by Jay T
I finally release my grip on his neck and toss him to the floor like a rag doll. He gasps for air and runs to the door past Robert who is standing in the kitchen watching. My eyes return to normal.
When the foster dad is out of my sight, I sigh and grab my own ribs. That hurt like hell. Something slipped out of place when I tossed him. I can’t catch my breath.
Robert eyes me up and down, unsure of what to think of me.
The foster mom comes back in a few moments later and moves to give me a hug but I hold my hand up to stop her, unable to talk.
“Thank you so much! I’ve been wanting to get rid of him forever, I just couldn’t ever make him leave before. Thank you!” she says.
I nod and choke out, “He is never to set foot in here again.” She nods. “If he does, I want you to call me right away.” She nods again. My breath comes a little easier and my voice returns. “Are you capable of staying a foster mom or do I need to make sure the cops come and move all the kids?”
“I love the kids,” she assures me. “I promise they’ll be safe here now.”
“They better be,” I give her a pointed look and she nods.
Robert makes his way over to me and whispers, “Thanks for not punching me back a few weeks ago.”
I smirk. “You hit like a girl. Wouldn’t have been fair.”
A rib slipped. I feel it in my lung. “Can you drive?” I try to take a breath and wheeze loudly.
“Yeah, man, no problem.”
I hand him the keys.
“Do we need to go to the hospital?” he asks.
I wheeze again. “No, just Sterling please.” Deep breath. “I don’t want to be social.”
I don’t want Eva to see me like this. I don’t want her to think less of me. There’s no way she’d be in Sterling on a school night so I figure I’ll be safe there.
30 eva
I don’t see Evan after school. I wait for Amy by our lockers. It doesn’t take long for her to come up the stairs.
“Where’s Brent?” I ask.
“Oh, the guys took off for something,” she waves her hand dismissively but her tone gives her away.
I look at her.
“Ok fine, they went to go pick up the little boy.”
“What little boy?”
“The one Evan stopped from getting beaten last night.”
“I think you managed to leave that part out of the story you told me this morning,” I say.
She sighs. “Evan came home and the foster dad was drunk and about to start beating on the new little boy they got. Evan stopped him, took a few hits, but got the kid to the cabin with Robert and Brent last night. They’re going to pick him up from school and make sure things are safe at home.”
“How are they going to make sure things are safe at home?” I ask. “What is he going to do to make things safe at home?”
Amy looks at me like maybe she hadn’t thought about it yet. “I’m sure they have things under control.”
“Hey, Amy,” a girl in a cheerleader uniform walks up to us. “Where’s Brent? We’re supposed to have practice tonight.” She’s asking Amy but she’s looking me up and down.
“Sorry, practice is cancelled. They had other things to do tonight,” she says.
“Well he didn’t tell me.”
“He asked me to tell you, which I just did. So,” Amy shrugs, “sorry.”
The cheerleader rolls her eyes, turns on her heel, and stomps away.
“Why was she staring me up and down? I feel like the whole school hates me,” I admit.
“They kind of do,” Amy chuckles.
“Why, what did I do?”
“You keep getting the hot guys. It’s not really fair.”
I sigh. “I don’t have anything right now.”
“I heard about the hallway after lunch. The whole school is talking about it.”
“Talking about what? Nothing happened.”
“Oh, something happened. And you know it.”
I try to suppress a smile. “Uh huh,” Amy says.
“Can we go to the cabin tonight? I want to see if Evan’s ok.”
“Yeah, that sounds great,” she says.
***
Amy and I sit at the kitchen table, at the cabin, working on homework for the night.
I hear a car pull in and three doors open and close before we hear footsteps on the porch. The door opens and Robert walks in first. His face is stone. Behind him, Evan is extremely pale but as tall as ever. Brent is last in and he shuts the door behind him. Robert and Evan go straight upstairs and Brent meets us in the kitchen. Evan doesn’t smile once at me. I suddenly have that unwelcome feeling again and my stomach drops.
