Shadows (26 page)

"Wow, um, I'm so sorry. I don’t know what to
say. How long were you and your ex together?"

"Two years, but we've known each other longer.
Our families are really close."

"I can't imagine how that feels."

"The worst part is I'm still in love with him.
Everything was set to go, and he got in a fight with his parents.
He called it off and I never heard from him again. He shut everyone
out. He is an amazing guy and now he's sleeping with some slut."
Blowing her nose into her napkin, she looks around.

I'm assuming she's looking to see if anyone is
taking notice of her, but then I see an evil dark look take over
her features. She sits back with grin on her face, which I'm sure
the devil created. My stomach feels heavy as if it's full of stones
weighing me down, pulling me under water. I feel like I'm
drowning.

"Hello, Theron."

Everything is in slow motion. I barely
register her saying his name, as I turn around to spot Theron
coming up behind me. The look of worry and desperation is plainly
written all over his face. How would Bridgette know his name? Then
it hits me. I'm the slut. I'm the selfish bitch her ex fiancé is
sleeping with. "What the fuck is this?" I wave my finger back and
forth between them. She continues to sneer at me, and Theron drops
his head.

"Beautiful.”

Holding up my hand, I cut him off. "Do not
call me, beautiful. What the fuck is going on? You were
engaged?"

Bridgette gasps, but I refuse to look at her.
Everything is making sense. She was punishing me for being with
Theron by attempting to destroy my relationship with my friends.
She lets out an eerie maniacal laugh, "It's her. This is the one
you refused to let go of. This is your beautiful girl you fell in
love with? For Christ sakes, Theron. You were what? Twelve?
Thirteen? You didn't know what love is. All you had was a friend
who didn’t tease you because of your eyes. You are such a freak.
Wait until I tell your dad about this. He's going to love this! I
hope he destroys the both of you!"

Theron stands beside me clenching and
unclenching his fists. Anger, frustration, and hatred are emanating
from him. "Screw off, Bridgette. Nobody gives a shit about your
plastic ass. I have no idea how you are involved with all of this,
but I will find out. You will regret this."

"The only thing I regret is sleeping with you.
Is he rough with you, Eve? Does he tie you up, too? Do you want to
know why he does that? It's because he's not right in his head. His
dad always said he was a freak. Now, I understand why."

Turning my head back and forth, I look between
Theron and Bridgette. They were engaged. He was engaged. She still
loves him. I've just hit my breaking point. My head is swirling. He
knew it was me all along. I was the one who didn't remember, I was
the one left in the dark. What other secrets does he have? This is
too much, too soon. Shaking my head back forth, I stand at the
table. "I have to go. I can’t do this."

Theron looks straight in to my eyes, his fear
obvious. "Can't do what, beautiful?"

"Don't. Don't you dare call me, that! You were
engaged Theron! That might be something you tell your girlfriend
before she moves in. You knew who I was. I've dreamt about a boy
with sunglasses so many times, and I just recently had suspicions
it was you. I thought you didn’t remember, but you knew this whole
time." A sudden realization dawns on me and I run for the front
door. Theron runs after me, grabbing my arm as I reach the
sidewalk. "Let go!"

"No. Not until you talk to me."

"Tell me why you were there."

"Why I was where?"

"At the laundromat Theron. Why were you there?
I know you have a washer and dryer, hell you could even have used
your gram's. Oh my, God. You were stalking me! That's so fucked up.
Is that why you were there that night at the
restaurant?"

"I just wanted a chance to tell you who I was,
but then everything went to shit. I didn't want to mess you up or
hurt you anymore than you already were."

"What gives you the right to determine what
will or will not hurt me? You kept secrets from me. You were
engaged before and kept it to yourself. Now, I find out us meeting
wasn't even a coincidence?" Yanking my arm from his grasp, I open
my car door. "How long Theron?"

"Maybe six months, I don't know. I saw you at
a bookstore. Then, they said your name and I knew I found you
again. I wasn't going to let you go."

