Nathan
I stared down at my phone, still waiting for Evie’s reply. Why hadn’t she answered yet?
The elevator door opened, and I sighed, both anxious and ready to get this shit over with. My only concern was Evelyn, getting back to her and making sure she was okay. Yes, I was curious to know what happened with Hannah, but what worried me the most was her upset state. The woman I loved, she was strong and brave, yet the woman I’d seen yesterday appeared destroyed.
Though that morning she seemed to be feeling better, I was still unsure about how she was really dealing with everything.
I didn’t think she was dealing at all.
It worried me to no fucking end because Evelyn was the type of person that wore her feelings on her sleeve; she never hid anything. What you saw was what you got. And yesterday…I’d gotten a heartbroken woman.
The yelling coming from the area where Derek’s room was brought me out of my thoughts. I furrowed my brows, finding Damian within a matter of seconds.
“What’s going on?” I asked, not bothering to greet him.
“He wants the hospital to release him.” He made no attempt to hide his concern. “But you’re here, and he’s been waiting to talk to you and Evelyn. Where is she?”
I glanced at my phone, hoping to see a message from her.
Nothing. “Has he talked to the police?” I asked, following behind Damian when I saw him already heading in the direction of the room.
The times I’d seen him, he always seemed composed, but in those moments, he looked stressed. It was as if the past few hours that he’d been there had been the worst of his life as well.
“He hasn’t talked to anyone, but he did tell the police it wasn’t you who hurt him,” Damian stated. “Do you know a Kelly Nicholson?”
I raised my eyebrow at the mention of her name. I hadn’t seen or even heard of the Nicholsons since the incident with Josh and Hannah. Just hearing the name angered me. “Yes. Why?”
Damian cursed. “She’s the person that hired him.”
Shocked, I stopped Damian. “What the hell are you talking about?”
The loud yelling from the room caught my attention as I realized the severity of the situation. I had no clue what was going on, but whatever it was, it was bad.
“I said I’ll sign the goddamn release papers.” Derek’s voice echoed throughout the hallway as we opened the door. Everyone’s attention, the police men, the doctors and his, fell on us.
“Where the fuck is Evelyn?” Derek spat, his voiced full of frustration, eyes piercing with fright. “Why isn’t she with you? Why didn’t she come?”
He ran his hands through his fucked-up hair, pulling at the ends, before he stood up off of the bed, catching the doctors off guard. Derek Hensley seemed crazed, almost maniacal in the way he behaved.
“Give me a sheet of paper,” he said, snatching a Post-It from a nurse. “You guys don’t want to let me leave,” he muttered as he scribbled something on it. “I will write my own release paper, stating that I won’t hold the hospital liable for anything.”
He was pale and looked like he’d lost weight, but otherwise he seemed fine while he walked towards us.
“Are you going to explain what’s going on?” I hissed, taking hold of his arm before he left the room. Everyone seemed to be going in circles.
“I’ll explain on the way. My sister can’t be alone today,” he stated.
I frowned. “Your sister?”
He sighed, extending his hand towards me. “It’s time to reintroduce ourselves. I’m Derek Hensley, your brother-in-law.”
***
I fucking hoped everything was a joke. But the more I heard Derek’s story, more and more shit started to make sense.
I grasped at straws, trying to make sense of a senseless situation while wondering whether Evelyn was okay. I kept calling, but she wouldn’t answer the damn phone. I could do nothing else but hear each word Derek said, wondering when our lives got so screwed up.
“Her brother?” Damian asked as he wove in and out of New York traffic.
“Surprise to me, too,” Derek muttered, running his hand over his face. “I didn’t know it before.”
“Why is she trying to hurt her?”
Derek sighed. “I met a woman a few months ago in Pennsylvania, said the Carsons had fucked up her life. I believed her. Hannah did the same to me, and I just assumed Evelyn was the same—”
“You assumed fucking wrong,” I interrupted.
“I know that now,” Derek hissed. “I didn’t then, but I do now. I was meant to hurt her, mess up her life and shit. But I met Evie, and I just couldn’t. I always felt something for her. In the end, I told her I couldn’t follow through and ended up beat up.”
My chest tightened. Evelyn always said she had feelings for him and never knew how to explain them; she hadn’t lied.