“Hey, we didn’t realize you ladies were going to be here.” Brent leans down and kisses Amy’s cheek.
“I didn’t realize we needed permission to be here.” Amy says, catching the tone in the room. Ok good, it wasn’t just me.
Brent looks back and forth between Amy and me before saying, “Can we talk a moment, outside?”
Amy makes an annoyed face before pushing her stool away from the bar and following him outside. Curiosity gets the better of me as I follow the sound of voices upstairs. They’re talking quietly. I knock on the bathroom door once but they don’t respond. I knock again. The door wasn’t latched all the way and it cracks open. I’m standing back but I see Evan’s pain-stricken face in the mirror as he grips the counter with both hands and Robert pushes on his side. Evan’s entire left side is black from top to bottom. He takes a breath and nothing but a wheeze comes out. I gasp and Evan hears me as our eyes meet in the mirror. He slams the door in my face.
“I thought you fucking locked it,” he whispers viciously at Robert.
Robert says something too quietly for me to make out.
I don’t know Evan at all. I don’t know anything about what he’s going though.
I go back downstairs and gather my homework and laptop and put them in my bookbag. I grab my keys off the table and go outside.
“That’s bullshit and you know it. He needs to go in.” Amy’s telling Brent.
They both stop talking and look at me.
“I’m going to head home,” I say.
“Ok, yeah, Robert and I are going to catch a ride home with Brent later,” Amy says. “I’ll see you at school.”
I nod. “Have a good night.”
I drive my car home slowly as my mind reels. I wish Amy would have come with me but I understand that she was in the middle of a conversation with her boyfriend. I’m hurt that it feels like everyone knows Evan but me. It’s like Evan doesn’t want them to let me in; he’s asking them to keep things from me. He’s telling Amy how to talk me and that’s grating on my nerves.
When I get home, Aunt Kami still isn’t home. I look at the clock. It’s 8 p.m. I check my phone and see a missed call from her a few hours ago.
I hit callback and wait.
“Hey, Eva.”
“Hi, Aunt Kami.”
“I’m over at Evelyn’s house visiting. I’ll be home later.”
“Oh alright.”
“There’s leftovers in the fridge if you haven’t eaten yet.”
“Any time I should expect you home?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’ll text you when I know.”
“Ok, see you later,” I say.
I hang up and try to figure out what I’m going to do with the rest of my evening. I flop down on the couch and turn on Netflix.
“Nobody wants you around. You’re just in the way.”
I sigh. I know those are lies. I look around my home and imagine my family in it.
31 evan
I’ve hurt Eva again. I need to stop doing that. I was pissed off at Robert for not locking the door and letting Eva see me. I cannot hurt her again.
I grab the bottle of Advil off the counter and swallow a handful. I can breathe again but it’s very uncomfortable. I’d like nothing more than to go to bed and call it a night, but I told Ethan
I’d come back for him. I grab a Hot Pocket out of the freezer and see a bottle of tequila. I toss the Hot Pocket in the microwave and open the freezer back up, open the tequila, and take a drink straight from the bottle.
“Just put your name on that one. That’s yours for tomorrow.”
Amy comes in from the living room.
“What’s going on tomorrow?”
“Back to school party?”
“Oh, right,” I nod. I think the guys said something about it but I wasn’t paying attention.
I put the bottle back in the freezer and wait the remaining few seconds for my dinner.
“I haven’t really had the chance to say thanks for saving my life,” she says.
I shake my head no, “You don’t need to say anything. Really.”
I look up as Brent walks in. Please just drop it.
“You guys ready?” he asks.
I nod pulling out my food and grabbing my water from the counter. I toss my keys to Robert who catches them in the air.
“See you guys there,” I say to Amy and Brent.
Kami is still at Robert’s house when we pull in.
I open the door and walk in to see Ethan asleep on the couch between Robert’s mom and Kami. He’s holding Kami’s hand. I smile. Kami smiles back at me.
