by Thomas, C. M
“Sorry. But something is wrong with my twin.” I looked over at Amy and her eyes finally met mine. Tears started running down her cheeks. My mom got up and walked over to her.
“What’s wrong, honey?” Mom asked. Amy looked over at me and said the words I never thought I would hear.
“She is back,” Amy sobbed.
“Who?” Caleb asked, but I already knew who.
“Evie,” I stated. Zane looked over at me. I got up from the chair and walked outside. I needed to see her; I needed to go over there. I started running. I heard Zane yell after me, but I just kept running until I stood in her parents’ yard. She was in there. Amy saw her. Did she talk to her?
I walked around the house to the front door. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
“Just a minute,” she yelled. It was really her. That voice. It was her. She was back. When she opened the door, she looked at me completely shocked. I heard her gasp the moment she saw me.
“You’re back?” I couldn’t talk, but I got the words out somehow. My heart was racing, and my hands were all sweaty.
I looked at the girl I’d always loved. Except she was not a girl anymore. She was a woman. She had more curves than before. She was so gorgeous.
I looked into her eyes and saw the tears coming. Her eyes were mesmerizing. They had deep swirls of different shades of brown with small hints of what could best be described as gold. She still had her long, curly, light-brown hair. I always loved her hair. It fell so naturally around her face and down her shoulders. And it matched her honey-colored skin perfectly. Right now, it was up in a messy bun, but still she was just as beautiful as she was three years ago.
“I am,” was all she said.
“We need to talk.”
“I know. But not tonight, okay?” She looked almost in pain. Just when I was about to ask why, I heard a child cry.
“Mommy, Mommy.” I looked up at her. She has a child?
“I need to go. We will talk soon.” She closed the door before I got a chance to say anything. I stood there looking at the closed door. What just happened? She has a kid?! I didn’t know how long I stood there, but after some time I heard a car come into the driveway. I turned around and saw Zane in the car. I walked over to him and got inside the car. He looked at me before he started driving home.
“You okay?” Zane asked.
“I don’t know. She has a kid.” I closed my eyes and let out a deep breath.
“A kid. What the hell? Do you think that’s why she left?” he asked. All the same questions I wanted to ask her, but she closed the door in my face before I got the chance.
“I don’t know. She wouldn’t talk to me. Said we would talk soon.”
“Bullshit. She has to give you something. Amy isn’t talking either.” A few minutes later we were back at the ranch.
“Can you just drive to my house? I really need to be alone right now.”
“Sure, but just so you know, Amy is there waiting for you.”
“I knew she would be. I just hope she will talk to me.” I got out of the car. “Thanks for getting me.”
“No problem. Call if you need anything. I think Bear is in there too.” He smiled. I closed the door and walked into my house. Bear came running to me. I squatted down and talked to him. I saw over his head that Amy was sitting on one of the big chairs in front of the fireplace.
“You saw her?” she asked, without looking at me. I walked over and sat on the chair next to her. Bear was lying just in front of us.
“I did. She didn’t want to talk to me.”
“Me either. I saw her yesterday; she wouldn’t tell me anything.” She cried again.
“She has a child,” I said, looking at Amy.
“You saw her?” She looked up at me, surprised.
“It’s a girl?” Thinking back at the voice I heard earlier, it was a girl.
“Yes, it is.”
“You know who her father is? Is he here with them?” I tried not to ask what I really wanted to ask. Is she mine?
“I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me.”
“I need to get some sleep. I need answers, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. We will get the answers, okay? She owes us that.”
“Not me, she owes you that. You were her boyfriend.”
“I know. But you were her best friend. Are you sleeping here tonight?”
“Is that okay?”
“Of course. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Good night.” I got up and gave her a kiss on the forehead before I walked down the hall.
“Good night,” I heard her say. I knew that in the morning she would properly be sleeping on the chair.
I walked inside my bedroom and closed the door. Bear walked over beside the bed and lay on his blanket. Whenever he was sleeping in my house, this was where he slept.
I got on the bed and tried to sleep, which wasn’t easy. My body was trembling, and the adrenaline was running through my body. My emotions were all over the place, and the questions that were forming in my head would not end.
She’s back. Is the child mine? Why did she leave? Can I finally get the closure I need?
One thing I did know was that seeing her tonight just reminded me of how much I still loved her. She would always be the love of my life, no matter what.
Chapter 3:
Evie
“Shit.” I closed the door and ran into Alana’s room. “Shhh. Baby girl. You need to sleep.” I gave her her dolly and hoped that she would sleep again soon. Five minutes later, she was sleeping peacefully. “Your dad was just here, baby girl,” I whispered before I walked out of her room.
I walked into my old room. I couldn’t sleep in the master bedroom, not as long as my parents’ bed was still there. I lay down on the bed and closed my eyes. My body was restless and the emotions running through my body were conflicted. I was happy that Alana would get the chance to finally meet her dad. But at the same time, I feared that he wouldn’t let me explain. He looked so angry and sad at the same time when I opened the door tonight. My thoughts were also all over the place.
