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react when Heather mentioned her anorexic sister. He figured the best thing to do was just . . . well, just to be there. “Hey, that’s good news,” he said.
    â€œI guess,” she muttered ruefully. She glanced around Ed’s room, making sure she had all her belongings. “I mean, it’s good that she finally has enough strength to walk. But she still looks like a skeleton. And I don’t know if she wants to eat. I mean, you saw her. They’ve been feeding her through tubes....”Heather’s voice trailed off.
    â€œI’m sure your mom and dad will be right on top of it this time,” Ed piped up, in what he hoped was a reassuring voice. “They won’t let anything happen to her.”
    Heather’s face darkened. “There’s not a lot they can do. They can’t be with her twenty-four hours a day, forcing food down her throat, then making sure she doesn’t puke it up again.” Her voice took on a hard edge. “Phoebe isn’t going to get better unless she wants to. And right now, I don’t think she does.”
    Ed just stared at her.
Say something funny, you moron,
he told himself. He always prided himself on the ability to bring a little levity into a dark situation. To take something miserable and whip itback into shape with a little joke. But for some reason, he couldn’t think of a damn thing to say. It was impossible to make a joke out of Phoebe’s condition—
    Bzzzzt.
    The front door buzzer rang.
    Perfect timing. Ed breathed a secret sigh of relief.
    Heather frowned. “Who’s that?”
    â€œI bet it’s my sister,” he muttered, spinning around and rolling himself through his bedroom door. “She left her keys here again. She’s become a complete ditz since she got engaged.”
    The buzzer rang again—more insistently.
    Ed scowled as he hurried down the hall toward the front door of the apartment. “Coming, Bridezilla,” he mumbled.
    He rolled up to the front hall intercom and pressed the talk button.
    â€œWho is it?” he asked.
    â€œGaia.”
    Shit. Ed’s heart stopped. Time was an eighteenwheeler that had just come screeching to a halt. Gaia. Here. With Heather. Not good . . .
    â€œEd?”
    Why do you always pick the worst times to show up?
he wondered angrily.
    â€œEd, are you there?” she asked.
    â€œUh ... yeah,” he answered. “What’s up?”
    â€œLook, I know this is going to sound really weird, but can I hang out with you for a while? Just until I get in touch—”
    â€œI’ll come down,” he interrupted. He didn’t want to risk allowing Gaia and Heather to see each other. True, the tension between them had subsided a little .... But still, he knew how combustible they could be. Like gas and fire.
    He threw open the front door and slammed it behind him—hurrying out into the hallway toward the elevators. He punched the down button. He rubbed his hands on his jeans. His palms were moist. So Gaia wanted to hang out for a little while. Why? And why couldn’t she have called first? But there wasno point in trying to make any sense out of Gaia. Besides, it wouldn’t have made a damn bit of difference if she
had
called. He still would have let her come over. The pathetic truth of the matter was that he’d still do anything she wanted ....
    The elevator doors slid open.
    Ed’s face twisted in a scowl as he rolled in and jabbed at the button for the lobby. He would just tell her no. Plain and simple. She couldn’t walk all over him. Well . . . okay, she
did
sound a little freaked out. He swallowed. Okay, maybe he’d find out what her deal was, and then he’d decidewhether or not she could come in. That was fair. She owed him an explanation. She wouldn’t be able to give him the runaround. Not this time. They’d long since agreed to scrap their no-questions policy.
    The doors slid open again.