by L. B. Reyes
I’d missed her too. It wasn’t like it had been days or weeks, but we never argued to that extent, and to do so was unnerving. I ran a finger over the dark circles under her eyes, seeing the toll the past few days had taken on her body.
“We need to talk,” I whispered. Evie hummed, tightening the sheets around her body and sitting up. She raised a hand, leaning in and kissing me gently. Keeping her eyes closed, Evelyn rested her forehead against mine.
“Let me talk first, please,” she whispered.
Evie shifted on the bed, opening a drawer from the nightstand and pulling out a shiny gold bracelet. Her bracelet. Eyes shining with tears, Evelyn placed it in my hand.
“I want this bracelet,” she whispered. “I know it has sort of an unspoken significance between us, but I don’t want it if you don’t want me to have it anymore.” Her voice broke at the end, but her gaze was unwavering. “I know I have issues, and it’s okay if after what happened you don’t want me anymore. There’s so many things I have to work through, Nathan, and I understand if you don’t want to deal with it…but you have to understand why I thought what I thought.”
I brought my hand to her face, wiping away a tear. “You’re a very smart woman who can act incredibly stupid,” I said to her with a small smile. “I love you, Evelyn, to the point where I question my sanity. I just need you to trust me when I say wouldn’t betray you; I don’t want anyone else. We need to solve things, yes, but you’re all I want regardless. And for the record, I understand why you thought what you thought…I would have believed the same thing.”
“I’m sorry if it’s so hard for me to trust you,” she stated. “I don’t think I’m as strong as I thought I was.”
She lowered her gaze, defeated, and I tilted her chin back up. There was no reason to be ashamed; we’d figure out how to deal with all of this together.
“I’m staying, Evie. No matter how long it takes for us, I’m staying here with you,” I assured her.
I took her hand in mine, placing the bracelet on it. It belonged to her.
“Eventually,” I began, placing a kiss on her hand, “a ring will symbolize our relationship, but for now, I want us to work on us. I want us to work on building trust, building a good foundation, because without that, this will never work, Evie. I don’t want that for us. I want this to be for the rest of our lives, not just for a few years, hm?”
She nodded, smiling weakly and pulling me down for a kiss. “I love you,” she whispered.
“I love you, too,” I replied. I brushed her hair back, taking in her pale appearance. “Do you want to go out to eat?”
Evie wrinkled her nose. “I just want to be home with you.”
***
If she wasn’t hungry before, Evelyn was like a beast starving now. She was living off cereal and ice cream, but to her, there was no better meal. I scratched the back of my head, watching her as she ate a scoop of ice cream and then a spoonful of cereal. Then she sprinkled dry cereal on the ice cream.
Jesus.
This is not normal.
Her eyes closed as she took another scoop of cereal, and I couldn’t focus on my own food while she ate. The thought was constantly repeating in the back of my mind; she was behaving differently, and though she’d always been sensitive, earlier that day she had been far more responsive to my touch.
Crying over cereal too.
Then there was the nausea.
Dizziness.
Tiredness.
It didn’t take a genius to figure it out.
“What?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.
I smiled, stepping out of my chair and kneeling in front of her. Quickly, she placed her hands on my shoulders. “Wait, you’re not proposing yet, are you?”
Raising the shirt she wore, I exposed the skin of her belly—flat. For now. “I don’t think it’s just the two of us anymore, Evie,” I stated.
Just as I expected, Evie frowned, placing the spoon back in the ice cream tub. “I don’t understand.”
“I think you’re pregnant.”
She blushed, the color traveling all the way to her ears, and her lips parted in surprise. It was as if even though living through all the symptoms, Evelyn hadn’t taken into consideration the possibility that this could have happened.
“How?” she asked, furrowing her brows.
I snorted, knowing that it wasn’t the best idea given the situation, but I couldn’t help it. “We both know how, Evie.”
