Nathan
Drinks with friends suck if you have problems at home. Granted, I overreacted, and this was all my fault, but still, I was livid.
When Derek just happened to walk into the same bar, I lost my shit. Especially when he began approaching us. My grip tightened around the glass I held in my hand, the drinks I’d already taken doing very little to help me relax.
“You need to breathe,” Jesse whispered, leaning into my ear. “This is a public place. He can be here if he wants.”
I snorted. “I don’t want to breathe the same fucking oxygen he’s breathing in,” I muttered, fixing my eyes on Derek.
“Yeah, well, I don’t want to get kicked out because of your issues,” Lanthorn replied, swirling his whiskey around before finishing it all.
Derek got closer and closer, and my anger grew with every step he took. I knew the minute he opened his mouth I would explode.
“Can I join?”
No.
“Sure.” Jesse smiled, nudging me with her elbow.
“Actually,” Derek said, focusing his attention on me, “I would like to have a word with you.”
I shook my head. “Not happening.”
The man smiled, amused. I tried to ignore it, but when he sat next to me, it took all my self-control to not do something stupid. Breaking the glass over his head sounded like a great fucking idea.
“C’mon, man, you can handle a quick chat.”
“You better not test him,” Lanthorn said. The warning for Derek was in his eyes; he knew I wasn’t in the best state of mind.
“It’s about Evelyn,” Derek said, raising his eyebrows.
Gritting my teeth together, I finally turned around to see him. He wore the same clothes from earlier that day, the same clothes he had on when I saw him hugging Evelyn. The image of him holding her flashed in my mind once again as control began to slip away.
“What the fuck do you want with Evelyn?” I asked.
“Now you’re talking,” Derek said. “I don’t want anything with her other than a friendship.”
I glared at him. “You don’t do friendships.”
“Consider her an exception.” I fisted my hands, trying to hold on to the little shreds of sanity I had left. “I dropped her off at the gallery. You talk to her?”
I narrowed my eyes on him. What the fuck did he care? Whatever problems existed between us were none of his business.
Unless she told him.
“Why aren’t you with her anyway?” he asked, taking a sip of the drink in front of him. “Figured you’d be with her.”
“None of your fucking business.”
His expression turned murderous. “I hope you didn’t speak to her that way. You didn’t even listen, did you?”
“What the fuck does it matter to you?” I sneered, standing up.
Breathe.
“You are a dick,” he muttered, standing up as well. It became obvious he was about to walk away, either trying to avoid a fight or because he truly didn’t want one, but it was too late.
My fist traveled across the air and to his nose with no reserves, the crack of bone meeting my ears. With the first hit, I felt a bit of the anger disappear. But it wasn’t enough. One punch turned into two, and soon the whole bar went as insane as I felt.
“See if you want to be a nosey ass still,” I spat, shaking the pain from my knuckles away. I turned around ready to leave when I felt two arms pushing me.
“Caught me off guard, Maxwell,” Derek hissed. I faced him. The man seemed fucking pissed.
Everything after that was a blur. Rage took over for both of us until Lanthorn attempted to stop us, and then security stepped in.
I wanted to continue the fight outside, but Jessica talked me into staying level headed for a moment. I decided to head home after realizing I wasn’t thinking straight at all.
At least I’d broken his nose.
***
When I got home, it was silent. All the lights were out, and when I searched out the bedroom, I realized the bed was empty. I saw Evie’s figure out in the balcony as she looked out at the city.
I opened the door, and if she felt me, she didn’t show it; she didn’t tense, and she didn’t say a word. The air surrounding her was solemn; it wasn’t lively like earlier that day.
“I’m sorry I arrived with Derek.” Her soft voice surrounded us; she did know I was there. There was a pause until she cleared her throat and spoke again. “I wasn’t thinking, but I didn’t mean to upset you. It was just that I was so excited because—”
“The last thing I want to talk about is Derek,” I interrupted. “Don’t you get it?”
Even with the distance between us, I could clearly hear the gulping sound. She simply nodded, not turning around or sparing me a glance.
