by Karla Luna
At the end of the very last sentence, I ended up saying ‘fucking dammit.’ But being the good little Zavier he was, he didn’t say anything like that. Well, that finally put a stop to our rambling.
“Look, we need to fix this,” Zavier said as he looked around the hall while running his hands through his hair in frustration.
“Yeah, no shit,” I replied, feeling a bit guilty right afterwards for snapping at him when it wasn’t even his fault.
He closed his eyes for a bit, and stopped pacing to look at me. “Please don’t swear. It just makes me feel worse.”
I nodded, only after hearing his sweet tone.
“Do you think we should act distant at school so that the rumors will go away? Or I can, you know, beat them all up with this butter sock I keep in my…”
“No, Evelyn,” he cut me off as he put his hands on my shoulders and stared deeply into my eyes. I knew it also made him nervous, his cheeks were red, but he simply let it go. “No one’s beating anyone up. You can’t just go around beating people up for no particular reason, especially with a... sock full of butter?! An idea that you got from one show, no less!”
“Oh, it’s really no problem at all. I did that at this bank once.” He stared at me with wide eyes and I laughed. “I’m joking…” He sighed in relief. “Kind of…” That’s when he just glared at me, as if telling me to stay serious in a situation like this. I cleared my throat right then. “Right, sorry.”
“I guess we should keep our distance from each other, if that’s okay with you,” he said, as his sad little eyes looked at me, making me squirm, wanting to take him into my arms.
“Oh, well, all right. But hey, we’ll still talk at home, right?”
He seemed to hesitate before answering, then he put on a smile. “Sure. Of course. ”
But somehow, I knew that his smile was fake and his answer was forced.
14: His Distance
•Evelyn•
It was now Tuesday afternoon, and Zavier had been ignoring me all day for some reason. I mean, seriously, what was up with him? My suggestion was to just be distant at school. But at home, too? I knew there was something behind that ‘sure’ of his, along with that fake smile.
He didn’t want me around. He never liked me. All of it was just pretend, wasn’t it? Just thinking about it made me mad enough to want to punch the nearest wall. But honestly, I couldn’t bring myself to believe any of that stuff. He was sweet, and above all, he was extremely caring. I knew he wouldn’t do something like that. I guess I was just pulling him away from his studies. And I guess I understood that.
Knowing he wasn’t gonna talk to me, and since I had just finished my second therapy session with Stormy about an hour ago, I grabbed my bike and left for downtown, hoping that there would be some club I could sneak into. I really needed a drink or two and I needed to loosen up.
I promised myself not to get too drunk so that Stormy wouldn’t flip out on me, and so that Zavier wouldn’t have to lie to save me from trouble again.
Finding a club nearby wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. The one I found was called The Delgado. I parked my Ducati at the parking lot and started my way in. If you were 17 and above, they’d let you right in, but you’d have to be 21, and have an ID that said so, to be able to drink. Hopefully, they wouldn’t ask to see my ID.
Waltzing right in, I saw all the flickering lights and smirked at some of the boys gawking at me, as I swayed my hips. The girls either glared at me, or glared at their dates and slapped them in the face to get them back to reality instead of dreamland – where they were probably imagining doing very naughty things to me.
I only laughed and made my way toward the bar, sitting down at an empty stool. Now, I’d just wait here to see if any attractive guy would come and offer me a…
“May I offer you a drink?”
My smirk fell and was immediately replaced by a disgusted scowl once I heard the deep, husky voice.
Seriously, he just had to be here? Of all people? And of all places?
I huffed. Well, he was a bad boy after all, or so I kept telling myself. What bad boy wouldn’t go out to a club on a school night? Clearly, we were a lot alike, except that I hated his guts and he couldn’t seem to leave me alone.
I grimaced when he came to stand way too close in front of me. He rested his forearm on the counter while smirking at me, his hazel eyes glinting under the colorful dim lights. “Well, well, what do we have here?”