“Oh God,” she gasped, covering her mouth with her hands. Her eyes were wide with fear and surprise as she stood and started pacing. “Oh my God, we haven’t been careful.”
“Careful? Babe, we haven’t been using protection at all. It shouldn’t be a surprise.”
“I need a test,” she rapidly said, looking for her purse. “I’m going to go get a test to find out and—”
“Hey,” I said, stopping her. “I’ll go with you. There’s not a single reason why you should do this alone.”
My words eased some of her worry.
Hand in hand, we arrived at the pharmacy. Overwhelmed, Evelyn stared at the endless options in pregnancy tests, her eyes glancing at each one of them. It was odd seeing her so concerned, especially in regard to forming a family. Maybe she didn’t want kids? Or she wasn’t ready?
Shit.
We should have been more careful.
“Which one do you think works better?” She held two boxes up, her voice trembling with nerves. “This one says you can test days before your period and it’ll still be accurate, but this one is more expensive? Does more expensive equal better? Or should we go with the cheap ones and buy several of those to be sure? Or should we buy a test of each brand? I’m thinking we should do that; buy one from each brand and see if more turn up negative or positive, and we’ll go from there. I mean, I haven’t had a period in a while, so shouldn’t they all be accurate…Nate? What do you think?”
“We’ll buy three if you want?” I asked, not knowing whether she would be okay with that. Evie nodded, swallowing, and picked up one more box.
The way back to her place was quiet except for the fact that I could hear the thoughts racing through her mind. I squeezed her hand to offer comfort. Once in the house, she rushed into the restroom, closing the door behind her and leaving me out. I groaned.
Of course, she would want to do this alone.
I sighed, taking a seat on the bed while she did what she had to do. Evelyn had to know I’d be there for her no matter what the result was.
After a few minutes, she stepped out with a fearful look in her eyes. She bit her lip, sitting next to me on the bed. Evie rested her head on my shoulder while I rested my hand on her thigh.
“We have to wait a few minutes.”
“Mm hm.” I hated the idea of suggesting it but…“You know there’s options, right? If you don’t want…the baby, that is…”
“Oh, Nate.” She shook her head. Smiling sadly, Evie sighed turning her attention to me. “I’m just afraid that I’ll be a bad mom.”
“What?”
How could she think that?
“My mom was horrible, and Hannah, well…I didn’t learn much from her, either. Nana is gone now, and I don’t know. I’m scared.”
I sighed, relieved. The thought of her not wanting a child that was ours was the scariest thing that could have passed through my mind. “You’ll be a wonderful mom, Evelyn. I don’t have a single doubt about that.”
She closed her eyes, laying back on the bed. I could see her taking deep breaths as she tried to relax and took that as my cue to go see what the result of the test had been.
“Well, then,” I said when I saw the result, “time to tell her the news.”
Chapter 13
Evelyn
“Hannah, wait!” I followed behind my sister, and even though I couldn’t see her face, I could picture her rolling her eyes.
She never really did like me. But to send me away when I still needed someone was…cruel. Yeah, I w
as a teenager, perhaps a bit crazy and far from what was expected in the world I lived in, but still, I needed a family. I couldn’t live in Florida alone when I needed my family the most.
“Hannah, please,” I begged, and finally, she turned around.
“What do you want Evelyn?” she snapped, glaring at me. “I have shit to do. Mom wants me to go to a meeting with a client today, and I’m running late already.”
I frowned. “But isn’t it your anniversary with Nathan?” I asked, looking towards the house. I knew the company was a priority but to this extent? It couldn’t be possible. “Are you flying your husband off to Florida, as well?”
Yes, I was pushing her buttons, but I had to find a way to make her understand I didn’t want to leave. Get her attention, anything. It wasn’t fair. I didn’t cause trouble; I kept to myself. My parents were hardly around, and it was okay; I knew how to behave. Being by myself in a state that I didn’t even know wasn’t fair, though.
Was I really that unwanted? Could they not handle me being in the same state as them?
