Page 10 of The Wrong Side Of Us

The brightness in her eyes was gone. I could tell she really had no clue what to do or say; she didn’t know how to find the peace she desperately searched for. Maybe I didn’t have the answers, but I knew I could help her. Sometimes being alone does nothing but confuse the person, and in Evie’s case, I was sure that was exactly what happened.

I knelt in front of her and took her hand in mine. Her lips tilted up into a small smile, and for a minute, I could see the real Evelyn.

“We don’t have to make anything official, Evelyn. I just want you to quit hiding from what you feel. That’s cowardly, and the woman I know, she’s anything but a coward. That’s exactly why you can’t figure it out.”

“Why?” She asked the question so quietly I could barely hear her.

“Because you’re running away from your past instead of confronting it. I know that you’ve been burned, I know I hurt you with things I did, the things I said, but understand I never did it on purpose. I felt like I was protecting you by hiding the video from you, and yeah, I fucked up, but I won’t do it again.”

“It’s not that,” she said. “I’m just scared of opening up to someone, to anyone. I’m scared of betrayal.”

“I won’t betray you, Evie, but you have to trust me, or at least try. The only thing standing in our way now is your fear. Are you going to let it control you, or are you finally going to control it?”

***

We sat on the sofa, each of us with a glass of wine. The conversation had turned casual, about how I invested in the gallery and when I was officially to be moving to New York. I still had to finish the semester in Pennsylvania, but that was only two more weeks. As soon as those weeks were over, I would be in NYC for good.

“Have you talked to my parents?” I asked Evie.

She shook her head shyly. “Your mom always texts me, asking if I want to visit, but I don’t know. I’m nervous, I guess.”

She had distanced herself from everyone, from the people she was closest to. I knew part of it was her being ashamed of what happened. Everyone knew about the video, and word got around. It had damaged her reputation.

“Do you want to go for breakfast with them tomorrow?” I asked, stroking her cheek with the back of my hand. “We don’t have to, but I’m sure my mom would be glad to see you. We can invite Carter if you want to.”

Slowly, I got the answer I wanted. She nodded, leaning into my touch.

With the biggest case of blue balls I had ever faced, it took all my restraint to not pin her down there and fuck her senseless then and there, especially with the way she was looking at me. I cleared my throat and scratched the back of my head, glancing at my phone for the time. “I guess I should go, Evie.”

“You’re leaving?”

“I don’t suppose you want me to stay.” I smirked.

“Actually,” she began, “I would. Not to, you know, do anything, but I mean, it’s late and you’ve been drinking, and I just think it would be best.”

I nodded. “I’ll settle here on the couch then.”

She smiled, the first genuine, Evie smile she’d given me all evening, and stood up, walking towards her bedroom. When she came back, she had a blanket and a couple of pillows in her hands.

“I guess I’ll leave you to it,” she said awkwardly. I took the sight of her in as she walked backwards to her bedroom, waving goodbye with a curious look in her eyes.

Once I heard the door to her bedroom close, I removed my clothing down to my boxers and laid down on the uncomfortable couch. This wasn’t exactly how I planned on spending the night, but it would have to do. Progress had been made, and maybe, just maybe, Evie would take into consideration what I had said.

Half an hour had passed by when I heard her soft footsteps and then the door opening again. In just a few short seconds, her figure was standing in front of me, her hair up in a messy bun and the shirt she wore barely coming down to mid-thigh.

She didn’t say anything and laid down next to me on the sofa, placing her head on my chest and a leg over my waist.

“Okay,” she whispered.

“Okay what?” I asked.

“I want you with me,” she said softly. “I’m not quite ready to jump into a serious relationship, but I want us to give it a try. Go slow. Can we do that?”

She looked up, and I could see the insecurity written all over her face.

“I would understand if you don’t want to,” she whispered.

“I don’t have a problem with going slow,” I murmured.

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