"You followed me around for six months? What
the hell? You could have just said hello, or introduced yourself,
but instead you stalk me for six months. Then, you make me fall in
love with you, invite me to move in, and convince me I need you.
Did you think I wouldn’t find out? I hate secrets, Theron! Secrets
are made to be broken. That's how I feel right now. You broke me."
He clings to my door as I slide into my seat.

"Wait, please, I love you. Let's go home, we
can talk this out." His hands fall to his side, he must know he's
lost this battle.

"Oh, I'm going home, just not to yours. I'm
going to my mom's. It's where I should have been all along."
Slamming my door, I start my car. Tears stream down my face as I
glance back at Theron in my mirrors. He's just standing there, not
moving, with his hands behind his head. My fireworks have just
exploded in my face, and I have definitely been burned.

Chapter 15

I
'm lying in my bed at
my parent's house, hiding under the covers. Anger, tears, anger and
more tears consume me. It seems as though my heart and mind are
having it out. It's been three days. I haven't left my parents’
house except for my visit to my doctor. It turns out I need to make
an appointment with an orthopedic surgeon just to make sure it's
healing right. They gave me a business card with a number on it.
I'm supposed to call and make an appointment, but I don't want to
talk to anyone let alone leave the house.

I hear my door open, but I won't come out. I'm
hiding from the secrets which are now exposed, eating away at
what's left of my heart. Pressing my palm to my chest, I check to
make sure it's still beating. I can feel it thump with my hand, but
on the inside it feels void. My dreams are hellish. The boy with
the sunglasses is constantly taken from me, but he's different
every time. I watch him get dragged away, his sunglasses fall off,
and then suddenly I'm looking at Matt. The next time it will be
Theron. I can honestly say I've loved them both, it may be in
different ways, but I've loved both. Burying my face into my
pillow, I wonder what would have happened if Matt would have said
something sooner. Could I have loved him like I love Theron? The
idea takes off and courses through my mind with the possibility,
but my heart thumps a steady "no".

Someone sighs. They can't make me come out of
here. I'm not ready. Theron would have pulled me out of my
self-pity by now. He'd probably tell me he loves me, but I stink.
Tears fall softly from my eyes as I remember the first time he said
he loved me.

"Evelyn, you need to be done with this.
Feeling sorry for yourself is never going to help you heal. Robert
is coming by for you. I packed a bag."

Coming by for me? Are they kicking me out?
What kind of parent does that? Slowly sitting up, I pull the covers
down from my face. "Are you making me leave? I have to
go?"

My mom wrings her hands in her apron. The fact
of her even wearing an apron makes me smile, just a little. I
remember being in high school and asking her why she always wears
aprons. I will never forget her response, "Aprons help me carry in
fresh food from the garden, grab hot pans from the oven, dry my
hands, and most importantly they wipe your tears when you are
hurt." I never fully understood it until now. I so badly want to be
little again, so my mom could wipe away my tears and pull me into
her arms. As an adult my tears may come less frequently, but they
fall even harder now.

"No. I don't want you to go, but what am I to
do? You won't eat. You won't tell me anything. You just sit in here
and cry. Robert and you have always had an unspoken connection. You
can read each other like books. When you were little, you always
comforted each other by trying to make the other one laugh. I don't
know how it feels to lose two people in such a short time. Robert
wants you to come stay with him, even if it's just for a couple
days."

I flop back down on my back, throwing my arms
over my face. This sucks. Theron sucks. Everything sucks ass right
now. "Fine. I'll go, but I'm not happy about being shipped
off."

"No one is asking you to be happy. We just
want you to eat and possibly shower. You're an adult, and you need
to start figuring out where you are going from here."

Refusing to look at my mom, I hear her sigh
and leave the room. Deciding to just get this over with, I grab
some clothes, and head to the shower. It helps a little, but it’s
nothing like Theron's shower. I'm going to have to find a job that
pays well, because I definitely need a better shower. I've been
spoiled.

I'm going through the bag my mom packed me,
and double checking my purse for everything I need, when Robert
walks in. Not saying a word he sits at the end of the bed. I look
around my room once more. It was my bedroom for nineteen years, but
it feels so strange to me. I walk over to my closet to shut the
doors, when I notice a box on the floor labeled Matt's. "What's
this?"

