Nathan
I ran a hand over my face as I listened to my mother’s advice. Talking to Evie would help, but Evie didn’t want to talk anymore. She was tired and frustrated and no longer seemed to give a damn about what anyone else thought.
She was strong, though.
Beneath the hurt, beneath the pain, I saw her growing braver and stronger by the second. It was like the woman I knew was coming back, but this time there was a wall she was building around her heart, one that would be very difficult to climb if she didn’t let me.
“Are you listening to me, Nathan?”
I sighed, nodding.
“You are not.” She pressed her lips together before letting out a breath and squeezing my hand with hers. “She just needs time, son.”
Shaking my head, I stood up. Time was all we’d had, and time had fucked us over too much. We spent time apart hoping to figure our lives out, and ever since we had gotten back together, things just kept falling apart.
“Do you know how difficult it is to not be able to do anything to help her?” I asked, feeling a lump form in my throat.
It felt as if I was losing her. Of course, it was only normal for her to change with everything happening, but she was disappearing before my eyes, and I could do nothing, not if she pushed me away.
My mom sat back, setting her hands on her lap. “What do you think you should do then?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. What could I do?
I couldn’t stop her from going anywhere. I also couldn’t force her to talk to me if she didn’t want to. All I could do was be there for her.
“What about the gallery? I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to work with Jessica anymore.”
I snorted. If she only knew the hell that Jessica had caused. My mom was very much capable of searching for her and telling her exactly what she thought about her. Not only did I lose a person who I’d stupidly considered a friend, but now I was also going to lose a business that had cost me every cent I had, all my efforts. It was the business that was supposed to keep Evelyn and me afloat now that we were forming a family.
Her grandmother left her money, but I didn’t want to touch it unless we absolutely had to.
“I’m leaving the gallery.” My mom’s eyes widened in shock, and then a scowl formed on her lips.
“I know I raised you to be smarter than that, Nathan Maxwell. Why in the hell would you do that?”
I frowned. “Clearly, Jessica needs to be away from us. All she does is cause trouble and every time I’m near her,” I laughed humorlessly, remembering what she’d done just a few hours before; I still found it unbelievable, “every fucking time I’m near her, she pulls some crazy shit, and I can’t do it anymore. It’s causing too many problems in my relationship.”
“Then she should be the one to step away, not you.”
“She’s not going to,” I said.
Disapproving, my mom stood up. “You are being incredibly stupid, Nathan. You shouldn’t let go of what you’ve been working for over someone else’s mistakes. Evelyn wouldn’t like that either.”
Where the hell was she?
The day had already turned cloudy, and it was a clear warning of the storm to come. Evie hadn’t bothered to send a single text message. She’d left without eating.
My mother, ever the intuitive, quickly picked up on my concern. “Have you heard from her?”
“No.”
“It looks like it’s about to storm. You tried getting her on the phone?”
“She won’t reply.” I knew Evie well enough. If she needed time alone, she wasn’t going to reply to any of my messages or pick up my calls.
Within fifteen minutes, it was already pouring outdoors. I groaned, calling her phone number though I knew she wasn’t going to answer.
“Calm down. She’s okay,” my mom comforted. “What you need to do is be able to keep it together while she gets here.”
“I am keeping it together.”
As the words left my lips, the door to the condo opened, and a soaked Evelyn walked in. She smiled sheepishly, waving when she saw us.
“Are you okay?” I asked, walking up to her.
“Yeah, it just started pouring, though.” She laughed, her eyes brighter than they’d been earlier.
“You should go shower, hon, or you’ll get sick,” my mom said, returning her smile.
“You’re okay?” I asked her, brushing her hair away from her face.
“Yeah, just had to go handle some stuff.” She took a stack of papers from beneath her shirt and smirked.
“What is this?” I asked. I immediately recognized the paperwork: ownership of the gallery. “Why do you have this?”
“You’re the sole owner of the gallery now.”
It was in that moment my mother decided to laugh. She muttered something about that being the reason she liked Evie before pretending like she hadn’t said anything.
“How did you get this?” I asked once again, feeling concerned she’d seen Jessica by herself.
Evie shrugged, moving away from my touch. “I told you I could handle myself. I’m going to shower. It’s nice to see you, Deb.”
“Same, dear. I’ll probably be gone by the time you’re done, so have a good evening.”
Evie excused herself, leaving me once again shocked. What exactly had she done?
My mom found the situation amusing, but I couldn’t find anything humorous about it. I held the paperwork up, seeing where Jessica signed and the small envelope on top of it.
“You be careful with whatever that note says,” my mom advised from behind me.
Clearing my throat, I nodded, saying goodbye to her.
As soon as she left, I scanned through the documents, still unsure about what to do or how the fuck Evie had managed to pull something like this off.
I took a deep breath and walked toward the bedroom, opening the envelope on top. Hesitantly, I began reading what it said.
I’m very sorry for the trouble I’ve caused. You were always there for me, and I fucked it up. Maybe one day we’ll be able to be friends, but for now, Evie is right…you deserve to keep the gallery. Take care.
All the best,
Jesse
There was a check behind the note, one Evie had written. I recognized her handwriting immediately.
Evie did something I hadn’t even dared thinking of doing and put herself at risk in the process. The way Jessica was acting wasn’t normal, and I didn’t know if she was capable of hurting Evelyn. I set down the paperwork on the dresser and shoved the check in my pocket just as the water in the shower shut off.
She came out briefly afterwards with a bathrobe wrapped around her body and began to dry her hair with a towel. She was quiet, not saying a word even as she walked towards the dresser, her gaze falling on the note that Jessica had put in the envelope.
“You didn’t tell me that you were going to try to buy Jessica’s part of the gallery.”
“If I would have told you, you wouldn’t have let me.” She shrugged. “Had to do what I had to do.”
I stood up, placing the check in front of her. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise, not expecting to see me with the check in my hands.
“I guess she has at least some sense of dignity.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?”
Evie rolled her eyes. “I’m sorry if the woman that decided to be naked in front of you had some sense of last-minute self-respect, Nathan. Why don’t you give her the check yourself, so she can give her special thank you?”
“This isn’t about that, Evelyn.”
“It is.” Her face contorted in anger, Evie took the check and threw it on the floor. “I don’t give a damn if she keeps the money, if she stays or she goes, Nathan. She’s done enough to hurt us, and I for one will not allow it. I’m done letting people step all over me like I’m a doormat, and that includes you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that if you want to go and take care of her, you can do just that,” Evie seethed.
I shook my head. “Christ, Evie. You don’t understand,” I said, taking a deep breath. “You were gone all day, and I was worried.” She bit her lip, gaze downcast as she paid close attention to what I said. “I understand that it’s not your fault she didn’t take the money, but Jesse hasn’t been acting like herself, and if she would have done something…you’re my future wife. I need you to be okay.”
Her eyes fluttered closed when my hand touched the softness of her skin, her breath hitching.
“You are not a doormat,” I murmured, “and I will never treat you as such. I respect your decisions, but it doesn’t mean I’ll always agree, just like you won’t agree with mine.”
She nodded. “I did something else you won’t agree with that we might as well get out of the way now too.”
I chuckled, thinking she was going to say something meaningless. “What else did you do, Evie?”
“I’ve made my appointment to go see Hannah.”
Shit. Tentatively, I asked, “When is it?”
“Tomorrow afternoon. My flight leaves early in the morning.”