“My appointment is in a couple of days. Will you be able to come with me?”
This time her voice was full of emotion; it almost seemed like she was having trouble speaking up, like it took all her strength to get the words out.
“It’s in the morning, isn’t it?” I replied, taking a step forward. I heard her shaky breathing, then a soft sniffle.
“Yeah. I know you’re busy, but…I would like for you to go.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course I’m going. No matter what’s going on between us, it’s still my kid.”
The words came out harsher than I intended. Everything added up: her reluctance to stop talking to Derek, her inability to care for what I’d said, and I still managed to feel bad about her being so distressed. I pushed it away in that moment because, despite how I pissed I was, Evelyn would always be my weakness.
“Am I still welcome…at the gallery?” My chest constricted at the tone of her voice. The events from earlier in the day replayed in my mind: the happiness on her face followed by the heartbreak when I’d been so cold to her.
“Not with him, you’re not.”
She nodded in understanding. “I understand. I just wish you’d let me explain.”
Whatever she wanted to say, I knew I wouldn’t listen, at least not in that moment. I was still too angry, too blinded by anger to pay attention to what she had to say. Instead, I excused myself and got in the shower, hoping to wash away the shittiness of the day.
***
It was one of the longest showers I’d ever taken. Even then, Evelyn was still outside when I was done, remained out there even while I changed. Thinking we both needed the time and space to be alone, I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling like an idiot for a while.
It had to be another half hour until she walked back inside quietly, thinking that I was asleep. When I saw her out of the corner of my eye, however, it felt like the air knocked out of me.
Her eyes were swollen and red, her face splotchy. I knew her well enough to know her face looked like that when she cried hard and for a long time.
Still, Evie smiled weakly at me. “It’s the hormones.” She took off her slippers and crawled into bed with me. She stayed on her side, and I stayed on mine, precisely like we’d been doing the past days until she saw my busted lip and the bruise that started to form on my cheek bone. “You got in a fight.”
I barely registered her voice. Had I been too cruel? Why was she crying that much? Had she been crying all day? She hadn’t cried that much since that sex video got out, even after her mother’s death.
“…don’t have to tell me,” she whispered softly.
“What?”
“I said you don’t have to tell me…about the fight, I mean. Not if you don’t want to.”
“It was just a bar fight,” I replied, swallowing.
Knowing better than to think I was going to go into detail, Evie nodded, hugging a pillow beside her, between the both of us.
“Are you going to the gallery tomorrow?” she asked curiously.
“No, Jesse will take care of it.”
She didn’t comment on my reply. Instead, a smile adorned her features as she lowered her hand to her belly. I hadn’t touched her in what seemed an eternity.
If I touched her, though, I knew I wouldn’t stop there.
She had other thoughts.
Evelyn sat up, her warm, saddened eyes roaming my face hesitantly. Her hand contacted my jaw, then to the small bruise as she ran her thumb over it with a gentle caress. Finally, her eyes fluttered closed, and her lips met mine.
She breathed in then, as if she’d been holding her breath the whole time, as if I was her oxygen.
When she saw that I wasn’t stopping her, Evie kissed me again, her tongue seeking entrance almost immediately. I groaned, feeling her take control, letting the kiss speak for the words neither of us could say. She moaned softly when my tongue met hers, and I cupped her face in my hands, holding her as close to me as I could.
There was something in the way she was kissing me; it was desperate, longing. Heartbroken. I caught a tear with my thumb, but she didn’t stop, placing her hand over my chest even as her tears escaped.
“Evie—” I whispered, breaking it off. “Evie, what’s wrong?”
She rested her forehead against mine, keeping her eyes closed. “I’m losing you,” her voice broke.
I wanted to say no, that I loved her as insanely as I did before, that I had a fucking ring for her already…but my mouth stayed shut. We couldn’t talk then. She was too fragile, and I was on edge. Nothing good would come out of it.
I did the only thing I could, pulling her close to my chest and holding her like I knew we both needed.
And the strangest thing happened…
As I rested my hand over her belly, I could have sworn I felt a kick.