by L. B. Reyes
“I don’t need an explanation, Evie. I trust you.”
I kissed him then, showing him that he was the only man I was interested in, the only man that would ever have my lips, my body. He had to know it. There couldn’t be a doubt in his mind that I was his.
When I broke off the kiss, his eyes were dark and lust-filled, a small smirk playing on his lips. “You should go before I bend you over that desk.”
I was shocked, but my eyes quickly traveled to the object in question. Without knowing, I was biting my lip. The picture in my mind was quite appealing.
“You freak.” Nathan grasped my chin, forcing me to look at him. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? For me to bend you over that desk, fuck you there.”
I swallowed, both nervous and entranced by his dark stare. My lips parted when his thumb gently caressed my neck, the teasing touch sending sparks of desire between my legs.
In an abrupt move, Nathan pulled away, locking the door, and then went to the computer that controlled the camera. After a few clicks, his mouth was on mine, consuming me in each way possible.
***
“How long have you been in New York?” I asked Derek as we walked down the park. In the time that I had lived in NYC, I had never been there, and I was pleasantly surprised. I took a sip of the water I had gotten instead of coffee and glanced around. There were people everywhere enjoying themselves.
“I usually traveled throughout Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. I own a chain of restaurants, so that keeps me busy a lot of the time.”
Food.
Hm…I want food now.
“What made you move to New York?” Derek asked after my momentary distraction.
I shrugged. “I’ve always wanted to be here. It’s fun, and there’s always something to do.”
Derek looked around, grinning after a moment. “Can you hear that?”
The rich sound of a saxophone made me smile. With the relaxing music echoing throughout the park, a sense of calmness surrounded the usually stressed environment. Derek nodded towards it.
There were already people around the man and dancing to the upbeat music.
This was exactly why I loved it here.
Captivated by the man’s perfect playing, I didn’t even notice Derek extending his hand to me with a playful smirk.
“How about a dance along with this coffee?” I pressed my lips together for a moment until Derek raised his eyebrows. “C’mon, just a dance.”
I ended up taking his hand and grinning as we walked up to the dancing crowd. He easily began moving to the music, his relaxed demeanor making me feel more at ease than I had minutes before. Derek and I circled each other, dancing to the music.
He seemed like the type of man who knew how to have fun, the type of man that attracted several types of women as well. I didn’t miss the way different women tried to approach him, but he didn’t seem to notice.
And despite what Nathan feared, Derek was very much respectful towards me. He didn’t try to make any advances; there was nothing to make me think the man had anything other than friendly intentions with me.
“You know how to have fun.” He grinned as the music ended. He took out a generous amount of money, giving it to the musician.
“Everyone should know how to have fun.”
“Very true,” Derek agreed as we continued to walk. “Your sister didn’t, though.”
“No, she didn’t. How much do you know about her?”
“I’ve done my research.”
I nodded, sitting on a bench and stretching out my legs. “Do you know where she is now?” I asked Derek.
Once again, he tensed, the carefree man from before gone. He swallowed, looking down to his hands as if searching for an answer. “She’s in jail, isn’t she?”
“Yeah,” I replied, biting my lip. “Thanks to me.”
“And thanks to you, many families got justice, so that’s a good thing. You shouldn’t feel bad about that.” Derek ran a hand through his light brown hair. “Your family hurt many people, Evelyn.”
“They’re still my family, though.”
Derek cocked his head to the side, studying me. His furrowed brows told me he was deep in thought, and though he seemed like he had a lot to say, he held back. He ended up shaking his head slowly in disbelief.
“You’re nothing like I thought you were.” It almost sounded like he was complaining, as if it had been a letdown that I wasn’t what he thought I was.
Offended, I immediately put my guard up. “What did you expect?”
His green eyes met mine, for a moment distant until something resembling hate filled them. “Honestly? I thought you were a frivolous bitch.”
The words cut through my chest like a knife.
I looked away, wanting to prevent him from seeing the tears in my eyes. For some reason, it hurt to have someone I didn’t know think I was so cold-hearted because of my family’s reputation. The silence consumed us for a few minutes, but I was sure I could hear the loud beating of his heart.
“You’re far from what I thought you were,” he repeated, this time more to himself. He sighed, placing a hand on my arm to get my attention. Quickly, I blinked away the tears before turning my attention to him. His gaze was now full of compassion. “You’re kind and sweet. You’re different than all the women I know, and that’s a good thing.”
I bit my lip, once again feeling like I was going to cry in front of this man who was a stranger.
He frowned. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“I’m fine,” I whispered.
Searching for comfort, I placed my hand over my belly. Derek’s gaze followed the motion, and soon his eyes widened as his lips parted, realization setting in.
“I’m sorry, are you pregnant?”
“Yeah, I am,” I replied with a small smile.
He sighed once again, as if he couldn’t figure what to do or say next. “Shit,” he cursed, standing up. “Shit, fuck.”
“Is there a problem?”