“He fell asleep about 10 minutes ago,” she whispers.
I kick off my shoes and move to wake him up so I can take him home. I run my fingers across the hair on his forehead and whisper, “Hey, kiddo. You ready to go home?”
He opens his sleepy eyes but when they land on me he yells, “Anny!” He grabs ahold of my neck and squeezes.
“Hey, buddy.”
“You came back.”
“Of course I came back. I said I would, didn’t I?”
“People don’t always come back when they say they will,” he says sadly.
“Well, I will. You ready to come home?”
He shakes his head no. “Can’t I stay here?”
“We’ll be safe at home now. He’s not going to come back.”
“You can’t know that for sure,” he whispers.
This kid is breaking my heart.
“If it’s alright with everyone, he can come stay with me. I have plenty of space,” Kami says.
I look from Kami back to Ethan whose face has lit up. There’s no way I can tell him no now. “Can I, Anny? Can I?”
“Didn’t I tell you my name was Evan?” I joke with him.
“Yeah, but everyone still calls you Anny,” he says in a whispers.
“I’ll let your foster mom know where you are,” I say.
“Can’t you stay too?” he asks me.
“I’ll come tuck you in but I can’t stay there,” I say.
“Fine,” Ethan says sadly.
“Go grab your stuff, I’ll wait for you.”
Ethan takes off upstairs and Kami asks, “Are you ok?”
“Me? Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”
She indicates my bruised face. My face is the least of my concerns.
I nod. “I’m good. Thanks.”
“Thanks for letting me help Evelyn,” Kami says. “I’m so happy you asked and I got to meet this little guy.”
“Thank you for agreeing to it. He’s a pretty special kid.”
Kami smiles up the stairs, “Yes he is.” Ethan appears at the top of the stairs clutching his ratty teddy bear and his toothbrush. His backpack is on his back but clothes spill out in every direction. He carefully grabs ahold of the handrail and makes his way back downstairs to us.
I open the car door for Ethan and he climbs in and starts to get buckle the seatbelt.
“I’m sure you know the way?” Kami asks.
“I do.”
“I’ll see you at the house.”
32 eva
The front door opens and Aunt Kami walks in. “Hey,” I call out.
Evan follows behind her. I sit up.
A little boy with a dirty teddy bear hides behind Evan. Evan reaches back and closes the door and tries to move the boy around to his side. He takes a knee beside the boy and says, “Ethan, this is Eva. She’s a good friend of mine.”
The little boy looks me up and down and whispers something in Evan’s ear. Evan chuckles and whispers something back before looking up at me and smiling.
“Ethan is going to stay with us for a little bit,” Aunt Kami says watching them.
“Can’t you stay here too?” I barely hear Ethan whisper to Evan.
“I can’t. I have to make sure the other kids are safe tonight too. But I promise they’ll take good care of you,” Evan says to him. This is the Evan I remember from my dreams. Strong, confident, and protective. I feel myself staring at him. His color looks better. He doesn’t look like he’s in the same amount of pain he was in when he came to the cabin just a few hours ago.
“Ethan, I can show you to a room,” Aunt Kami holds her hand out to him.
He hugs Evan once more time and whispers, “I’ll see you in the morning?”
“Yes, I’ll pick you up for school.”
Ethan smiles and says, “Good night, Anny.”
“Good night, little dude.”
He looks at Kami and whispers, “Thank you.”
I smile at Ethan as he trots over to Kami’s open hand and takes it. He pauses for just a moment to smile at Evan before starting up the stairs.
“So, you and my aunt are on speaking terms?” I ask. Another person he’s talking to besides me.
“Robert’s mom was busy this afternoon and asked her to watch him for us while we went out. They seem to have hit it off.”
I lean back on the couch and look at the TV.
“Have a good night.” Evan turns for the door.
“Will you text me tonight?” I ask. “Let me know you’re safe?” I know I shouldn’t. I just don’t want him to leave thinking I don’t care.