“Evelyn, I don’t have time for this! I don’t have time for your drama! It’s in your best interest to be over there. You can start over. I don’t know, I don’t care. Mom agrees, so there’s nothing else to do.”
I fought back tears. “I could start using drugs or something, you know? Maybe become an alcoholic or sell my body for love.”
“Love,” Hannah scoffed. “This is exactly why Mom doesn’t trust you with the company. You’re too warm-blooded, Evelyn. If you grew up a bit and you realized what Mom has been trying to teach us then—”
“Teach us?” I cried. “She hardly even knows I exist, Han. She doesn’t pay attention to me. She doesn’t even know if I eat or not. Hannah, I’ll stay out of your way, but please, please don’t make me leave.”
Sighing, she ran a hand through her hair. I thought there was a bit of hope when her eyes filled with just a hint of remorse, but all of it was gone when she spoke up again.
“It’s settled, Evelyn. You leave in a week.”
I groaned.
What did I do to be born into such a family?
I stormed inside the house, wiping away my tears. This was so unfair. I knew I was a bit of a black sheep of the family, not fitting into their standards, but to send me away as if I was some type of menace was hurtful.
“I hate all of you!” I yelled, though I knew no one was in the house. If Nathan was there, it would be a surprise, considering that his car wasn’t in the driveway. “Fuck everyone! Screw all of you! I don’t need anyone anyway!”
No one would hear me, but it didn’t matter. At least I’d let my anger out.
“Christ, I swear you can wake up a deaf person with your screaming.”
My eyes widened, and I blushed.
Nope.
I’m dreaming.
“Evie, you okay?”
I didn’t turn around for the fear of Nathan making fun of me.
“I’m fine,” I gritted out.
I was lucky enough to at least have friend in Nathan. He was different. Many times, I wondered how he even fit in my family, but there he was, part of a world in which he didn’t belong.
“Did you know they were sending me away?” I asked. Maybe he knew all along and didn’t tell me anything because he agreed with them anyway.
“Sending you away? Where?”
I turned around at the surprise in his voice. Sure enough, his handsome features showed only concern, and his gray eyes stared back at me with sadness. “They’re sending me to Florida,” I said quietly.
“They as in Hannah, right?”
I nodded, biting my lip to stop it from quivering.
“Did she tell you why?”
I shook my head, not trusting myself enough to speak again. My heart hurt. Nathan eyed me cautiously while he waited for an answer. Maybe the pain was more about leaving my nana and him behind. They were the ones there for me, my true family.
“I’ll try to talk to her,” Nathan sighed. “She is unbelievable.”
Again, I remained silent. Of course he’d try to help. But what good would it do?
“Evie?”
Without realizing it, I had lowered my gaze. Fighting back the sadness was proving to be much more difficult than I thought, and when I finally looked into Nathan’s eyes, I broke down. I started crying for the first time in front of him, hugging him like he was the only one that could offer me comfort.
However, Nathan tensed.
“Oh God, I’m sorry,” I sobbed, pulling away from him. “I’m so sorry. I’m such a pain in the ass, aren’t I? I’m just going to go up to my room.”
Before he could say anything, I rushed upstairs, determined at all costs to save me any more embarrassment.
Nice, Evelyn. You get kicked out of the state and then make a complete fool out of yourself with your brother-in-law.
To my surprise, however, when I started to close the door to my bedroom, Nathan stopped me. My eyes widened slightly at the fact that he’d followed me.
“You caught me off guard, Evie,” he said softly. “But no, you’re not a pain in the ass. Come here.”
He extended his hand to me, patiently waiting for me to take it. Nathan sighed in relief when I did and guided me back downstairs to the basement. I sniffled behind him, failing at my attempt to keep the tears at bay.
Sadness soon turned into surprise when Nathan turned on the light, illuminating the basement. In front of me were endless portraits, the colors bringing a little bit of brightness to the darkness that had settled in my heart.