He ran a hand over his face, groaning as if he was upset. “No wonder Maxwell takes so much care of you, huh?” His lips tilted up ever so slightly as his eyes sparkled at me with genuine care. “I’m telling you, you are far from the woman that I thought you were.”
Speechless, I tried to decipher what was going on through his mind. He seemed troubled.
“Congratulations on the baby,” he finally said with a smile. “Now, we should get you back to Nathan or else I think there’s going to be bloodshed.”
The man next to me managed to confuse me more than I thought possible, and I intended to figure out exactly why.
Chapter 20
Nathan
“Trust is the foundation of all relationships.”
I rolled my eyes, listening to Jessica’s words. I already knew this. I trusted Evelyn; I had no doubt regarding her faithfulness, no doubt about how committed to our relationship she was.
But Derek Hensley, that was another story.
He was a womanizer, expert in manipulating people, women. I didn’t trust him.
She saw the good in everything, and though a good quality, her naivety had put her at risk before. I couldn’t let that happen again.
“So what? Another guy is interested in her, but she only has eyes for Nathan, dearest,” Jesse continued with sarcasm.
“That’s not the problem. I know him. He’s not to be trusted, especially not in her state.”
At my last words, Jessica’s mouth fell open. “Her state? Is she pregnant?”
“Yes, she’s pregnant.”
There was an almost hurt expression on her face. All playfulness in her tone disappeared as she walked up to me. “Why the hell would you get her pregnant? How could you, Nathan?”
“What the fuck is your problem?” I asked Jessica, confused. “She’s my girlfriend, things happened, and she’s pregnant. We’re happy. That’s all that matters.”
“Happy?” She scoffed, eyes shining with unshed tear
s. “She’s in her early twenties, Nathan. Believe me when I say that more than likely, that baby is very unwanted.”
I snapped. “I’m going to forget that you fucking said that, Jessica. It’s my child that you’re talking about, and despite what you may think you know absolutely nothing about my relationship with Evelyn. This is where I draw the line; you no longer have an opinion regarding Evelyn whatsoever, do you understand?”
Jessica was a very blunt woman; she had no problem telling what she felt. But this? That wasn’t something I would tolerate.
“I just think it’s too soon, Nathan. You two just got back together and are already expecting a baby? It seems careless.”
“Like I said, it’s none of your business.”
I turned my attention to the paperwork in front of me, unable to focus as all the words blurred together. Jesse’s reaction had both surprised me and pissed me off. We wanted our baby; of that much I was sure. We hadn’t planned for a family so soon, but we knew what we were doing. Jessica’s judgement wasn’t needed.
There was a soft knock on the door to the office before it slowly opened. Evelyn smiled, soft and warm, as she stepped in. Soon she sensed the tension in the room, however, because the smile vanished and replaced by a frown.
“Hey.” I smiled, beckoning her to come my way.
“Am I interrupting something?” Evie asked as she sat on my lap. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close to me.
“No,” Jesse answered. “I was just congratulating Nathan for your baby.” I stilled, glaring at Jessica. The woman sent an apologetic look my way before continuing. “You two will be great parents. I mean it.”
“I hope so,” she murmured. “It’s all so daunting, you know? But I can’t wait.”
“I can imagine. I don’t think anyone is ever ready. But you’ll be fine. You have each other.” Sighing, she said goodbye and left Evie and me alone.
With her intuition working now more than ever, she furrowed her brows. “What happened with Jessica?”
“Small disagreement,” I replied, giving her a small kiss. I could tell her about Jesse later. Right now, what I really wanted to discuss was her little outing with Derek. Knowing I was going to ask about that, Evelyn stood up and took a seat on top of the desk, moving a few things to the side.
I smirked, picturing the sight she’d made a few hours earlier.
Fuck, I was a lucky man.
“What are you thinking about?” Evie said, narrowing her eyes on me.
“You, me, and the desk,” I replied, placing my hands on her thighs. She blushed, biting her lip. “How did your coffee with your new friend go?”
I saw her tense before she cleared her throat and answered. “It went fine. He’s very kind, to be honest.”
Very kind.
“We went to the park, walked around.”
That was all she said. And though she tried to make their time out seem unimportant, I knew there was something she wasn’t telling me.
***
Evelyn
The way life works, you never expect the blows until you receive them.
I glanced down at my phone with blurry eyes. Wiping away my tears, I stood up and began pacing. My overwhelmed mind could barely make sense of what happened.
What do I do?
The door burst open as Carter walked inside, pulling me into his arms immediately. Another sob broke free, and I cried into his arms.
It was already dark, and Nathan still wasn’t home, but I couldn’t think to call him, not right now. My mom was in the hospital for getting into an altercation with the wrong person in prison; the blows to her head had been too severe, and they weren’t sure she would make it.
“She will be just fine, Evie,” Carter whispered, holding me close to him. My eyes squeezed shut as I held onto him, the same feeling I had with Nana now making it hard for me to breathe.
She hadn’t been the best mother. Hell, she hadn’t been a mother at all, but she was still my mom.
