by Daya Daniels
I chuckled. “I can’t tell you.”
She glared at me. “What do you mean you can’t tell me, Evie?”
“I just can’t,” I said in an exasperated tone.
“Where is Luke then?”
I sighed. “It’s over, Ariana.”
She grimaced. “I’m sorry, Evie.”
She stared at me for a long moment. “I know that look, Evie. You’re in love with him.”
I looked away from her.
“It was just supposed to be fun, Evie, wasn’t it?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered. “I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do here now.”
“Martin fired you four months ago, but you can do something else,” she said.
I chuckled, knowing that there was hardly any employment in Rachel as it was.
“I need to figure out my life.”
“Mr. Vasquez died.”
“I know.”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “How?”
I quickly recovered from my slipup. “My mother told me.” I lied.
“A management company has been taking care of your place. It’s spic and span, Evie, with some new minor improvements. There’s also a surprise waiting for you outside.”
I had no reason to be in Rachel anymore.
Karl returned to the room and stood against the wall observing Ariana and me.
“Did Ariana tell you we’re engaged?” Karl asked casually.
“Why didn’t you tell me?!” I reached for Ariana’s hand, eyeing the beautiful princess cut solitaire on her finger. “It’s gorgeous, Ariana! Congratulations! Why didn’t you tell me?” I pulled her in for a fierce hug.
“It’s just...I don’t know, Evie. I just feel bad for what’s happened with Steven and now Luke. I just didn’t think it was the right time to tell you. I’m sorry.”
I waved a hand around. “Oh please, Ariana, don’t worry about that. I’m fine.”
She shifted uncomfortably where she stood, looking at her feet. “We are moving to Sedona.”
“Arizona?”
She nodded slowly. “I’m sorry, Evie, but Karl was offered a job there. It’s an opportunity of a lifetime, so we have to go.”
“I understand.”
“We will be back tomorrow to take you home,” she said softly.
Evie
I pushed the key in the lock and turned the key to my grandparents’ house. It was hot enough outside to cook an egg on the pavement. As soon as I stepped into the door, I noticed the air was cooler, since the house now appeared to have central air conditioning. All new windows had been installed.
Instantly, Kitten came towards me. I picked her up, pressing a kiss to her pink nose. Looking around, I took in that the kitchen had been outfitted with all new stainless steel appliances. Karl and Ariana walked in hesitantly behind me.
“Will you be okay, Evie? Do you need us to stay?”
I shook my head. “No, please, guys. You don’t have to stick around. Besides, I’m tired.”
“I will call you a little later, okay,” Ariana said.
“Yes, okay.”
I sat on the sofa, holding on to Kitten. A few minutes passed before I realized I was crying. I wiped my tears with my hands, feeling a burning rage building inside of me. I was soon to change my middle name from Allesandra to Rejection. I shot up from the sofa and stomped outside, feeling the angry sweat dripping down the line of my spine. I stood in the driveway where a new white Audi R8 coupe was now parked. My old car was gone.
I stood a few feet away from it, looking up at the sky, knowing that motherfucker was watching me.
“How could you do this?! Fuck you!” I shouted, feeling the hot tears soak my cheeks. “You don’t love me? You don’t want me! Then fuck you, Luke! You motherfucker!”
I didn’t care who heard me. I’d contained this for long enough.
“You motherfucker!” I shrieked. “I hate you!”
Ms. Hutton, that lived down the end of the road, approached and stood a few feet away from me in her hair rollers, robe, and slippers watching me. I was screaming at the clear sky under the blazing hot sun. I was sure I looked like an insane person. I wiped the tears from my face, heaving for breath, exhausted from my outburst.
“Fuck you,” I whispered over and over, collapsing to the ground in the hot sand.
I broke down sobbing.
I checked my bank balance before leaving the hospital, which had increased exponentially. It was now hovering at around five hundred and fifty thousand dollars, including the money I’d already saved. It was likely courtesy of Luke. I wasn’t sure if it was supposed to make me feel better but it fucking hadn’t. I was going to leave this godforsaken place, never to return.
“Are you okay, Evie?” Ms. Hutton asked, touching my shoulder softly.
“Yes, Ms. Hutton. I’m sorry.” I sniffled, wiping my face a few times.
“I don’t know what’s wrong, honey, but there are doctors for this sort of thing. If you’re thinking about hurting yourself, please don’t, Evie. I can call someone.”
Now I was suicidal?
“I’m sorry, Ms. Hutton. I didn’t mean to frighten you, really I am fine,” I said standing up from the ground, regaining my balance.
My clothes were covered in dust and sweat slicked my face from the hot Nevada sun. I took a deep breath and then spun around, giving Luke another fuck you by forcefully shoving my fist into the crook of my forearm and upper arm—the good old Italian way.
Luke
I rested against the back of the chair in the command center of the SS Everest. I took in Evie’s tearful face while she screamed and yelled at the sky. I was sure her emotional outburst was directed towards me. She then angrily told me in no words at all to go fuck myself. It was definitely for me.
I’d been watching Evie’s house in Rachel since returning her.