“We have a vaguely annoyed girl who just wants to be left alone, unless someone wants their teeth knocked out, and their baby-maker cut off,” I simply said, as I rolled my eyes and turned in my seat to face the bar.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Frankly, I wouldn’t like either of those, especially the second one,” he said to me. “But come on, no need to be so violent. I am offering you a drink, after all.”
Just then, a petite girl – who looked like a 20-year-old – came and frowned at me. “ID?” she asked, making me grunt deep in my throat.
That’s when I noticed Davne taking his wallet out and placing fifty bucks on the counter. He leaned over it to possibly get a better look at the bartender.
“Oh, she’s with me. May I have a few vodka shots?” he asked, winking at her as she flushed and tried to flirtatiously bat her eyelashes. I had to stop myself from laughing at how bad it looked on her. She was trying too hard – at least, I knew that.
“Of course, Davne,” she responded, and then got to work right away.
How Davne knew the people at the bar well enough to not need an ID, I didn’t know. But damn, did he save me from an embarrassing situation, or what?! I usually had a fake ID that Ian made for me, but Mr. Dickhead (if you can still remember, he’s the supervisor that brought me here, in the first place) took all of those things from me, so I obviously had nothing.
I wondered though, how the hell did Davne get so much money? I took a quick peek at his wallet and he had a ton of money, along with several credit cards.
Yup, he was definitely robbing. Hopefully he’d get caught, get sent back to prison, and finally leave me be. He didn’t leave Zavier alone before he spent time in juvie – so was he now not leaving me alone, too?
“So why are you here all alone?” he asked. Then, he looked around and leaned in closer to me. I gave him the evil eye, hoping he’d get the gist and get away from me soon before I… “You do know you need an ID to have some real fun. Right?” He winked and smirked, getting me irritated at how that always seemed to be his usual face. Though it might’ve looked extremely attractive, I wasn’t giving into it at all.
“Why are you here? You do know that all the sluts actually willing to screw you…” I put emphasis on the last word as I gave him an uninterested once-over, and pointed to where all the crazy bitches were dancing at, “… are over there. Right?”
He only grinned from ear to ear, nodding at my comeback. “Wow, you’re really something.”
That’s when the bartender finally gave us about a dozen vodka shots while slipping a napkin to Davne. He gave her a generous smile, which was the first I’ve seen him wear, and took the napkin. Once she was gone, he just ripped it in half, threw it away, and took a shot.
“Why rip the paper up? I’m sure she’d like a quickie sometime,” I teased. He just looked up at me through his thick eyelashes, and then almost immediately smirked.
“Well, I’m not interested. Crazy, huh? Since most guys like me seem to be very interested in sex. But frankly, I’m interested in someone else.” My smile slowly started to fade away when I noticed his intense gaze on me. Then, I deeply sighed and took a look around the crowded club. “Here.” Looking back up at Davne, I saw him holding up a glass of vodka at me. “Let all your worries float away.”
I thought about it a little bit. But then I shrugged, and chugged down the glass in one swift movement.
Fuck it. Fuck everything.
Let’s be free. Let’s leave all the worries in the world behind and ju
st have fun.
“It doesn’t seem like alcohol really affects you,” Davne stated as he watched me looking out at the crazy dancers in the club. I felt bubbly and if I stood up, I knew I’d probably start falling. But it never affected my brain. I have a pretty high tolerance for alcohol.
“It doesn’t. I do get loopy and stuff, but I don’t inadvertently tell the truth.” I smirked, as I chugged another one down. “I don’t need alcohol for that. Sober or not, I am brutally honest so…” I chuckled and winked at him, as he nodded approvingly.
He looked around the bar, and caught the eyes of a few girls whispering and giggling about him. A lot of them were glaring at me and a few even came and asked him to dance, but he gently refused and told them he was with someone else. I wanted to ask who he was with, but when he caught my eye, there was no mistaking that he was actually talking about me.
That fucker...