He was just here. He knows I have a kid. He needs to know that she is our daughter. Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. I will tell him. I owe him that.
Looking into his eyes tonight and seeing all the pain in them broke my heart. His eyes were like the color of an emerald, and whenever the light hit them, the color changed and sparkled. His hair was still the same black color, short and messy. He looked older, but even more gorgeous than the last time I saw him. His body was more trimmed, and he had definitely been hitting the gym more than he used to.
I just wanted to hug him and tell him everything. But I needed time. I needed to figure out what to tell him. It wouldn’t be easy. There was so much pain stored inside me from the last three years. Yes, I was so happy I had Alana. I wouldn’t trade her for anything. But the way my parents treated me, it was terrible. They were always strict, but nothing like this.
They moved me out of the house in the middle of the night. Kind of like if they were hiding me from the police or something. They were hiding me, but from their friends. I was an embarrassment to them. I’d broken the rule: no sex before marriage. To know that your parents thought so little of you and cared so little was awful. I thought my mom wanted me to be home, but she didn’t fight for me. She just gave up, and let my dad decide everything. I didn’t think I would ever forgive them for that.
The next morning, I woke up early, took a shower, and started cooking breakfast. Normally, Alana was up before seven, but today she was still sleeping at nine thirty in the morning. There was not so much noise here as there was at Crossroads. Maybe she needed a good night’s sleep.
I thought the next couple of days were going to be rough for her. At some point, she was going to meet Liam, if he wanted to meet her. Of course he would. The boy I
loved and still loved would never abandon his own flesh and blood.
Alana was the priority. I needed her to know her father, and her uncles, aunts, and grandparents. I didn’t have any family left; my parents were the last ones. Liam’s family would be the only family she got. That kind of made me sad, but at the same time, I didn’t want her to go through what I did as a child.
The strict childhood home. Don’t do that. Sit at the table like an adult. No television. Stay away from that boy, don’t play with that girl. They are from the wrong families. They don’t have the values we do. You need to marry a man who can support you, so you don’t have to work. There is no reason for you to learn this, you don’t need it in the future, your husband will do that for you. And so on.
I understood the importance in educating your kid and teaching them right from wrong. But there had to be some freedom. And if they were friends with the stripper’s daughter or the mayors’ son, that really didn’t matter to me. As long as Alana was safe, happy, and healthy, then she could have the friends she wanted. Get the education she wanted. And marry the person she wanted. Her happiness was my number-one priority.
I walked into her room and saw that she was already awake. She was sitting on the bed and talking to her dolly. She loved that doll so much. It was one of the few toys she got from my parents. Actually, from my mom.
“Good morning, baby girl. You ready to get some breakfast?” I reached down and picked her up.
She gave me a big kiss on the mouth and nodded. I walked to the kitchen and sat her on her chair. We ate breakfast and then she got a bath. An hour later, I was trying to unpack the rest of our stuff. Alana was playing in my room.
I looked into my parents’ master bedroom and decided that one of these days I would get someone to come pick all the stuff up, and then I would buy a new bed so I could sleep in there instead of my old room. Alana was sleeping in my dad’s office. Not the ideal situation, but right now it was the best. I still didn’t know if I wanted us to stay here in this house. We would stay in Hoover Ridge, that I knew. I didn’t want Alana to be away from her family and her father anymore.
I heard a knock on the door and expected it to be Liam. When I opened the door, I was surprised to see Amy standing outside.
“Hey, can I come in?” she asked.
“Of course. I thought for sure it was your brother.” I opened the door more so she could walk in. We walked into my old room; I needed to keep an eye on Alana.
“He is at a band meeting. I thought I would come over. I’m not going to ask questions, but I wanted to ask if the two of you wanted to go down to the playground?” She looked at me, then at Alana.
“I don’t know, Amy. I really don’t want to meet anyone right now,” I admitted. I really didn’t want to answer the questions from other people in town when they saw I was back.
“Come on, Evie. You can’t hide in this house. Please?” She squatted down to Alana and asked her, “Do you want to go to the playground?”
“Mommy, can me go?” Alana almost jumped up from the spot where she was sitting. “Please, Mommy.”
“Okay, baby girl. You want dolly with you?” She nodded and I took her dolly and walked out of the room. “I need to get her stroller from the car, will you keep an eye on her?” I asked Amy.
“Sure. You want me to put her shoes on?”
“Sure, just the pink ones.” I walked out of the house and got her stroller out of the car. Five minutes later, we were ready to go.
When we got down to the playground, Amy and I sat down on the grass and Alana ran to the slide.
“Careful, baby girl. You want me to hold dolly?”
“Yay.” Alana ran over to us and gave me her dolly before she ran over to the slide again.
“She is a sweetheart,” Amy said with a big smile on her face.
