by L. B. Reyes
“Not anymore,” I interrupted, taking out the check I’d written for more than her part of the gallery was worth. “You will accept this amount for the gallery. I will buy it and hand it over to Nathan.”
“You can’t do that,” she hissed. “This isn’t fair—”
“You lost your chance, Jessica. I bet you weren’t even interested in art until you met Nathan.” She blushed, her ears turning red at how easy it was to read her. “You will accept this because Nathan deserves better than to have to give up his dream for your selfishness. If you’ve ever cared about him at all, you won’t hesitate to take this and hand over whatever paperwork you have for the gallery.”
Her eyes narrowed on me. “Or what?”
“My family did their fair share of illegal things,” I muttered. “I may have learned a thing or two from them.”
After a few seconds of Jessica thinking she could stare me down, she sighed. I left feeling the pain in my chest lessened, happy that at least Nathan would be able to keep the gallery.
I hoped it was the last battle we’d have to face…
But one can only hope for so much, right?
Chapter 40
Nathan
I ran a hand over my face as I listened to my mother’s advice. Talking to Evie would help, but Evie didn’t want to talk anymore. She was tired and frustrated and no longer seemed to give a damn about what anyone else thought.
She was strong, though.
Beneath the hurt, beneath the pain, I saw her growing braver and stronger by the second. It was like the woman I knew was coming back, but this time there was a wall she was building around her heart, one that would be very difficult to climb if she didn’t let me.
“Are you listening to me, Nathan?”
I sighed, nodding.
“You are not.” She pressed her lips together before letting out a breath and squeezing my hand with hers. “She just needs time, son.”
Shaking my head, I stood up. Time was all we’d had, and time had fucked us over too much. We spent time apart hoping to figure our lives out, and ever since we had gotten back together, things just kept falling apart.
“Do you know how difficult it is to not be able to do anything to help her?” I asked, feeling a lump form in my throat.
It felt as if I was losing her. Of course, it was only normal for her to change with everything happening, but she was disappearing before my eyes, and I could do nothing, not if she pushed me away.
My mom sat back, setting her hands on her lap. “What do you think you should do then?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. What could I do?
I couldn’t stop her from going anywhere. I also couldn’t force her to talk to me if she didn’t want to. All I could do was be there for her.
“What about the gallery? I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to work with Jessica anymore.”
I snorted. If she only knew the hell that Jessica had caused. My mom was very much capable of searching for her and telling her exactly what she thought about her. Not only did I lose a person who I’d stupidly considered a friend, but now I was also going to lose a business that had cost me every cent I had, all my efforts. It was the business that was supposed to keep Evelyn and me afloat now that we were forming a family.
Her grandmother left her money, but I didn’t want to touch it unless we absolutely had to.
“I’m leaving the gallery.” My mom’s eyes widened in shock, and then a scowl formed on her lips.
“I know I raised you to be smarter than that, Nathan Maxwell. Why in the hell would you do that?”
I frowned. “Clearly, Jessica needs to be away from us. All she does is cause trouble and every time I’m near her,” I laughed humorlessly, remembering what she’d done just a few hours before; I still found it unbelievable, “every fucking time I’m near her, she pulls some crazy shit, and I can’t do it anymore. It’s causing too many problems in my relationship.”
“Then she should be the one to step away, not you.”
“She’s not going to,” I said.
Disapproving, my mom stood up. “You are being incredibly stupid, Nathan. You shouldn’t let go of what you’ve been working for over someone else’s mistakes. Evelyn wouldn’t like that either.”
Where the hell was she?
The day had already turned cloudy, and it was a clear warning of the storm to come. Evie hadn’t bothered to send a single text message. She’d left without eating.
My mother, ever the intuitive, quickly picked up on my concern. “Have you heard from her?”
“No.”
“It looks like it’s about to storm. You tried getting her on the phone?”
“She won’t reply.” I knew Evie well enough. If she needed time alone, she wasn’t going to reply to any of my messages or pick up my calls.
Within fifteen minutes, it was already pouring outdoors. I groaned, calling her phone number though I knew she wasn’t going to answer.
“Calm down. She’s okay,” my mom comforted. “What you need to do is be able to keep it together while she gets here.”
“I am keeping it together.”
As the words left my lips, the door to the condo opened, and a soaked Evelyn walked in. She smiled sheepishly, waving when she saw us.
“Are you okay?” I asked, walking up to her.
“Yeah, it just started pouring, though.” She laughed, her eyes brighter than they’d been earlier.
“You should go shower, hon, or you’ll get sick,” my mom said, returning her smile.
“You’re okay?” I asked her, brushing her hair away from her face.
“Yeah, just had to go handle some stuff.” She took a stack of papers from beneath her shirt and smirked.
“What is this?” I asked. I immediately recognized the paperwork: ownership of the gallery. “Why do you have this?”
“You’re the sole owner of the gallery now.”
It was in that moment my mother decided to laugh. She muttered something about that being the reason she liked Evie before pretending like she hadn’t said anything.
“How did you get this?” I asked once again, feeling concerned she’d seen Jessica by herself.
