Page 97 of The Right Kind of Wrong

CHAPTER 35

Evelyn

My pulse thundered in my ears. I must have been hearing wrong. Nathan must have sensed my confusion. I could tell by the way he gulped audibly. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stepped back, leaning against the wall.

“What are you talking about?” I crossed my arms over my chest. The house suddenly felt cold. Empty.

“There's shit I need to settle, Evelyn and I'm just…I'm not sure how this all will work out.”

I felt my vision blurring. Just that morning everything had been okay; he'd told me how much he loved me so the words that were leaving his mouth made no sense to me. Nothing did.

“I—I don't understand,” I said, trying to remain calm. “Is it because of that offer you got? Because I truly don't mind staying. I understand if you want to pursue your career here.”

“Whether we stay or we leave it's the same,” he said through gritted teeth.

He pushed himself away from the wall and sighed. Nathan looked so torn and confused.

“Evelyn, our relationship started in a bad way and a relationship that starts that way never ends well,” he said so matter of fact I couldn't believe it was the same man.

Piece by piece, my heart was shattering. I could feel every break and tear, my chest constricting as it tried to do away with the pain.

“Why are you saying this?” I asked him, taking a step towards him. He flinched as if my mere presence hurt him.

Like he didn't want me near him.

“Nathan, please, tell me what's wrong.”

“Nothing at all, I've just been thinking and it's for the best.”

The finality in his voice was heartbreaking.

“And you figured this out within a few hours?” I scoffed, wiping away a tear that escaped. “Because just this morning you told me you loved me and that you wanted to be with me and-”

“Don't make this more difficult than it already is,” he said. His forehead creased but the tone of his voice…he sounded desperate. Annoyed. “It's better like this.”

“What changed?” I asked brokenly.

“Evelyn—”

“I have the right to know,” I added before he could deny me an answer. “Nathan, just give me an explanation and I'll leave you alone.”

“There is no answer to that, so stop looking for one.”

I whimpered, covering my mouth with a shaking hand.

“Just…stop, Evelyn. If we're done here, I'm going to bed. I'm fucking tired.”

He turned on his heel without a single word; without even giving a single glance that showed he cared, one that said that he loved me.

“I gave you everything,” I choked out, watching him stop in his tracks. The tears ran freely by then and I wiped them away furiously. His grip on the staircase tightened with my words and he tensed but didn't bother turning around.

“I've fought my sister. I've kept secrets from my family for you. I’ve turned my back on all of them. I would have done it anyway, but you gave me the courage,” I rasped, my throat constricting with the overwhelming emotion. “We were going to start a life together and now you do this? Why? I gave myself to you without reserves, Nathan, every part of me and—”

“Stop!” His voice echoed throughout the house. It shook me to the core. “Just stop this, Evelyn! Don't make this fucking hard. There's no way around it.”

I gasped, unable to hide my crying anymore. He turned around and saw me, showing no emotion at all.

I've heard it said that you don't ever really know people. You can spend years and years with the same person and you'd never truly know them until you argue, and even then, you could still end up surprised.

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