by Jay T
Answering truthfully boarders on telling him too much. So, I just stare.
“Is she hurt?”
“No, she’s fine.”
“Then what happened to her?”
“She’s fine,” I say again.
The door opens and Robert’s mom pokes her head out. I look down and cover my eyes with my right hand, trying to play it off like I was rubbing my eyebrows. “Breakfast. Get in here, you two.”
“Yeah, ok, mom. On our way.”
I hear the door close and look up at Robert again.
“What about Ethan?”
“What about him?”
“Is he wrapped up in this?”
“No, I just met him last night.”
Robert stands to go inside then turns and looks at me again. “Naomi?”
I sigh. The last time I saw her she was reminding me not to let Eva depend on me. “She’s gone.”
“She was like you?”
“Yeah.”
“I knew it.” Robert opens the door and steps inside, holding the door open for me.
“I’ll be in in a minute.”
He nods and closes the door.
I go to the car, open the glove box, and pull out the box of colored contacts. A note falls out. I pick it up.
It’s from Naomi:
Evan, if you’re still here and I’m not, there’s some info you’ll need. You can order more contacts at the number on the back of this box. There’s a guy who can set you up with papers on Second Street. It’s the ink-blue house with white trim and a privacy fence all the way around with cameras. You can’t miss it. I hope this helps.
Best wishes,
Naomi. Xo
I let out a huge sigh of relief. I feel like maybe now I can get started building a life here. I can keep my job, get a bank account, and finally get a driver’s license.
“Thank you, Naomi,” I whisper. I grab the fallen contact box, turn it over and see a phone number in Sharpie on the back.
I put the contacts in and make my way back to the house.
Inside, Ethan is making friends. He’s smiling. The sight brings a smile to my face as I take a seat next to him and make a plate. It feels like a family.
I take Ethan to the elementary school and finish signing him up. The foster mom already had paperwork started. I promise to pick him up after school and take him with me. He hugged my legs but the teacher was nice and convinced him it was going to be alright.
I look at the clock. If I went straight to school, I’d be a couple minutes early. So, I decide to risk stopping by the coffee shop to get Eva a vanilla latte. I know darn well she doesn’t like vanilla; she basically only drinks white chocolate. But I can’t wait to see the look on her face when she drinks it.
I park the car and carefully make my way into the school with the precious coffee just as the bell rings. I don’t have time to go to my locker to drop off any extra books so I lug them with me to first period. Eva’s sitting at the same desk as yesterday. Her beautiful blonde hair is down and falls across her back. She isn’t paying attention so I try to set her coffee down and when I do, I move wrong and end up slamming the cup on the desk. I don’t want her to see my face so I try to sit as far away from her as possible. In doing so, I walked past the teacher and catch his attention. He watches as I carefully take a seat and try not to grimace.
Luckily, he doesn’t say anything and begins the class. I look over just in time to catch Eva take a drink of her coffee and make a face. I try to hold back a laugh but I move wrong and grab my side. Quickly, I put my hands back on my desk as the teacher eyes me. I don’t want to draw any more attention to myself so I pretend to focus on the assignment we’ve just been given. What did I do this summer break?
I can’t answer that. Let’s narrow this down. The only thing I want to share is that I started a band with some friends. That’s it.
The bell rings and the teacher asks me to say behind. Damn.
“What happened to your face, son?” he asks.
“Oh, got in a scuffle. You should see the other guy,” I joke.
“With whom?” he’s very concerned, ignoring my light tone.
I shrug, but shrugging hurts.
“I’m a mandatory reporter,” he says. “I’ll have to call your parents.”
“No, I don’t think you should do that.”
He looks at me for a full minute. “Home’s not safe?”
“Home is fine.”
“You’re brand new to this school. What brings you here?” he asks.
“Just moved to the area.”
“You making friends?”
“Yeah, I got a few.”
“Who?”
“Well, Brent, Ryan, and Liam,” I begin.
“Oh, you’re in with them. That’s a,” he sighs, “that’s a special group of kids.”
I nod. “Yes.”
“That’s good.”
“You’re bringing Eva coffee in my classroom,” he says. It’s not a question.
“Yes, sir.”
“So, you know her?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How is she doing?”
“She’s struggling, sir, but she’ll be fine.”
He nods. “I want you to see the nurse.” The bell rings and kids begin to fill the classroom for the next period. “I’ll write you a note for your next class. I want you to go straight to the nurse’s office and get yourself checked out.”
“That’s not necessary, sir. I’m fine.”
“I insist,” he says.
I take the piece of paper he hands me and say goodbye before leaving the room.
I put the extra books away in my locker as I contemplate going to the nurse’s office. I really don’t want to answer any questions, so I just go to my next class.
I take a seat next to Ryan who punches me in chest. “Why are you late man?”
The hit takes my breath away. I try to keep a straight face until I regain my composure. I turn my head to look at him. “Asshole,” I mutter.
28 eva
Lunch is finally here and I beat Evan to the lunch room. I take a seat in the same spot I did yesterday as I start in on my salad.