“Maybe I should take you home though,” he suddenly said to me. “Wouldn’t want you to be one of those assholes who are drunk when they drive and end up killing someone.” He held his hands up in defense. “I may be ‘bad’ or whatever you want to call me, but I loathe killer drunk drivers.”
I slowly nodded. “Oh, I’ve driven drunk before. Bad idea, but fortunately everything turned out okay. I don’t recommend it, though.” I said as I remembered some bad experience. I would never be willing to take that risk ever again.
“Good. So, you’re willing to take my offer then?”
I playfully rolled my eyes and actually ended up smiling as I turned to look at him. Turns out, our faces got closer as we both stared down at each other’s lips. I knew he did it intentionally, but I accidentally found myself looking down at those pink lips of his as well. And I couldn’t help but compare them to Zavier’s. My teddy bear…
“I drove my motorcycle here,” I innocently stated.
“Sexy. But still, maybe I should take you home. I’d like for you to not die on me. They might end up blaming me, too.” He chuckled. “Plus, I didn’t drink much, so we’ll be okay.”
“And why didn’t you drink much?” I curiously asked as he started to lean in closer to me. I found myself leaning in closer too, and I knew that soon, our lips would be touching. Did I really want to make out with this guy though? The guy who made Zavier’s life hell and got sent to prison for 6 years?
Well, if you saw how sexy he looked, you’d also find yourself being pulled right to him.
“Because…” He intensely looked at me when he paused, bringing a hand up to touch my cheek, making me sigh and bite my lip at the feel of his smooth hand. “I really wanted to be with you, to take you home…”
I slowly closed my eyes, and just when I felt his lips brushing mine, I heard a sweet, gentle – but above all, hurt – voice that made my heart drop completely.
“E-Evelyn?”
•Zavier•
“All right, all right, just calm down…”
Was this guy serious right now!?
“Calm down? I can’t calm down, Jesse!” I snapped, pacing back and forth in my room. I almost ended up tripping over one of my things, but I ignored it and quickly regained my balance. “You saw the last time she ran off on me. She took cocaine, Jess,” I paused to put the phone directly in front of my mouth, to make sure he clearly heard me at the other end of the line, “Cocaine, all right?! And frankly, that really wasn’t a good experience.” I shivered at the memory of us being together when she was high.
“Okay, okay, I get it. But she’s done these things before, right?” If only he understood. I didn’t even want to know what he would’ve done in a situation like this. What if he was the one with a psychologist mother? What if he was the one partly in charge of a bad, delinquent girl like Evelyn?
“Jesse, just please…” I said more calmly. “Please tell me you’re on your way. I really need to go find her.” The images of what would happen to her if we let her be were the most terrible images I’ve ever conjured in my head. She’d better not be in jail or…
Oh, we really had to find her!
“Are you sure she’s at The Delgado?” Jesse asked, tuning me out of my nightmarish world, for a second.
“Of course, that’s the closest club around here. If she’s not there, then we’re in deep trouble. Well, she’s in deep trouble, but what am I going to tell my mom?” I grew more and more anxious by the minute. Did Evelyn really think I would just cover for her every time she went off and did the things she usually does? I mean, I was angry with her for that, but I also found myself wanting to help her.
Ugh. Why did I have to be so nice!?
Evelyn was right. It was starting to irritate me, too.
I really shouldn’t have been ignoring her though. Maybe that was why she just went off like that. Did she hate it when people ignored her that way? Well, I was only doing what I think was best for the both of us. The rumors were stopping a bit now. But the truth was, I think she was just pulling me away from my good reputation. She was here not even a month and I had been skipping school and having arousals.
Seriously, I would’ve never had so much ‘action’ if she weren’t here.
But here she was, and I was partly in charge of her. She was here to get help, and I want to be always there to help.
About five more minutes passed by before Jesse finally came to pick me up with Ethan. It seemed like they were together more and more each day, but that didn’t matter right now.
We drove down to The Delgado, and easily slipped inside, which was good, because none of us had time to make a stupid fake ID just so we could go in and get a girl who’s probably already very drunk.
