Page 31 of Without a Doubt

Eva doesn't talk the rest of the way back to my apartment. It's so odd. She doesn't seem like herself without a smile on her face. All I can think about is how I can make her feel better.

“Go shower and I'll whip you up something to eat,” I tell her as we walk inside my apartment. “Want anything in particular?”

“Fries if you have them.”

“Fries it is.”

Eva nods and disappears down the hallway. I open my freezer, and I'm out of fries, of course. Luckily, I do have some potatoes. I get to work cutting them and then dropping them into the fryer. My phone vibrates in my pocket, so I pull it out. My heart stops when I see the number, a number which used to be in my contacts, but I deleted. For a moment, I consider not answering. This is the first time she's called me.

“Hello?” I answer, giving in to myself.

“Hey, Emerson,” she says, her voice sounding as perfect as the last time I heard it. “How are you?” A handful of simple words rocks me to my core. I lean against the counter to steady myself.

“I'm fine. What...why are you calling? Is everything okay?” Something has to be wrong, right? Otherwise, why break her silence?

There's a pause before she says, “Everything's fine. I wanted to hear from you.” Another pause. “It's been a long time.”

No shit. I hear the shower turn off. Damn it. Now would not be the time to explain this to Eva, not after the day she's had. But if everything is fine with Kelly, if she's moved on like my parents say she has, why is she calling me?

I grimace as I make a decision. “It has been a long time, but I can't talk tonight, Kelly. I'm sorry.”

“It's okay. I missed you and I wanted to hear from you, even if for a couple of minutes. I really just want to know if you've been doing okay.”

“I'm doing great,” I tell her honestly. The sound of Eva's footsteps are coming down the hall. “I'm sorry, but I need to go,” I say again. “You could call tomorrow?”

“It's okay,” she repeats. “I might. Bye, Emerson.”

“Bye.” I hang up, slip my phone back into my pocket, and lift the basket from the fryer since the fries are done. Eva walks into the kitchen.

“I feel a little better now,” she says, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.

“Good. Fries are done.” I plate them and sit them down in front of where she's taking a seat at the bar.

“You actually made fries?”

I nod. “I thought I had some in the freezer, but I didn't. So, you get some homemade ones instead.”

“Thanks, Emerson. Really. You're a day-saver.” Then, she gives me her beautiful smile. I take a seat to her right as she starts digging into her fries. “Since I'm nosey and all, you probably won't mind that I raided your cabinets for some cream for my burns. I felt like I should tell you anyway.”

I chuckle. “I don't mind. Your burn looks pretty bad.” The burn is about two inches down from her elbow. It's still bright red. There are three lines right on top of one another.

“Hurt like a mother, too. It was so busy, I had to bake more bread. When I went to pull out the trays, I hit the side of the oven each time,” she explains. “When exactly do I get my surprise?” Her grin is the best thing I've seen all evening.

“After you eat. In fact, why don't you do that while I get it ready?”

“Okay.”

I walk to my bedroom, and first, I change my clothes and get ready for bed. Then, I grab her surprise from my closet. It's seriously not much and I hope she's not disappointed, thinking it's something better than what it is. She happens to fall asleep here often, sometimes spends the night, and since I've been given the green light to share the bed with her and I'm apparently a cover hog, this seemed necessary.

The new, freshly washed black comforter takes up the side of the bed she slept on before. Now, she has her own comforter, and I have mine. I won't 'hog' the covers if we each have our own.

“You're officially the sweetest.”

I turn to see Eva standing in the doorway with a large smile. “I didn't want one of us to sleep on the couch again.”

Eva closes the distance between us. She slips an arm around my waist and gives me a short kiss. “You're fantastic, Emerson. Seriously. Thank you for everything today.”

“You're welcome. It's still pretty early. Do you want to watch a movie?”

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