Free Closing Books by Trisha Grace

from the group; everyone knew what had happened and no one knew what to say about it.
    Even Marianne was being more subdued than usual, giving him a break, and not bugging him about what was going on.
    Maybe this time, everyone could sense that things between Evelyn and him were truly over.
    “Kate! Good morning!” Ryan exclaimed.
    Tyler swiveled around. “I thought you said you’d call me to pick you up?”
    “She finally fell asleep and I was tired, so I just called a cab.” She pulled out the chair next to Tyler’s and sat.
    Dan hadn’t realized he was staring at Kate until her eyes met his.
    “You were at Evelyn’s?” he asked before remembering that he wasn’t supposed to care.
    Kate pursed her lips into a thin line and twirled the pendant around her fingers. “I can’t. I can’t be on both your sides at the same time. I’m all she has.”
    Trying to be understanding of Evelyn’s closely guarded secret was vexing enough, but not being able to get an answer to his simple question compounded his frustrations further. “I just wanted to make sure she was okay. Do you have to be so difficult about it?”
    The uncomfortable silence that was lingering got heavier and everyone had a sudden newfound interest in the food on their plates.
    “Remember whose house you’re in,” Tyler stated with as much annoyance as Dan had expressed with his question. “Vent your frustrations on someone else.”
    “I tried to be patient, I tried to be understanding. But seriously, does everything about her have to be a secret? What the hell is so scary that she can’t get over after so many years?” Dan said, louder than necessary.  
    Kate got to her feet and turned away from them, moving to leave the kitchen.
    Immediately, Tyler got up alongside her. He reached over and grabbed her arm. His head shook slightly. “This is your house; you don’t have to leave.”
    “I’m leaving because I don’t want to fight with him.”
    “Have you lost your ability to speak your mind, too?” Dan uttered under his breath and shook his head.
    Tyler turned his head toward him and said, “Dan, get out.”
    Though the words were spoken in an even tone, Dan knew it was a command. He placed his utensils down and was ready to leave, when Kate turned back to face him.
    “No, it’s fine. You want me to speak my mind? You judge her based on your experience. All you have to deal with in life is manipulative women. Eve would’ve given her soul to the devil to exchange her childhood with yours. You can make the decision to end things with her, but you have no right to judge her.”
    Dan stared blankly at Kate. The usually sweet, amiable Kate morphed into a mother hen in an instant. Though her words were harsh, it was nothing compared to the seriousness he saw in Kate’s eyes.  
    He’d never seen her fly into such rage, not even when Lydia almost killed her.  
    He had been frustrated with Evelyn for keeping her secret, for behaving the way she did. But seeing how worked up Kate was at the mention of what had happened to Evelyn was making him wonder if he’d taken for granted his childhood and expected too much of Evelyn.
    This wasn’t how he’d intended to start his day. He couldn’t believe he let himself get out of control like this.
    He got up and stepped away from the table. “I should go, or Ty will throw me out anyway.” The last thing Dan had wanted was to upset Kate. He should have just kept his mouth shut. So much for being done with Evelyn.
    Over the next few days, Dan found himself having too much free time on his hand. Without the long dinners at the mansion, he found himself thinking too much about everything.
    Initially, he distracted himself by fussing over Joanne, checking and double-checking that she had everything she needed for her studies in Paris. Then, he had to deal with his over-dramatic mother when she found out about the news.
    After sending Joanne to the airport, he turned his attention to work; working