“Yeah,” he answers, opens the door, and leaves shutting it quietly behind him.
Thirty minutes later, Aunt Kami comes downstairs.
“Are you sure this is ok?” she asks me.
“Yeah of course, why?”
“I didn’t ask you before I brought him home and put you on the spot. I’m sorry about that. He just seemed too scared to go home tonight.”
“Yeah, of course I’m fine with it.”
“How are things with you guys? You didn’t seem very chummy.”
I shrug.
“I don’t know. He’s got a lot going on. I’m not sure if I fit in with him right now.”
Aunt Kami sits down beside me and puts her arm around my shoulder. “Is he safe?’
“I honestly have no idea. He won’t talk to me.”
She sighs. “I’m sorry to hear that. I think he’ll come around. He seems alright.”
“I wouldn’t know. I feel like I don’t know a single thing about him but he knows every thing about me, including what kind of coffee I drink.”
Kami laughs. “That seems like an unfair advantage on his part.”
“I know, right?” I say.
“We better get to bed; it’s going to be a long one tomorrow.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Back to school party?”
“Oh right. I forgot about that.”
“Well, I stocked the bar here so you can steal it like a normal teenager.” She giggles as she slaps my leg and stands up.
“You are wonderful.” I smile and take her hand.
I fall asleep happy that there’s a new little boy in the bedroom across from mine in Bryant’s room. Somehow that seems fitting.
I awake in the middle of the night with a jolt. I hear a noise coming from the closet. Black clouds begin to creep out from underneath the door. I’m frozen as I stare at the darkness in my room. The doorknob begins to shake and slowly begins to turn. My heart is racing. The door flings open and the Skeleton man/Devil is standing in the doorway.
“It’s my turn to make you bleed!” he yells as he races towards
me. He rips off my blankets and grabs my ankle as I hold on to my bedframe. He pulls me as I struggle against him; I don’t realize I’m screaming until I’m out of breath. My grip is slipping. I dig my fingernails into the frame. He pulls me free, across the room, and into my closet. The entire thing is black with darkness. I grab ahold of the door frame, trying to keep myself from getting pulled in but I eventually lose the battle. I’m pulled down, down, down.
I fall to a brick floor covered in sticky red. I hit the ground with a thud. It takes me a moment to catch my breath and when I do, I sit up. The ground is covered in blood. I frantically try to wipe it from my face. A rope comes out of nowhere and wraps around my wrists and binds my wrists to my ankles. A fire appears in front of me and the Devil walks up, sharpening a blade on a stone.
“I’ve been waiting for a long time for thissss,” he says holding the sharp knife over the fire. “I’m going to take each and every finger off your hands. Then tomorrow, we’ll start on your toes.”
I struggle to free my hands but the rope pulls tighter.
I hear someone whispering, “You’re alright. Find your light.”
It’s not Evan. Focus. I close my eyes as the Devil takes my right pinky. There’s a sharp singe as the hot blade meets my skin.
“You are a firewielding angel, they should fear you,” the same voice says.
The blade takes off my finger as I scream and shake. I feel the fury building inside as I focus and smile back at the Devil. He’s holding my bleeding pinky up for me to see. When he sees the smile on my face, he waves his arm and I gasp awake in my bed with Aunt Kami’s arms wrapped around me. I begin to sob.
“She’s awake,” she’s saying into the phone. “Yeah, I will.” She pause, listening. “Ok, thanks. Good night.” She hangs up and wraps me in both arms.
“You gave me quite the scare,” she says. “What’s going on, baby? Shhh it’s ok, you’re alright.” I’m only half hearing her over the way my mind is reeling. I’m shaking but thankful she’s here.
When I finally calm down enough to put together a sentence, I ask, “Was that Evan?”
“Yes. He called me a little bit ago and asked me to check on you. He was worried.”
“He’s not coming here is he?”
“No, he said he wanted to but he couldn’t.”
