him to handle it.
The way Hunter clenches his jaw and purses his lips, I just know Ashlie has been driving him crazy all day, setting up for this party. “Come help me, bruh,” he says, whacking Trevor on the arm. Trevor gives my shoulder another squeeze and follows him to the garage.
The song changes, and my head pounds as the bass rattles the windows. This is not sustainable, especially now that off-key singing is about to fill the air. It hasn’t even been twenty minutes, but I need to step out for a breather.
I slip out the back door and drink in the cool night air. Once my heart rate slows, I walk farther into the backyard, taking a seat on the stone bench in the garden.Why did I come? I’m in no mood to be good company, and even though the walls of the house mute the music, I’m annoyed I can still hear it. Those fascinating sound waves, invisible but powerful, just irking my entire soul. I’m thinking about hopping the fence and heading straight for my car when the back door opens.
Trevor walks toward me with a bottle of water in one hand and a plate of food in the other. “An outside party for one shouldn’t surprise me.” He smiles. “You looked a little miserable in there. I thought food might help.” Returning his smile, I make room for him on the bench. Food would probably be a good idea right about now. Snagging a taquito from the plate, I take a bite and tip my head up to the stars in the sky, savoring the taste with a moan. The doom and gloom gets a little less dire with every bite. “You gonna tell me what’s wrong?”
I hate how well Trevor can read me sometimes. He found me outside—knew I was hungry before I did. We’ve seen each other all of five minutes today and he already knows something’s up. “Nothing’s wrong. It’s just easier to think out here.”
“Okay. What are you thinking about?”
I grab another taquito. “It’s dumb.”
“Try me.”
“Sound waves,” I say. Trevor chokes on his laugh, and I shoot him a glare. “See. I told you it was dumb.”
“Nope. Just surprising. Who comes to a Halloween party to philosophize about sound waves except you, Jim?” He nudges me with his elbow, and a smile slides across my face.
“In my defense, I didn’t want to come to this party.”
“So why did you?”
Because I’ll fall asleep if I stay home,and I’m scared of having nightmares. “It seemed important to Ash.” I shrug. A partial truth that makes me feel a little better about keeping the dreams from him.
Trevor nods, and we sit quietly for several seconds before he cracks open the water and hands it to me. “So, tell me about the sound waves, Professor Willis.”
Rolling my eyes, I take a drink while deciding whether to go full existential crisis on him. The eagerness in his stare hits me in a way it never has before.Or maybe it’s the sleep deprivation. Whatever the hell it is, I angle toward him. “Sound has always fascinated me. It flows through air, ripples across water, vibrates the ground, snuffs out fire. How it’s invisible to the naked eye but can penetrate almost anything—demanding to be acknowledged. You can be basking in peace and quiet, and the softest thrum will shatter the silence. Even locked away in isolation, feeling the most alone you’ve ever felt, the tiniest wave can find you—light you up with hope. Sound will travel to the ends of the earth and back just to claim you. It’s amazing…” My gaze drifts to the stone pavers on the ground as my mind carries on with the thought, but I stop talking, mainly because I hear how unhinged I sound.
“That’s not dumb at all,” Trevor whispers. I glance at the faint shadow clouding his eyes. “I think it’s a profound way to look at life. We spend so much time convincing ourselves that we’re in control here, without stopping to consider the unseen forces acted upon us every minute of every day. We’re drops in a bucket, no matter how much we pretend to be more.”
He gets it. Not only does unserious, sparkle-eyed Trevor follow my inane path of thinking, he agrees with it. He verbalized it in a much cleaner way than I’ve ever been able to. Maybe there’s a little more depth to him than I’ve allowed myself to see. Sighing, I look back at the night sky. “I think I’m going to head home.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, my body floods with relief. I had no business trying to tough out a Halloween party tonight. I pat his leg and stand, but as I take a step forward, he grabs my hand.
“Want some company?”