“Did you hear that Robert threatened to beat the shit out of Anny again this morning?” I hear Liam telling Ryan.
“Oh yeah, I heard they had words before school. Is that where the bruise came from?”
“Oh no, that one was his foster dad. Guess they got into it last night.”
I look up at Amy who’s just sitting down.
“Nobody got into it this morning. Robert and Evan had a much overdue conversation and I think it went well. Nobody threw any punches,” Amy says looking at me.
Brent walks up behind her and kisses her on the cheek. “Stop gossiping, you little girls,” he says to the guys as he takes a seat. Brent takes a bite out of a red apple.
I look around for Evan, but he’s still not here. I take another bite and finally, he shows up. He looks pale and he’s clearly in pain but he’s trying to hide it.
He takes the open seat next to me and I turn my whole body to look at him as he sets his brown bag lunch on the table.
“Are you ok?” I ask.
He reaches up and touches my cheek briefly. “I’m good.” His fingers brush my arm as he opens his lunch bag. I wish he would just hold me and not let go.
“You guys talking about me again?” Evan says to break up the quiet.
“Yep,” Ryan says. “You interrupted us.”
Evan smiles and picks up a grape and throws it at him.
That did the trick. The conversations start flowing around us again but I can’t stop thinking about what happened. Evan’s hand finds its way to the back of my chair again. When I lean back, I feel the warmth of his hand at my shoulder. His thumb lifts and rubs my back for just a moment. I finish my lunch and wait for Evan to finish his.
When he leans back in his chair, I put my hand on his leg and lean into him. He leans back, but not as far as I’d like, so I p
ush my hand further up his thigh. That gets his full attention and he leans further in.
“I want to talk to you,” I whisper.
I pull back, remove my hand, stand up, and begin to walk towards the hall. Evan stands up, gathers our garbage, says goodbye to the group, tosses the garbage in the garbage cans, and follows me out of the room. When we find a private area, I lean against a locker and he stands in front of me.
We lock eyes and look at each other for a few moments. There’s electricity between us; I know he feels it. Suddenly, I don’t feel like we need to say anything at all. He takes a step closer until one of his feet is between mine and he’s close enough that I can feel his breath on my cheek. I’m trying not to breathe too hard. He’s looking down at me as his hand finds my side and the other carefully supports him on the locker above me. My fingers find their way to his shirt and I slowly lift them to his skin just above his waist. His breath catches for a moment as he looks from my eyes to my lips and back again. His breathing begins to mirror my own. I trail my fingers up his skin to his torso, further until I feel more clothing. It’s a wrap. I look from Evan’s eyes to his lips. I want those. His hot hand on my side begins to tighten and move towards my back as if he’s about to pull me closer to him.
“Mr. Donkus?” Evan stops in his tracks.
I hadn’t noticed but the hallways are filling up and people are staring at us.
We look over and see the school nurse staring at us. “Evan Donkus?” she asks.
“My last name isn’t Donkus,” Evan grunts.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I must be pronouncing it wrong. I was asked by your first period teacher to see you. Do you have time now?”
He hasn’t moved from his spot but his hand stops it’s progression across my back. He turns back to me and whispers in my ear, “Ryan helped with admission paperwork. He thought it was hilarious.” His lips brush my cheek as I try to breathe calmly. He pushes off the locker and follows the nurse down the hall. I watch until I can’t see him through the crowd of other students and I turn to go to my locker.
“Why does she always get the hot guy?” I overhear some girl behind me say.
“It’s not over until it’s over,” her friend reply’s and they erupt in giggles.
I ignore them as a smile crosses my lips. He does like me. But what is going on with him? I feel like I can never get a straight answer.
29 evan
My heart skips a beat when I feel Eva’s hand lands on my leg. She leans in to whisper something in my ear but my body won’t let me lean far enough over. Her hand moves further and I sit straight up. A smile crosses her lips as she whispers in my ear, “I want to talk to you.” Her hair smells sweet. She stands up to walk away but I need a moment to compose myself first. I procrastinate by picking up the garbage and throwing it away before following her out of the room. I can’t seem to get control of myself as I look down at her. She blinks her long eyelashes and her eyes meet mine. I take a step closer and my hand finds her side. Eva’s fingers touch the bottom of my shirt and my breath catches. She bites her lower lip as her fingers trail up my side and then back down. I look at her lips and back at her eyes. I have no control over myself; I want her to be mine. I tighten my grip on her and start to pull her closer but I’m interrupted.
“Mr. Donkus?”
No. I groan inwardly. But I’m secretly happy that we were stopped because I’m at her mercy. I look down at Eva and hate the fact I have to let her go.
“Ryan helped with admission paperwork. He thought it was hilarious.” My lips brush her cheek and I watch her eyes narrow slightly and her lips open.
I push away and follow the nurse down the hallway, Naomi’s words echoing in my head. I don’t know how to both love her and not let her become dependent on me. But I’m pretty sure I can do the loving her part.
“Take a seat over there please,” the nurse says, pointing to a chair against the wall.
I sit.
“So, what happened?” she asks.
“Nothing much, just a little scuffle amongst friends.”
“So, this didn’t happen at home?”
