Ever stood in the middle of the hospital courtyard. During the day, patients would come here to get some much needed fresh air and sunlight. With the mantle of night gently settling east to west across the city, it was a place to quietly connect with the goddess who owned the mantle.

  *Mother?*

  ?Hello, son.? She answered almost immediately, as if expecting him.

  *I was wondering if I could ask for a favor…*

  ?I am at your residence. Mimi is feeding, as we speak.?

  Ever smiled against the darkness. *Thank you, Mother.*

  ?Be with Zoe.?

  He swallowed. *You knew about her too?*

  ?There is little that I don’t know.? She paused. ?There is still something else for you to learn about her. Once you have gleaned this knowledge, we will speak again.? She withdrew from his mind like frosted breath stolen away by the stars.

  Ever sighed. More secrets? He let it go… for now. There was a purpose to him coming to the courtyard and it wasn’t to brood. He took his phone out, found the contact he was after and hit the “Call” button.

  It rang and rang before completely bypassing voicemail and ending itself. Ever frowned. What time was it there, anyway? Just as he pulled up a browser to check, she called back.

  “Hello?”

  “Heyyy.” The slurred greeting was crunched amongst a cacophony of throbbing beats and Latin music. Wherever she was, it was noisy. “Hold on…”

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Ever sat on a stone bench. The tall hedges around the courtyard made it quiet enough that he didn’t have to turn on speaker phone to still be able to hear Taylor.

  “baila conmigo, se?orita…”

  “Aléjate de mí bastardo!” She squawked.

  “Taylor.”

  “Yeah, keep your pants on.” Ever could hear the rhythmic clop-clop of heels as the music quietened down. “OK I’m good. What’s up?”

  He was meant to be checking up on her, he knew that. But those two words broke the dam. He told her everything that had happened with Zoe, right up to the very moment of him sitting there having this conversation with her. To her credit, Zoe was mostly quiet, only interrupting if she couldn’t hear something. A couple times she rattled off what Ever presumed was Spanish to ward off opportunistic men.

  “Damn dude, that’s heavy. I’m not even going to ask how you are, because you can only feel like shit.”

  “I guess so.” Ever sighed; the vice seemed to have turned the other way, loosening its grip slightly. “Thanks for listening.”

  “Hakuna Matata, cabrón.”

  “What?”

  She giggled. “Don’t worry. Hey, I know something that will cheer you up.” She paused for dramatic effect. “I’m coming back to Melbourne!”

  “Oh really?”

  “Yeah – not for good,” she added quickly. “Just for semester break. Then I’ll be heading back up.”

  “When will you be back?”

  “Should be at the end of the month. Got a few assessments to wrap up then I’ll buy my ticket.”

  “Cool.”

  “Geez, don’t sound too happy now.”

  “No, I mean–”

  “Just messing.”

  Ever couldn’t help but smile. Her light ribbing took his mind off things.

  “OK, I’m going back to the club.”

  “Logan’s worried about you. Are you answering his calls?”

  “I am not,” Taylor said. He could practically see her rolling her eyes. “Just tell him that I’ll be back soon and that he’d better get you back hired at the ice cream shop, or he’ll be sorry.”