Robert closes his eyes, looking down towards
the floor he sighs, "That would be a box."

I glare at him. "I know it's a
box."

"It's from Matt. He had it in his closet, the
other side has Evelyn written on it. I figured you wouldn't want it
in the garage, so I brought it in here."

"Oh." I stare at it for a few minutes, chewing
on my bottom lip. "Did you open it? Do you know what's in
it?"

"No, my name isn't on the box."

"Oh." My stomach feels sick, wiping off my
sweaty palms on my jeans, I pick up the box.

"Stop! You shouldn't lift it with your
hand."

I turn around holding it with my good hand.
"It's fine. It's very light."

"Are you taking it?"

"I don't know." I just stand there holding the
box looking at Robert. Neither of us speak. Grabbing my bag, he
slings my purse over his shoulder, causing a laugh to escape my
lips. "That looks good on you. It really brings out the color in
your eyes."

"Shut up, Eve. Just carry your box and keep
your comments to yourself." Turning around, he walks through the
door with me following close behind. We are walking through the
living room towards the front door when my dad spots us.

"Robert, I have to say that's a rather nice
purse you have." I giggle again, and Robert turns to look at me
over his shoulder. His stare is deadly and I quickly break eye
contact. "Evelyn, let him put your things in the car while we talk
for a few minutes." I roll my eyes. I don't want to talk about
anything. Robert takes the box from my arms and loads everything
into my car. "Say what you need to say, Dad."

"I want you to know, your mother and I both
love you very much. I'm not sure what happened between you and
Theron, but maybe you should just take some time to yourself for a
while. Maybe you guys rushed into things. It's just something to
think about." He wraps me in his arms, squeezing me tightly. "I
love you, sweet pea."

"I love you, too." He lets me go as my mom
walks up beside him. She gives me an encouraging smile as I leave.
I slide into my car and give Robert a nod of my head. I follow him
to his house, which surprisingly isn't that far. My parents live
close to the beach, but not on it. It's a good ten minute walk from
their back porch to the beach. Robert's house is directly on the
beach. His driveway is steep so I make sure to use my emergency
brake as I park. It's a quaint two story beach house. It has a
small garage and a wraparound porch. There's a set of wooden steps
off the side of the porch that lead to the back of the house and
bottom of the sand dune. As I lean against my car I notice how
quiet it is, despite being so close to a public beach. Of course,
it's only spring so it's likely to change once summer comes. Robert
parked in the garage and is pulling the door down as I unlock my
trunk. There's no sense in waiting for him. I don't have much since
I am now stretched between three separate houses. I should probably
get my things from Theron, but I would have to talk to him and I'm
not ready for that.

I follow Robert into the house. I set my stuff
down on the bench in the mud room as we walk in. Slipping off my
shoes, I walk into a small kitchen. It has a little breakfast nook
tucked in the corner by a window.

"I'll give you a quick tour, and then you will
be on your own for a bit. I'm giving an online class to some new
employees in about an hour. I have to make sure I have my computer
on and program open by then. This is the kitchen. That's the fridge
and there's the stove." I follow him as we walk down a hallway into
a beautiful sunroom with floor to ceiling windows and a sliding
door leading out onto the deck. There's a gray sectional sofa and a
coffee table. He doesn't have anything on the walls or any
decorations. I'm assuming it's because he's just moved in. I walk
over to the window and place my palm on the glass. The view is
absolutely breathtaking. I watch the waves slowly wash up on the
shore. "So the bathroom on this level doesn't have a shower. The
one downstairs with the bedrooms does, though." He walks back into
the hallway and I follow him down the stairs across from the
bathroom. Robert stops at the bottom in front of two doors, one on
each side of the hall. "This one is mine," he points to the one on
the right, "and this one is yours," he says as he points to the one
on the left. I open the door to a rather dark room. It is charcoal
gray, with dark hardwood floors, and a futon. Glancing up, I notice
one window and a ceiling fan with a light.