I took a deep breath, turning the volume up and then zoomed in closer to her face. Her beautiful brown eyes were rimmed red and filled with tears and her cheeks were flushed red. Usually, I liked that look on her. Only now it was anger that causing the shade, instead of the earth-shattering orgasms I gave her that did it.
There was nothing I could do. I wanted to hold her. It was likely that I would never ever again. I was the cause of her pain. Evie slumped down into the sand, sobbing. Her long wavy hair hung loosely around her shoulders and even in her upset state, she still looked captivating.
“I love you,” she murmured under her breath.
I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, unsure of what I was feeling but it might have been something akin to guilt, remorse.
“You watch her every chance you get, don’t you?” Archer pried looking over my shoulder.
I tapped on the screen which quickly disappeared and let out a short sigh.
“You’re in love with her, Luke.” He quickly corrected his mistake. “Sir.”
I didn’t respond. As of lately, I wasn’t sure what any of my feelings meant.
“And what do you know about love?” I said sarcastically.
“I know I love Eden,” he admitted.
I raised my eyebrows at his statement.
“I do,” he said again. “And I know you love her,” he said firmly pointing at the screen.
Letting out a mirthless laugh, I moved to stand up and paced the room.
Evie
I walked shakily back inside and slammed the door, nearly ringing it off the hinge. I headed for the bedroom and opened the door to my closet, pulling out two large suitcases and tossing them on the floor. Ripping open my dresser drawers, I grabbed clothes by the handful and shoved them into the suitcases frantically. When I was done, I zipped them up. The smaller one wouldn’t close, so I stomped on it violently, until I was able to get it closed.
A loud bang on the door caused me to lift my head for a moment. I ignored it and continued with my insanity, while the loud banging continued in the distance. Searching around the room, I grabbed most of my t
oiletries, shoving them into a duffel bag. The banging on my front door became louder, long and slow.
I rushed around the room, piling the bags on top of one another. I growled when the knocking continued, driving me even more batty than I already felt.
“What!” I screamed.
I continued rummaging around, pulling things out of drawers and slamming cabinets. Kitten gingerly edged over the doorway, watching me with wide eyes. Her head darted back and forth between the suitcase and the items I was tossing in it. The banging on the front door became so loud, I thought it would cave in.
“What!”
I stomped out of the bedroom into the hallway angrily, heading for the door.
“Who is it?!” I yelled, grabbing the door handle, yanking it open.
The handsome face in front of me stared at me, unblinking. His eyes raked over me, taking me in. I was breathless as I stood there, wondering if it was all real.
“Evie,” the deep voice said.
“Steven?”
Evie
“Evie?” Steven’s thick eyebrows were knotted, while his gaze scanned me from head to toe.
“What are you doing here?” I asked breathlessly.
“Your mother called me. I came to check on you. Are you alright?”
I belted out a laugh, filled with sarcasm. “Yes,” I hissed. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine,” he said firmly, pushing his way inside the door and then shutting it behind him.
I slumped against the wall, wiping the last remnants of tears from my face. Steven headed for the bathroom and then returned to where I was standing, wiping the tears from my cheeks with a soft tissue. Just the feelings of his hands on me was enough to send my frantic nerves in overdrive. I pulled the tissue from his hands, allowing us some space.
“You’ve been crying.”
“What do you care?” I sniffled out.
Steven was tall, a few inches shorter than Luke but he still cleared six feet. He worked out all the time and took care of himself. He had black hair that was cut short and now sported a dark trimmed beard. Steven glared at me with those blue eyes I always tried so hard not to get lost in. When we were together, I swore they used to hypnotize me.
He took a deep breath. “Evie, despite what you may think, I’ve always cared.”
“Well you have a funny way of showing it,” I said stomping off.
“You bought a new car? The house looks good with all the changes.”
I walked back to the bedroom and continued to pack, listening to Steven’s heavy footsteps follow behind me.
“Are you leaving?” he asked.
“Yesss,” I hissed continuing to throw things in my suitcase.
“Evie, talk to me.”
I stood, wiping the tears that seemed to keep falling from my eyes.
“Steven, I don’t know what you want. You dumped me a year ago, and then show up out of the blue because my mother called you? What do you want?”
He stood straight and ran a hand over his hair nervously. “I’ve missed you, Evie.”
I chuckled, twisting my face, looking him over. “I thought you were engaged.”
“I was.” He dropped his head.
“She dumped you?”
“No, I broke it off with her.”
“Well,” I said dragging a suitcase past him.
He snatched it out of my hands, taking it to the door. “Where are you going, Evie?”
“I don’t know,” I snapped. “But I’m getting out of here.”
I grabbed the other suitcase, which Steven took next.
“Evie, stop, please!”
I stood straight, adjusting my clothes.
“You’ve just gotten out of the hospital. Maybe you should rest up?”
“No, thanks. I need to leave.”
“Where have you been all these months?”
I shook my head at Steven’s arrogance. He’d been gone for so long and now he had the nerve to feel entitled to questions that he had no right to even ask.
“Does it matter?”
“No,” he said flatly. “I came back for you.”