“Nope.” I don’t mind lying to her because I don’t know her.
“Do you have anything else going on? Are you hurt anywhere else?”
For a moment, I contemplate telling her about my ribs, but I don’t think there’s anything she can do about it besides send me to get an x-ray to tell me that they’re broken, which I already know. And I have no idea how I’d pay for that. “Just the jaw,” I say.
She puts on gloves and looks at my jaw, opens my mouth, and inspects my teeth before telling me to take it easy, and releasing me to go back to class.
***
The last bell rings and I start to gather up my books.
“We going to go get Ethan?” Brent asks.
“Yeah, I told him I’d pick him up from school.”
“Then what are you going to do?”
“Think Robert’s mom will watch him for a little bit while I check out the home?”
“Yeah, I’m sure that’s fine. I’ll text her and ask.”
“Alright, let me know if she can’t and I’ll figure something else out.”
“Sounds good. I’ll see you at the house,” Brent says.
***
At the elementary school I wait just inside the doors. I finally spot him. He has a huge smile on his face and he’s holding a big piece of paper with a painting on it.
“Evan, look what I drew,” he says proudly holding up his painting.
“Wow, bud, that’s really cool! What is it?”
“It’s you.”
“I can definitely see that now,” I say. “Is this for me?”
The little kid nods.
“Thanks, big guy. How was your day?”
“It was good. Mrs. Miller is really nice.”
“That’s great. I’m happy you had a good day.”
I open the car door for him and he climbs in the back.
“Where are we going to go now?” he asks.
I shut the door. The poor kid has no stability. He has no idea what to expect.
I open the driver’s side and climb in. “We’re going back to the house we were at this morning. Is that ok you?”
“Yeah, she was nice,” he says as he buckles himself in.
“Good,” I say as I put the car in reverse and head to Robert’s house. I don’t have any texts saying his mother can’t watch him so it must be good to go.
I pull into the parking lot and there’s a new SUV here. We knock on the door and Eva’s Aunt Kami is there.
“Oh, hi,” I say.
“Hi,” she says. “Evelyn can’t watch Ethan this afternoon. She had a dentist appointment that she couldn’t reschedule so I said I could watch him.”
I feel Ethan get anxious beside me as he pulls on my leg.
I carefully kneel down in front of him. “This is Kami,” I say. “She’s just as nice as Mrs. Evelyn. I promise you’re safe with her. I’ll only be gone for a little bit, alright?”
Ethan hugs me tightly before whispering in my ear, “She looks like my mommy did.”
I pull him back and see a deep sadness in his eyes. I touch his cheek, wishing I could push away his hurt. I kiss him on the forehead and look at Kami. “Thank you for doing this.”
“Where will you be?” she asks.
“I’m just going to run up the road and check in on something. I’ll be back soon.”
“If I don’t hear from you in an hour, I’m calling the cops and sending them to your house. Evelyn told me where it is,” she says.
I almost forgot the no BS from Kami. I chuckle.
I turn and start towards the car as Robert and Brent emerge from the house. “We’re coming with,” Robert says as they get in the car with me.
When we get there, I say, “I don’t want you guys to get in trouble. Just let me handle this, alright?”
“Nope, we’re in,” Robert says.
“No,
I mean it, I can handle him, just let me do this. Stay out of the way.”
“Fine, but we have your back,” Brent says.
I nod. This is going to hurt.
I get out of the car and walk to the front door. I hesitate for a moment before going in.
One of the girls is here. She’s at the sink getting some water. She jumps when she hears me behind her and she turns to look at me. Her lip is swollen, cracked, and bleeding; her hair is disheveled and there are bruises up and down her forearm. She pulls down her shirtsleeve, covering the bruises.
I see red.
The foster mom comes walking in as someone yells from the living room to grab him a beer. Her face is black and blue as well.
“I thought you were staying in a hotel,” I say angrily.
“I did, but I came home when he called and said he had her,” she points to the girl who is probably the same age as Eva.
“Both of you get out of here and call everyone else and tell them to stay away for a few days,” I tell her.
“Where’s my beer?” he yells.
They scurry out the front door and I notice the guys standing in the entryway. Robert opens the door for the women and follows them outside. I watch them for a moment as he talks with them.
I grab a beer from the fridge and bring it to the living room. I stand behind his chair and open it.
“’Bout damn time,” he says holding his hand up for the beer without looking up from the football game.
I pour it over his head.
“What the f-” he jumps up out of his recliner. “You again,” he spits as he wipes the beer from his face.
I don’t give him a chance; I punch him in the ribs. He doubles over and tries to catch his breath. I stand him up and punch him again, then again. Every blow I deal him, I feel a rib crack under my fist. When he’s gasping for air, I punch him in his jaw, then his nose, then his eye.
He holds his hands up, begging me to stop.
I grab him by the neck and lift him off his feet and push him against the wall.
“Do you enjoy hitting little girls?” I whisper in his ear.
He shakes his head no.
“If I ever see you in this house again, I’ll kill you,” I whisper. I know my eyes are glowing and when he sees them his eyes get really big.