“You look for her near the bathrooms,” I told Ethan, “you look for her by the dance floor,” I told Jesse, “and I’ll look by the bar.” Nodding, we all went to our rightful destinations.
I looked down and checked my watch, seeing that it was already 6:30 pm. I shook my head and tried to get through all of the sweaty bodies surrounding me. How Evelyn liked places like these and could actually stand them, I didn’t know, but I really needed to stop being a wimp and get through this day already. It has been a long one.
I tried to call her on our way here too, but I guess she just had her phone turned off.
I really hoped she was okay. If not, I was going to freak…
I cut off my own thoughts, as I took in the scene right in front of me. I froze up and felt the need to take my glasses off, clean the lenses with my shirt, and just hope that I was hallucinating.
But I knew that this was all too real.
She was here, all right, but with him.
He was getting closer to her. One more little inch and they’d be kissing. Why did I not want him to kiss her though? Was it because I loathed him? Or was it because I…
“E-Evelyn?” I asked, noticing how broken and hurt my voice actually sounded.
She froze and slightly gasped, opening her eyes and turning left to look right at me. Davne just sighed and turned his head away from us, obviously annoyed that I had interrupted their almost make-out-session.
Words couldn’t describe how angry and betrayed I felt at that moment.
How could she do this? How could she freakin’ do this? And be here, with him!?
At the party, she showed no interest. I mean, she did have to dance with him to get him off my back and also off her back, but why was this happening? What was going on?
“Zavier… I…” She started to stand up, her forehead creased in concern and guilt. But I just pretended to smile and laughed it off as I looked at the ground and started to step back. I didn’t need this. I didn’t need any of this, and I just wanted to go home, lock myself in my room, and focus on my future, instead of worrying about a girl who clearly couldn’t care less about how I’d feel.
“Nothing, never mind… I-I shouldn’t have come here.” I then turned back around to start walking away. I heard her call out my name, but I made no move to turn back around and face her. She wanted to kiss
Davne, it was clear on her face. Why didn’t she just leave me alone and go back to the golden bad boy of this town? Why did I have to interrupt their little romantic moment? If I didn’t interrupt them, I’m sure they would’ve finished off what they started and probably gone somewhere more private later.
That thought alone was just making me sick to my stomach.
Suddenly, I felt a small yet strong hand grip my elbow and turn me around. Evelyn stared at me with red cheeks and a frown set on her eyebrows, as I glared down at her.
This was all new to me. I never glared at anyone, and by the look on her face, she was surprised and shocked to see me that way.
“Zavier, what are you doing here? What’s wrong?” she asked with a light tone in her voice. And I was guessing that she already knew what was wrong with me.
I couldn’t stop myself from asking her right back, “What are you doing here? With him?! Do you know what he does to girls like you? Are you that stupid!?” I had no idea where any of that came from, and right after that came out, I quickly slapped my hand over my mouth.
She was now glaring up at me. Every hint of guilt was out of her face by now.
“Well, nothing that concerns you, since obviously, I’m out of your life.”
I had that coming. I had no intention of snapping at her like that, but I was just so frustrated, anxious, and above all, infuriated.
“Evelyn,” I faked another laugh. That was my way of trying to calm down, but it hardly ever worked. “He’s bad news, and I don’t want you being with him.”
“Why are you being so possessive now?”
“I want you safe!” Realizing that I had just snapped at her for the second time, I ran my hands through my hair. I breathed in and out slowly while ignoring the stares I got from the people around us. “You’re my friend, Evelyn,” I said, more softly but loud enough for her to hear me. “And my mother’s being nice enough to help you. And you can’t just throw it all away for some guy. That’s not what you’re here for. So far, you’ve illegally taken drugs on school grounds, you’ve broken the speed limit, you’ve beaten a guy up. I mean, I know it was to save me but still, I don’t want you getting hurt. All of those things might not sound bad to you, but they do to me. And seriously, now you’re… now you’re getting drunk, bringing the town bad boy along with you.”
