“What do you think you’re doing?” My father’s voice booms through the phone.

Fuck. This sounds like the kind of conversation that’s going to take a while. Meanwhile, Emily and Alice are waiting for me at the table, and I really don’t want to leave them alone if I can help it.

“What is this about, Pop?”

“You know full well what this is about. Nora told me you had a guest last night. A woman who left long blonde hair in the drain. It’s right after you came back from the conference so I’m sure you can understand my suspicion. So please. Tell me it’s not her. Tell me you’re not that stupid.”

What the fuck? In what world is it normal for an elderly housekeeper to check the hair left in the drain? Does she think she’s Sherlock Holmes, or James Bond?

“It’s just some girl. Stop spying on me, Pop. I’m an adult. You should be ashamed of yourself.” I look around at the shoppers in the mall, checking to see if any one of them looks like one of my father’s spies.

“You may be an adult, but you’re acting like a child. So that’s how I’m going to treat you. You better not be with that girl, boy. You know damn well you’d be putting the whole family at risk.”

“Pop. I have to go, okay? I have things to do.” I hang up.

I bet he hates that. It’s the kind of thing that shatters the illusion that he’s pulling my strings, making me do as he orders. Fuck that. I can’t wait until Tuesday when I can finally tell him to fuck off.

It’s just three more days until Tuesday, I tell myself as I pass rows of dining tables to get to our table.

Even from a distance, I can tell something is wrong. Emily seems distraught. I knew this meeting wasn't going to go well, but Emily sounded so heartbroken last night I couldn't have possibly said no.

As soon as I silently take my seat, before I have a chance to get an idea of what's happening, Emily asks for the check and excuses herself to go to the restroom, leaving me alone with Alice, who proceeds to glare at me.

I only have one question in my mind: did Alice tell Emily anything?

“Are you out of your mind?” Alice tears into me as soon as Emily is out of earshot.

“Listen, I’m sorry it's—”

“Damn right you're sorry,” she says, cutting me off before I finish my sentence. “You should be ashamed of yourself, taking advantage of a vulnerable girl like that.”

“I think you have the wrong idea. I don't have any intention of taking advantage of Emily. On the contrary, I really care about her. I love her.”

“Yeah? Is that why she has no idea you were involved in the accident?” Alice's eyes grow as big as the oversized plates they use at this pretentious restaurant. She's challenging me.

I'm honestly taken aback by Alice’s protectiveness over Emily. For Emily’s sake, I'm glad she has someone who cares about her to this extent. But at the moment, she’s not making my life any easier.

“Did you tell her?” I ask after a long pause.

This is what I’ve been afraid of. Considering the way Emily avoided eye contact with me and immediately ran to the restroom as soon as I came back, I conclude that Alice has probably told Emily. Which means there's a good chance she won't even talk to me again.

“No,” Alice says while she fidgets with the glass of soda and ice cubes before her.

“Why not?” I ask with surprise.

“I want you to be the one to tell her.” She looks straight into my eyes as she says this, her hands playing with the cold condensation on her glass.

“Why?”

“It's not for your benefit, if that's what you're thinking. In fact, I’ll tell you right now that if you don't tell her, I will.” The flame burning in Alice's blue eyes tells me it’s not an empty threat.

“Believe me, I was already planning on telling her.”

“Good.” Alice seems relieved. Her jaw and facial expression relax.

“Look, I don’t think you’re a bad person, Cole. I know as well as you do that it was an accident. I wouldn’t have said yes to your crazy proposal if I didn’t think you were innocent,” Alice says. “But I definitely wouldn’t have said yes if I had known that you were going to…to…to seduce Emily.”

The way she hesitates before uncomfortably saying the word “seduce” like it's the most cringe-worthy word in the dictionary makes me want to laugh. It's funny how much she reminds me of her sister. I stop myself from actually laughing out loud, of course. I’m not a complete asshole.

“I’m glad you don't hold me responsible, Alice. I wouldn't go so far as to say I’m innocent,” I say. “But the most important thing is, I didn't plan on any of this happening. I'm not the evil mastermind you seem to think I am. It all just happened. I love her, Alice. The last thing I want to do is to hurt her.”

“Please don’t hurt her. She’s a good girl. She acts like she’s strong — and she is — but she’s been through so much. You of all people should know. If you love her, you’re going to make it right,” Alice says.

“I promise you, I will.”

“To be honest, I wanted to tell her myself when you went outside, but then I…I couldn’t do it.” Alice lets out a burdensome sigh. Her gaze softens. “She needs to hear it from you, Cole. She deserves that. You know she deserves that.”

“I know, Alice. I promise you I’ll make it right. I was already planning to tell her.”

We stop talking when Emily comes back. Her eyes are red and the skin underneath those eyes are dark and puffy. The table is silent as we wait for the check, which I pay in full despite protests from both sisters.

“You can be the one to treat us next time,” I say to Alice as I place my credit card on the little tray with the check and hand it over to the waiter.

Alice replies with a terse “okay, thanks.” Then the table continues to remain awkwardly quiet. The atmosphere here is more somber than a fucking cemetery.

I wonder what happened here between Emily and Alice while I was away for a two-minute phone call. I have no idea what’s going on, but if there’s one thing I know, it’s that I’m not going to be the first one to break the silence. I’m not suicidal.

The waiter comes back with the credit card reader and some mints. From the way he keeps his voice low and quiet, I’d say he seems to sense the tension as well. Once that’s taken care of, we make our way across the mall and go straight to the parking lot.

“Take care, Em,” Alice says as she presses a button on her car key fob. An old Honda sedan parked nearby chirps twice in response.

“I will. You too.” Emily’s face remains expressionless. There’s no mistaking the signs of her having just cried, though. It’s obvious the conflict between the two of them is tearing her apart inside. It fucking kills me to know I’m probably responsible for this, too.

Once we’re in my car, I start the ignition and turn on the heater. It’s getting chilly and I’ve noticed Emily pulling on her cardigan a few times tonight. She’s looking straight ahead now, just staring into the distance with a blank expression on her face and water collecting in her eyes.

“Is everything okay?” I rub her upper arm.

“Yes.”

“Did something happen?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Can I help in any way?”

“I said it’s nothing.”

“Okay. Is there anywhere you want to go to now?”

“No. Let’s just go to your place.”

“Okay, baby. I love you.” I stroke her hair before I put my hands on the steering wheel and back up out of the parking space.

Fuck. She sounded like a robot just mechanically answering my questions. Alice told me she didn’t tell Emily and I believe her, which means that Emily’s probably not angry at me — yet. But this reaction to whatever Alice said doesn’t bode well for when I tell her the bad news.

“Did you...have a chat with Alice while I was gone?” Emily breaks the silence with a hesitant question.

“Just some small talk,” I say, lying to her yet again.