She still gave me life.
“They should be calling me in a few hours.” I hiccupped, wiping away my tears. “Maybe she’ll be okay? Maybe it’s not too bad and she’s going to be fine, right?”
She’s not. You know that.
“Darling, you need to be prepared,” Carter said, cupping my face in his hands. I let out a shaky breath and nodded. I knew he was right. “For now, you need to calm down and take a deep breath, okay?”
You’ll never get a chance to ask her why she never cared.
You’ll never get a chance to know if she had even a bit of love for you.
“Did they tell you what happened?”
Carter guided me over to the sofa, holding me as if he was terrified that I would fall. Thankful, I closed my eyes and leaned my head on his shoulder, sobbing softly. “She initiated everything,” I answered. “She got into an argument with the wrong person, and it ended up with her unconscious. I don’t know why she would do that. But apparently, the woman already had it out for her because my mom kept being a pain in the ass.”
It didn’t surprise me. Hannah got her belief that she was better than everyone from Mom, and now she was paying the consequences. I swallowed, squeezing Carter’s hand. “I can’t go through this again,” I whispered
I still needed answers.
Circumstances that needed closure.
“Your mom made a lot of mistakes,” Carter murmured, pressing a kiss at the top of my head. “But those mistakes have made you stronger, the bright and kind young woman that you are today. I know that the last thing you wanted is for something to happen to your mom, but there’s nothing you can do, darling. Be strong, be there for her. That’s it.”
Part of me wondered how I could be there for someone that had never been there for me.
“You’re a lot like your grandmother.” I looked up at Carter, whose eyes were crinkling with a small smile. My heart beat quicker than ever at his statement. “You have a heart of gold, Evelyn. You have to stay strong to raise that little baby inside of you to be a courageous and humble human being like you are. When bad things happen, you can let them harden your heart or you can become wiser and try to improve the things that went wrong before you. Choose the latter, Evie, like you always have.”
Carter held me there for a while, not saying anything anymore. There really was nothing else to say.
As I started dozing off, I heard Nathan walking inside. I sat up, meeting his gaze, which flew from Carter to me for a few seconds.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“It’s my mom. Can you tell him?” I asked Carter, standing up. “I need to go to bed.”
I didn’t wait for a reply and walked away, over to the balcony of my room. Even the city lights seemed to dim, just like my hope.
My mom was really dying.
There would never be any chance for me to reconcile with her.
I didn’t know how much time I spent out in the balcony by myself, the place where I usually found comfort, until I felt Nathan’s presence.
What if he didn’t want me to go see my mom, just like he didn’t want me to see Hannah?
“I’m very sorry, Evie,” he murmured, kneeling in front of me. His gray eyes met my own, cupping my face in his hands. When I didn’t say anything, he placed a kiss to the back of my hand. “I booked us a flight for tomorrow at noon to Pennsylvania. There wasn’t an earlier one.”
“Really?” I asked, awestruck at the man in front of me.
“Of course,” he replied, gaze soft, tender. “It’s your mom. You deserve to be there.”
“This is it, isn’t it? I’m never going to have a relationship with her.”
Wordlessly, Nathan pulled me into his arms, where I found more comfort than I ever thought I would.
Chapter 21
Evelyn
It was too late.
We were too late.
By the time we arrived in Pennsylvania, my mom had already passed away. Now instead of saying goodb
ye, I had to prepare a funeral. If life was fair, things would have been different. If wishes came true, then I would have been able to ask questions my mom would have been able to answer. We could forgive and forget.
But life wasn’t fair.
There was no wishful thinking, no way to change reality.
This was mine.
Everyone could call this my mother’s karma. Everyone could say that she deserved it. To me, though, she’d always be just my mom, no matter how horrible she was, no matter how much she hurt me.
“Baby?”
“Hm?” I blinked a few times as Nathan’s voice brought me back to the present. The doctor shot me a compassionate look, and Nathan squeezed my waist in comfort.
“Doctor’s asking if you have any questions, babe.”
“No,” I replied, looking between them. It’s not like I hadn’t done this before.
“Would you like to see her?”
I felt Nathan tense next to me at the question.
Did I want to see her?
“Yes. Alone, though.” Without giving Nathan a chance to say anything, I told him to wait and followed behind the doctor. I felt his piercing gaze on me as I walked away but couldn’t bother to turn around.
If I thought I was cold before, I was freezing now.
“Be warned that she doesn’t look like you last saw her,” the doctor said softly.
I nodded as everything seemed to move in slow motion.
A door opened.
I took a few steps forward, eyeing a body covered with a white sheet.
Did you ever love me?
Would you ever be proud of me?
I’m sorry I wasn’t the daughter you wanted.
The doctor pulled back the sheet, revealing my once put together mother, bruised and battered. Busted lips, her head wrapped up in a bandage.
Vaguely, I heard the doctor speaking, saying that he’d give me a moment, but I didn’t need a moment.
I needed a whole lifetime.
“Mommy,” I whispered. “How did we end up like this?”