“Kelly was pissed off because her son was in jail,” Derek continued while I sent a text message to Carter, hoping and praying the cops would get there on time, because I knew we wouldn’t. “I thought they’d fucked with their family, you know, they’d been taken advantage of, but I didn’t know the full story, not until I started digging up information when I realized Evie was nothing like she described.”
“Has she been the one planning this whole thing?”
I saw him shake his head. Rage filled me. “I think it’s been Josh behind everything, using his mommy.”
Suddenly, realization kicked in. One minor detail that managed to escape with everything going on came to mind. “If Evelyn is your sister, and Hannah and Evie are sisters, did you have sex with your—”
Damian snorted to suppress a laugh. “Holy shit. This is a mess.”
“No. Hannah and Evelyn aren’t sisters.”
A driver next to us slammed on their brakes as Damian swerved into their lane.
Dread coated every fiber of my being as I started to understand Evelyn’s desperation last night. My jaw hardened, my grip tightening around the phone in my hands. In silence, Damian tried to hurry and get to Evie while Derek continued narrating the unknown story about Evie’s life.
***
Evelyn
I blinked a couple of times. Those few seconds were the ones that seemed to matter. Mrs. Nicholson pushed past me and into my small home, the air chilling as she stepped inside.
How did she know where I lived?
Why the hell was she here?
“It’s a nice place that you have here,” she said, smiling at me, her now-black hair up in a ponytail. Her eyes seemed…off. Her expression in general—it was as if she wasn’t all there.
“I don’t understand what you’re doing here,” I replied, analyzing the all-black clothes she wore—not suspicious at all.
“Do you not know what day it is, dear?” she asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement.
I glanced over to the coffee table in the middle of the living room. If only I could get to it.
“You’re not answering my questions. Clearly, you didn’t learn how to be a good host from your mother.”
I expected to feel pain or even wounded, but the adrenaline in my veins didn’t allow it.
“Honestly, she wasn’t really my mother, and I didn’t learn a lot from her, which is a good thing,” I stated, for the first time saying the words out loud. It felt good.
I felt relieved.
Yes, it hurt, but it was a weight lifted off my shoulders, like I could breathe a little bit just by admitting it.
“What a bitchy thing to say,” she sneered, her lips curling with fury.
Scoffing, I crossed my arms over my chest, thankful that I wore one of Nathan’s shirts and that my belly wasn’t too noticeable. “Some would say inviting yourself into someone else’s home is quite a bitchy move as well,” I countered.
I could pretend I wasn’t scared, act like I wasn’t the least bit terrified, but my heart was racing, and my palms were sweaty. She was losing it.
“I always knew your family was shitty,” she hissed, eyeing me with disgust. “But Josh just had to get involved with you, and you caused all this mess.”
I took a calculated step forward, thinking carefully of my next move. “Your son was a pervert. He tried to rape me, and then he recorded me—”
“With your brother-in-law,” she spat. “You’re a disgrace to your family.”
The words hurt, but I refused to back down. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“It’s Josh’s birthday today,” Mrs. Nicholson stated, her eyes turning furious. I inhaled, surprised. Her gaze was threatening, but my fists balled up to my sides. If I could catch her off guard…
“Why don’t you just go to the prison to celebrate? I’m sure the inmates are loving celebrating the type of way Josh likes.” I smirked at her troubled expression, but her anger was stronger. Briefly, her gaze shifted, settling on my belly.
It’s now or never.
As she raised her face, I swung at her, my fist connecting with her cheekbone immediately. A shocked gasp left her lips, and in an instant, I punched her again, watching her stumble backwards.
I stepped back, needing to get out of there. Everything clicked. The random calls, Derek’s confusion.
The lies.
The sadness.
My heartache.
The fury.
A ragged breath left my lips, and I looked down at her, her eyes wide with surprise but also…amusement?
And then she laughed.
“You’re fucking crazy,” I said, swallowing. My gaze fell from my knuckles to her face. Her lip was busted, her nose was bleeding, and she seemed dazed. But her laugh, her laugh was the scariest of it all.
“You poor idiot,” she mumbled, trying but failing to sit up. “You didn’t really think I’d come alone, did you?”
I gasped, feeling someone pull my arms behind my back, warm breath on my neck.
“It’s good to see you again, Evelyn.”