“That she is. But also, kind of a diva sometimes.” I laughed.
“She must get that from her mom.” Amy laughed with me.
“You’re right about that. But that is about the only thing she got from me.” I looked at my daughter. The love I felt for her almost hurt sometimes. I just loved her so much, and I couldn’t imagine a life without her.
“She does look a lot like him, you know?”
“Who?” I tried to act stupid. I knew who she was talking about.
“Never mind, I know you won’t tell me anything. Yet.” She lay back on the grass. We talked for the next hour, before Alana came running over to us.
“Me are thirsty.” She sat down in front of me.
“You want a juice?” I asked her.
“Yes, please.” She reached her hand out, ready to take the juice I got from my backpack.
“Don’t drink too fast.” She just nodded and took the juice and drank. Alana crawled onto my lap. I held my arms around her and hugged her tightly.
“You want to go home and sleep?” She nodded. “I guess we’re done playing for today,” I said to Amy.
“Looks like it. Here, let me take her so you can get up.” Amy reached out to pick up Alana from my lap. “Come here, pretty girl.” I was just about to say that she didn’t like other people holding her, but then Alana held her arms up so Amy could get her. Huh, that was new.
“Weird. Normally she’ll only let me hold her.”
“Guess she likes me.” Amy winked at me.
“Guess so.” We walked home, and when we got home, Alana was sleeping in her stroller. I drove the stroller onto the back porch and let her sleep there. Amy and I walked into the kitchen to get something to drink. Before I knew it, it was dinnertime, and Amy walked home. It was like we just fell back into our old friendship. I missed her so much. I knew she wanted some answers, and she would get them. But first I needed to talk to Liam. I’d gotten his number from Amy, so I sent him a text. No need to drag this out.
Me: Hi, do you have time to come over tonight? I owe you an explanation. - Evie
I made dinner for Alana and me, and just when we were about to eat, I got a text.
Liam: What time?
Me: An hour, is that okay?
Liam: Fine.
Okay, he was mad. Not that I blamed him. He didn’t know what happened and why I left. For all he knew, I just left him, not caring about him at all. That was not the case, but how could he know that?
After Alana and I ate, I got her ready for bed and hoped to God that she would sleep tonight, so I could talk to Liam and hopefully explain everything.
Chapter 4:
Liam
“Where are you going?” I looked over my shoulder and saw Amy walk over to me.
“Evie’s.” I opened my car door and got in.
“Hey, hold on.” She came over to me. “Go easy on her, okay?”
“Why? She left. I need to know why. And I need to know if that girl is mine.”
“I know. But just hear her out.”
“You know something, don’t you? Mom said you were gone most of the day today.”
“I don’t know more than you. I was gone most of the day, yes. But she didn’t want to talk about you or why she left. And no, she didn’t want to talk about her daughter, either. But I just have a feeling that something happened.” She gave my hand a squeeze before she walked away from the car.
“I will hear her out, okay? But I need answers.” I closed the car door and drove over to Evie’s house.
When I parked the car in the driveway, I looked at the house. So many times had I waited for her to sneak out of that house. I couldn’t count the times we had snuck around the house so her parents didn’t see us together. To say they hated me was putting it mildly. For some reason, I wasn’t good enough for her. Even though my dad was one of the richest people in town, not that money mattered. But I knew it did for her parents. But the fact that I wasn’t religious like her or mostly like her parents, that was the main rea
son. I also supposed they saw me and my brothers as bad boys. But she was friends with Amy, that wasn’t a problem for her parents. I didn’t understand that. When I had kids, I just wanted them happy. No matter who they loved.
Shaking my head, I got out of the car and walked over to the door. Just when I was about to knock, the door opened.
“Hi, I didn’t want the knock to wake up Alana,” Evie said, and motioned for me to walk inside. “Do you want something to drink? Water, a soda or beer?” She smiled.
“Water would be good.” She acted like nothing happened. But I knew her. She was nervous. Just like me. I could see her hand trembling when she reached out to open the fridge. I walked after her into the kitchen. “Need help?”
“No, that’s fine. Just go into the living room. I will be there in a second.” I did as she said and walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. A few moments later, she walked in with two bottles of water. She handed one to me.
“Thank you.” I smiled. She sat down on the other end of the couch.
“I know I owe you an explanation. And I will tell you everything, okay?”
“Okay, but first I need to know. Is that girl mine?” I looked over at her. I could see the tears in her eyes. And I just knew, deep inside my heart I knew. She didn’t have to tell me. “She is, isn’t she?”
“Yes, Alana is yours.” She took a deep breath and looked up at me.
“Dammit, Evie! Why the hell didn’t you tell me?” I yelled at her and shook my head. I had a daughter. How could she keep this from me? I missed almost what, three years of her life? I didn’t get why she would keep this from me, I really thought she loved me enough to know that I would never abandon her or our child. I have a daughter. It’s so unreal. I’m a father.
