Page 74

“He called me yesterday as soon as he found out. I told him he should get out just to be safe, but he wasn’t entirely listening to me. He was so upset over the thought of possibly losing his house. That house means a lot to him. He’d be covered with insurance, but you can’t replace the memories. His mom only lived there for a short time, but he bought it for her, you know? He was so proud of being able to buy her that house.”

“Shit.” Skyler should have realized this sooner. He knows Trevor well enough. And he remembers how proud Trevor was when he bought the house, because he was right there with him, helping pick it out.

Skyler wanted to buy his parents a new house too, but they wouldn’t let him, insisting they were perfectly happy with the one they had. He did pay off the rest of their mortgage though. There wasn’t much left on it, but even that had taken a lot of convincing. His sister Layla, on the other hand, didn’t need any convincing to let him buy her an apartment in New York when she moved there for nursing school.

“That’s part of the reason I was calling you,” his mom goes on. “I knew it would be an easy decision for you to leave, but I was going to ask if you could get Trevor to leave too. I just didn’t know how to do it without breaking his trust.”

“You didn’t break his trust. This is important.” He puts the phone on speaker again so he can text Mike. “Okay, so I get why he doesn’t want to leave his house, and I know I need to try to convince him. But was it too much inviting him to New York? Should I tell him to get a hotel closer instead? What if, on top of freaking out about his house, he also freaked out because he doesn’t want to stay with me? I mean, we’re not even…”

“Oh, honey, yes you are,” his mom says gently when he trails off. “Of course you are.”

He’s not sure what he was going to say.That close. Together. Ready for any of this. But she sounds so certain that he believes her. Whatever it is, whether they’ve said it out loud or even been able to admit it to themselves… theyare.

“Thanks mom, but I’ve got to go now. I need to hurry and get to Trevor’s.”

“Yes, go. Please get him to evacuate. I’ll be too worried about him if he stays there alone.”

“So will I,” he admits.

“I’m sure if anyone can convince him, it’s you. But if he’s not listening, make him call me again, okay?”

He agrees, while still trying to grasp the fact that Trevor and his mom talk. It feels like a betrayal, and he’s not sure who he feels more betrayed by.

Is he being dramatic though? His mom would never betray him. It wasn’t like she was telling Trevor how much Skyler missed him for the last five years. If she wants to talk to Trevor, she has the right to. He only wishes she told him sooner. Like five years ago.

Although, to be fair, he was such a wreck right after he and Trevor split up that he probably wouldn’t have been anywhere close to rational about it then.

After getting off the phone with his mom, he talks to his assistant to get everything sorted out, and twenty minutes later, Mike’s SUV pulls up. He spends the drive to Santa Monica trying not to fidget, rehearsing in his head what he’s going to say to Trevor. But when Mike parks at the curb in front of Trevor’s house, he starts to panic. If Trevor didn’t even want to discuss the idea of leaving last night, how the hell will showing up at his house and demanding he leave right now go over any better?

It won’t. This isn’t going to work. Trevor’s going to say no, and it’s not like Skyler’s going to physically drag him out of his house. He could if he had to. Or Mike could, at least. But it’s not that serious. Yet.

From all the traffic on the road when they left, it appears the people of Malibu are taking this seriously and getting out already. But the chances of the fire reaching Santa Monica are so much slimmer. Maybe it’s irrational that he’s even considering the possibility of dragging Trevor out of his own house.

Actually. Fuck that. Even if it is irrational, he doesn’t care, because he’d do the same if it were his sister or his parents. There’s no reason for Trevor to be in any risk of danger at all when Skyler has a plane and an apartment. They’re getting out of here whether Trevor likes it or not.

“Are you getting out?”

“Yes.”Wait.He turns to Mike beside him in the driver’s seat. “What?”

Mike rolls his eyes. “We’ve been sitting in front of this guy’s house in a giant SUV with tinted windows for three minutes now. If he looks outside, he’ll think someone’s here to rob him. So I was asking if you were planning to actually get out of the car.”

“Right. Yeah. Sorry.”

He undoes his seatbelt, telling Mike he can wait here. Then he gets out and strolls as confidently as he can up to Trevor’s door and knocks. It’s still early, so he expects to have to knock a while to wake Trevor, but instead the door opens thirty seconds later, and while Trevor looks tired, he doesn’t look like he just rolled out of bed.

“I’m surprised you’re awake,” Skyler says.

Trevor stares at him, blinking a few times, then says, “I’m surprised you’re standing on my doorstep. What are you doing here?”

“Well.” He’s not sure if he should start out by asking first or go straight to demanding. “I’m here to hopefully get you to come to New York with me.”

Trevor’s face darkens. “Are you kidding? I said no.”

“Can we at least talk about it? Please?”

Trevor glances up and down the street over Skyler’s shoulders. “Just come inside before someone sees you.”

Skyler’s wearing pants and long sleeves to cover his tattoos, and his hair is pulled up under a beanie. Plus there’s only like four other houses on this whole street, so he doesn’t think anyone’s going to be paying any attention to him out here. But going inside is a good idea anyway, so when Trevor steps aside, he moves past him.