Evie shrugged, moving away from my touch. “I told you I could handle myself. I’m going to shower. It’s nice to see you, Deb.”
“Same, dear. I’ll probably be gone by the time you’re done, so have a good evening.”
Evie excused herself, leaving me once again shocked. What exactly had she done?
My mom found the situation amusing, but I couldn’t find anything humorous about it. I held the paperwork up, seeing where Jessica signed and the small envelope on top of it.
“You be careful with whatever that note says,” my mom advised from behind me.
Clearing my throat, I nodded, saying goodbye to her.
As soon as she left, I scanned through the documents, still unsure about what to do or how the fuck Evie had managed to pull something like this off.
I took a deep breath and walked toward the bedroom, opening the envelope on top. Hesitantly, I began reading what it said.
I’m very sorry for the trouble I’ve caused. You were always there for me, and I fucked it up. Maybe one day we’ll be able to be friends, but for now, Evie is right…you deserve to keep the gallery. Take care.
All the best,
Jesse
There was a check behind the note, one Evie had written. I recognized her handwriting immediately.
Evie did something I hadn’t even dared thinking of doing and put herself at risk in the process. The way Jessica was acting wasn’t normal, and I didn’t know if she was capable of hurting Evelyn. I set down the paperwork on the dresser and shoved the check in my pocket just as the water in the shower shut off.
She came out briefly afterwards with a bathrobe wrapped around her body and began to dry her hair with a towel. She was quiet, not saying a word even as she walked towards the dresser, her gaze falling on the note t
hat Jessica had put in the envelope.
“You didn’t tell me that you were going to try to buy Jessica’s part of the gallery.”
“If I would have told you, you wouldn’t have let me.” She shrugged. “Had to do what I had to do.”
I stood up, placing the check in front of her. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise, not expecting to see me with the check in my hands.
“I guess she has at least some sense of dignity.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
Evie rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry if the woman that decided to be naked in front of you had some sense of last-minute self-respect, Nathan. Why don’t you give her the check yourself, so she can give her special thank you?”
“This isn’t about that, Evelyn.”
“It is.” Her face contorted in anger, Evie took the check and threw it on the floor. “I don’t give a damn if she keeps the money, if she stays or she goes, Nathan. She’s done enough to hurt us, and I for one will not allow it. I’m done letting people step all over me like I’m a doormat, and that includes you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that if you want to go and take care of her, you can do just that,” Evie seethed.
I shook my head. “Christ, Evie. You don’t understand,” I said, taking a deep breath. “You were gone all day, and I was worried.” She bit her lip, gaze downcast as she paid close attention to what I said. “I understand that it’s not your fault she didn’t take the money, but Jesse hasn’t been acting like herself, and if she would have done something…you’re my future wife. I need you to be okay.”
Her eyes fluttered closed when my hand touched the softness of her skin, her breath hitching.
“You are not a doormat,” I murmured, “and I will never treat you as such. I respect your decisions, but it doesn’t mean I’ll always agree, just like you won’t agree with mine.”
She nodded. “I did something else you won’t agree with that we might as well get out of the way now too.”
I chuckled, thinking she was going to say something meaningless. “What else did you do, Evie?”
“I’ve made my appointment to go see Hannah.”
Shit. Tentatively, I asked, “When is it?”
“Tomorrow afternoon. My flight leaves early in the morning.”
Chapter 41
Evelyn
I’d never been so nervous in my life. Everything happened in slow motion, as if it was movie playing, someone else’s life.
Except it was mine.
Nathan had been less than happy to know that I booked a flight to Pennsylvania by myself, horrified by the idea of me seeing Hannah on my own. He couldn’t leave New York due to the situation with Derek, and I couldn’t wait any longer.
We had yet another argument early in the morning, but my mind was set. I was ready to hear the truth no matter what it was.
That’s what I kept telling myself anyway.
Truthfully, I wasn’t sure how I would hold up after I listened to whatever Hannah had to say. I was scared.
Part of me wanted to remain in the dark, avoid learning whatever hidden secrets my family had. I still guarded the little acts of kindness my parents had with me, still cherished the few and in between moments in which we vaguely resembled a family.
All my wishes, all my concerns, drifted away in an instant when from a distance I saw Hannah accompanied by an officer, her hands cuffed and restricting her movement.
She smiled.
She’d placed her hair up in a ponytail, and though other women inmates had improvised make-up on, to my surprise, Hannah’s face was free of it. Not only that, she seemed happy.
The orange jumpsuit was the brightest color I’d ever seen her wear, and though before she would have complained that it was tacky, she looked pretty.
She waved at me as she approached, and I stood, feeling much more nervous than I ever had in my life. Her smile faltered when her gaze lowered, falling on my belly. It wasn’t extremely noticeable, but it was there, and she saw it.
“I see you’re not alone,” were her first words directed to me.
I swallowed. “I guess you could say that.”
Hannah’s eyes studied me for a moment, and I could have sworn she looked like she wanted to hug me. I stopped any further movement by taking a seat once again, and she followed afterwards, clasping her hands together over the table.