“What is all this?” I asked him, running my fingers over a delicate canvas. “Did you do all these?”
“Yeah,” Nathan stated with pride.
“They’re beautiful,” I breathed. “I didn’t know you could paint like this.”
He smirked, the action brightening up his eyes.
“It’s a shame I won’t be here when you open up your gallery or sell your first piece, though.” I bit my lip sadly. I would have loved to see his dreams come true. I never knew he liked to paint, though I did know he was very artistic. To see how talented he was truly was a surprise.
“That’s exactly why I brought you here,” he said with a small smile. “Do you seriously think I’ll be able to pursue anything with the type of family I married into? You should be as far from all of this as possible, Evie. You deserve much better than this.”
“You do, too,” I murmured. I knew my dad tried to get him into the family business and that they deeply disagreed with the art degree he’d chosen, but since my sister and he were already married, they couldn’t risk the “scandal” of a divorce.
“I’m not sure I deserve better than this,” he said, glancing around. “We get what we wish for.” His fingers brushed away a strand of hair. “Enjoy Florida. You deserve to be in a place like that or California or—”
“New York,” I interrupted. “I’ve always wanted to be in New York.”
“Or New York. Make your dreams come true away from them because you don’t belong here, Evelyn. Not with us. You’re better than us.”
I wanted to try anything to contradict what he said, but the conviction in his face made me falter. Instead, I settled for hugging my friend once again, and this time, he hugged me back without hesitation.
“What are you thinking?” Nathan’s voice brought me back from memory lane. Little actions like that showed me he’d always been different.
I glanced up at him, smiling. It was so ironic…so crazy that things had turned out this way.
It was perfection.
“Before I left for Florida…remember?”
Nathan grinned. “Of course I remember. You tried to paint that day, and all you managed to do was blur colors together.”
I rolled my eyes. I should have known even back then that painting was not my forte.
“Did you ever think we would end up here? In New York?”
He shook his head. “Never, but I
’m glad we did. I don’t regret anything, Evie.”
Gently, Nathan shifted lying me on my back. I smiled up at him right before he kissed me. I loved him, all of him, and I would forever. My arms wrapped around his neck. He was so loving. Caring. All I ever wanted.
“I don’t ever want to lose you.” He buried his face in my neck, inhaling deeply, as if trying to wrap my scent around his soul. As if I was the only thing he needed to stay alive. “I love you so much, Evelyn.”
Every time the words left his lips, my heart swelled. My eyes filled with tears when I thought of how lucky I had gotten. I went from having a family that didn’t care for me to finding a large family who loved me more than words could express, just as much as I loved them.
Nana wasn’t here, but I knew wherever she was, she would be smiling down at me because I was with the man I loved. I could almost hear her saying to trust my heart, to be who I wanted to be, to not let anyone change who I was.
I hoped I was making her proud.
Nathan kissed me again, his lips tilting up to a smile against my skin. Hand traveling down my waist, he raised himself up just as he raised the shirt I wore. He grinned, lowering his lips down to my belly as he pressed the most tender kiss in the world.
“And I love you too, little one.”
Chapter 14
Evelyn
“Ugh,” I groaned as I brushed my teeth again. “This nausea is terrible.”
Nathan gave me a warm smile, hugging me from behind. He placed a kiss behind my ear and simply watched me.
He was always loving towards me, but since we’d found out the news, it was as if he couldn’t keep his hands off of me, not that I minded. This was nice.
It was three a.m., and he had to go to the gallery in a couple of hours. Despite insisting that I could handle the nausea myself, Nathan was by my side every time it would reappear.
We’re having a baby.
“I can call Jesse, tell her that I can’t be there or—”
“Stop.” I laughed. “I’m fine. You’re getting out early for my appointment already, aren’t you?” He nodded, sighing. “Then don’t worry. I’ll be fine. Now let’s go back to bed because you need to be up in four hours.”