“You know, Steven, you’re one arrogant son of a bitch. You dump me, disappear, don’t call but for some reason keep in contact with my mother. Come back and expect me to just be sitting here waiting for you?”
He took another deep breath. “I’m sorry, Evie, but that’s not really why I came back.”
“Then why did you come back, Steven?”
“I was offered a job in Las Vegas. It’s a top position as one of the lead architects for a large design firm, based in New York.
“After I broke it off with Porsche, I just felt like everything was pointing me in the direction of coming back to you.”
He stepped towards me. I raised a hand, halting his stride. “I know you’re angry at me, Evie, but I do still love you. I’ve never stopped loving you.”
I wiped my face and opened the front door, without responding to his statement. Steven grabbed my hand and slowly pulled me back inside, shutting the door behind us. I slumped against the wall, while Steven placed his hand over my shoulder, lingering only an inch away from my face, somewhat caging me in.
He dipped his head down, levelling his blue eyes with my brown ones. “Evie, I’ve missed you. I’m sorry about the way I left, I really am, but my head wasn’t on straight. Haven’t you missed me?”
I remained silent. I spent months pining over Steven, crying myself to sleep nights, wishing and hoping he would come back.
“Evie?” he asked again, skimming two of his warm fingers over my cheek. “I know you’ve missed me, Evie.”
“There’s someone else,” I said softly.
He backed away from me, while a scowl spread across his features. “Who?”
“There was someone else, I mean.”
His face relaxed before he moved to invade my space again. “We’ll get past it, Evie.” He moved closer, brushing his fingers over my lips. It amazed me that after all these months, the natural scent of his skin was still intoxicating to me. “I’ve missed these lips,” he said in a deep voice.
“Did you think about them when you were kissing Porsche?” I asked bitterly.
“Yes.”
I shut my eyes, completely unsure of when my life had become such a clusterfuck. There had to be something I was doing wrong. I missed Luke but I knew I would probably never see him again.
“I want to be honest with you, Evie, from now on,” he said wiping the tears from my face that were now flowing. I was so exhausted.
“It’s always just been you and me, Evie, since grade school, but I’ve never stopped loving you no matter how far I go. I’m sorry I left the way I did. I almost didn’t do it.
“I knew if I came back here to break up with you in person.” Steven sighed, while his eyes filled with unshed tears. “It was hard, Evie, and I didn’t mean to sleep with you again but I couldn’t help myself. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.”
I cried more, remembering that awful day.
“You quit your job?”
I shrugged. “More like got fired.”
He took a deep breath. “It doesn’t matter, Evie.”
“I have some plans, Steven.”
He arched an eyebrow in my direction. “You do?”
“Yes,” I said pushing past him.
Kitten’s big blue eyes watched us from the floor, while she licked her paws.
“You can’t just do this, Steven! You can’t just walk in and out of my life when you see fit!”
“So, what are you saying, Evie? You don’t want me here?”
I didn’t know what I was saying.
“You’re not in love with me anymore?” he asked with a pained look on his face.
I shook my head vigorously and headed down the hallway. Steven stomped behind me, grabbing my arm and pulling me to his hard chest.
“Did he tell you he loved you?”
“What?” I asked with w
ide eyes.
“This guy that you seem all bent over now. Did he tell you that he loved you, Evie?”
My eyes flitted around Steven’s handsome face, while I searched for words that didn’t exist. Steven patiently awaited my answer with a smirk on his face, that I imagined slapping off him.
“No,” I said softly.
He narrowed his blue eyes at me. “Well, Evie, there you go. I love you,” he declared, pointing a finger into the center of his chest.
“I’ve made some mistakes and I’m truly sorry for them. I don’t know what I was thinking. This place. You. Everything. I just needed to get away from it but the more I sank into my new life, the more I realized I didn’t want it anymore. I wanted you.” He closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them slowly to look at me. “I didn’t know how to talk to you, after being gone for so long. I knew you were angry and that you probably even hated me for what I did to you.
“I wasn’t sure if you ever wanted to speak to me again but when your mother called to tell me you were in the hospital, after disappearing on some vacation for months, I came anyways. I had to see you.”
I wiped my face again. I’d cried so much today, that my eyes were literally burning and the skin around my nose felt raw. Steven pulled me into his chest and sunk down to the floor, taking me with him.
“We can take it slow,” he whispered, wrapping me into a hug, while I cried into his shoulder.
“I was never enough for you, Steven.”
He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Evie. You are enough. You’ve always been enough. I-was-wrong.”
Luke
“What the fuck,” I muttered under my breath, glaring at the screen in front of me.
Evie disappeared inside her house. Then shortly after a silver Dodge Viper pulled into her driveway. A man stepped out and headed for the house to bang on the door. He stayed there for nearly a half an hour just banging.
Eventually, he disappeared inside and as far as I can tell he still hadn’t left. I gripped the arm rest of my chair, feeling my temperature rise, wanting to break something. It was the schmuck ex-boyfriend...swooping in to save the day. I clicked off the screen unable to watch anymore. I shot up from my chair as Commander Drago walked by.