“How far along are you?” Hannah asked, a small smile resting on her face. This person was different, a stranger. I didn’t know how to react to her or what to say.
But I remembered I had a purpose for visiting, not to make up with her. I wanted answers. I would consider answering her questions if she answered mine. Otherwise I had no reason to tell her anything about myself, not when she’d never cared before.
“I don’t think I’m here to discuss anything about me or my life while you’ve been locked up for your shitty choices,” I replied firmly. I would not allow her to see how vulnerable I felt.
Hannah raised an eyebrow and then grinned, one full of mischief and…pride? “It’s good to see that you still call people out on their shit, but you’re wrong.”
“How so?” My hands were sweaty, and my heart pounded, and God, I was so nauseous.
“Everything I’m going to tell you actually revolves around you.”
I cleared my throat, trying to remain levelheaded. “You said we were going to talk about Derek—”
“We are,” Hannah interrupted, her forehead creasing at the mention of his name. Her gaze fleeted from my own briefly with regret. “And I’m going to tell you all I know even though I’m not sure how much of a good idea it is considering your state.”
I scoffed. “You’ve never cared before. Why should you now?”
She reached out across the table, placing her hand over my own. I flinched, removing my hand away from hers. The contact was so foreign, it stung.
Hannah sighed, hesitating as she thought of what to say. I wanted to leave. If she wasn’t sure whether to tell me the truth, then there was no point in being there.
“I met Derek a while ago, when you were in Florida,” Hannah said.
She finally started. I nodded, letting her know she could continue.
“There was always something familiar about him, something I couldn’t place. I just didn’t know what it was.” Hannah smiled, the type of smile that was so odd coming from her I could hardly recognize her. “We met to discuss a business deal, and as always, Mom was with me. It was a good deal, one of the best we’d gotten, but as soon as Mom saw him, she refused.”
I furrowed my brows. “Why?”
“I’ll get there,” she assured. “Anyways, life went on for a few weeks after that. I didn’t hear or know about him for a while. By then, things with Nathan and me had gone from bad to worse. We always argued, hardly spoke to each other. He’d go out for drinks and whatnot, and I’d go out with my friends. It’s like we’d never even got married.” Hannah looked down at her hands, looking for courage to continue. “I went to a club one night…alone.”
“You…at a club?” I asked, bewildered. I never would have imagined Hannah in such a place.
“Crazy, I know.” She shrugged. “For whatever reason, Derek was there. I had nothing against the guy, so we started talking about how the business deal hadn’t gone through. The more I spoke to him, the more I became convinced it’d been a mistake, so I went against Mom’s wishes and made it anyways.”
“You did?”
Her eyes shone with pride, as if that one action against my mom was something she never thought she’d be able to do.
“I did. It felt good.” Hannah bit her lip nervously. “Mom wasn’t always that way, Evie…you have to know that. I’m not making excuses for her behavior or the way she was, but I am saying she wasn’t always so frivolous.”
I needed to know. “Why did she change?”
“I’ll get to that in a bit. First y
ou need to know more about Derek.”
I opened my mouth to speak, ask her why it was so important, but she stopped me, raising her hand slightly. “There’s a reason. Trust me.”
Nodding, I let her know I was ready to listen to more. I’d never met another side to my mom that wasn’t her cold exterior. Very rarely had she shown any type of love towards anyone. Her attention was always on Hannah.
“Time went by, and I saw Derek often, so much that Nathan actually befriended him—”
My eyes widened in shock. “Nathan what?”
“Nathan and Derek became friends,” Hannah stated patiently.
“Nathan hates him.”
“I know. There’s a reason for that too.” Hannah placed a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she considered what to say. “We all became pretty close with him…”
“Derek doesn’t like you,” I interrupted again, confused as to how that friendship had turned into rivalry. Things weren’t adding up, and with every word Hannah spoke, I became more confused. “He’s talked ill of you every time you’ve come up in our conversations.”
Pained, Hannah looked away. “I’ve done a lot of bad things in my life, Evie…things I shouldn’t have done, but it’s too late to fix all of it now. All I can do is be truthful.”
Despite her sincerity, I found it hard to believe her. Nothing guaranteed she was telling the truth, and the pain Hannah had caused before reappeared as she spoke. I didn’t hold resentment against her, but forgetting was impossible.
“I carried on the business with Derek, helping him out in the marketing of his restaurant chain,” she began, her voice a whisper, as if the memory was something she rarely voiced but was still fond of it. “Nathan knew about it and kept the secret from my mom, and most of the time when Derek would visit, it would be at the house. It was nice, you know? Nathan and I almost seemed to be friends, and we actually had a civilized relationship while Derek was around.”
I shook my head. “I still don’t understand.”
“Nathan and I got along. We were friendly, not in a sexual way or anything, but we could talk without arguing. And Derek…well, Derek was our friend. Until he wasn’t.” For the first time, I saw true pain in her expression. “One night, Derek and I met at a bar. Nathan cancelled at the last minute, so we opted to stay out and eat. Everything was going fine. I felt happy, Evelyn. Relaxed. For the first time in my life, I felt like I had someone to confide in, someone who didn’t have ulterior motives to be with me.”
