The Bad Girl and the Good Boy

by Karla Luna

  All I did was cup Evelyn’s cheek and nod at her, whispering that things will be alright, because they would be and I knew it. As long as we were together, nothing could stop us from loving and holding on to each other. Nothing.

  “I know I can’t be forgiven. But I do apologize.” My mother sighed and started walking out. “Bradley will be here, probably tomorrow or the next day. The doctors will let you out tomorrow at noon once they check up on you some more.”

  Once she was out, I quickly went to hug Evelyn close to me once she started bawling.

  I hated this more than anything.

  • Evelyn •

  Once I had calmed down enough, Zavier went out to go get some food for the both of us as a way to make me feel at least a little bit better.

  I couldn’t believe it. They were taking me away in just a few hours. How could this be happening? Was it all my fault? I guess it was.

  I hated this.

  And for the next few hours I had, all I wanted to do was spend all of my time with Zavier. Because obviously, going back to Virginia meant the guys would be going back, too. They had no reason to really stay here. So they left the hospital earlier to go get ready to leave, while I stayed here alone in the room.

  I heard the door open and when I looked, I expected to see my teddy bear, or even that crazy Jesse that I’ll miss as well. But all I saw was a girl with long, dark hair, bright green eyes, wearing a hospital gown, and sporting a sweet smile on her face.

  I frowned at her, as she kept getting closer. She stopped at the end of my bed but didn’t really say anything to me, just pretty much stared at me, which was actually quite creepy.

  “Um… are you in the right room?” I asked with a sniff, putting my tissue to my nose to clean off some of the gross snot.

  She shook her head at me. “I just wanted to come by and meet you.”

  I stared at her and noticed how skinny she was. A whole lot skinnier than me that it was scary. “Who are you?”

  She waved her hand and laughed. “Allie. I started talking with Zavier a few days ago and he seemed really devastated about you being here. Honestly, I didn’t think you two were a couple, but I guess my stupid brain just didn’t catch that!”

  All I did was continue staring at her. Okay, seriously, who is this chick? Just some random ass…

  “But I did want to come and meet you. Well, I wanted to say I’m glad you’re okay and awake, because watching a friend being sad is one of the worst things.” She paused to smile at me, and it did seem very sincere. “You’re very lucky to have each other. I just wanted to be company for him and he turned out okay so… yeah.” She walked out right after that and I didn’t say anything else. It’s like she disappeared and mentally told me we wouldn’t be seeing her ever again. Weird.

  I just shrugged and closed my eyes like nothing happened.

  And then I inwardly groaned when I heard the door open and noticed it still wasn’t my teddy bear. Though I was holding a teddy bear he had apparently been holding the whole time I was in a coma. He gave it to me and I found it so adorable and sweet. Goddamn, I was going to miss him like crazy.

  The thing I was glad for though, was that we didn’t have to worry about Davne again. While I’m away, he won’t be a threat to Zavier. I even wanted to thank Ethan for what he did. Because if Zavier was on this bed, in a coma for almost two months, I think I would’ve completely lost it.

  It would be like my whole life would revolve around the bed he’d be lying on. Losing him would mean losing my life.

  “What up, gurl,” Jesse said as he strutted in. Once he got closer, he just slid over to me with a smirk on his face.

  “Hey, Jesse, where is Zavier? He went for food, I don’t know how long he’ll take.”

  Jesse playfully rolled his eyes and shook his head. “That guy. The food here is free.”

  “Holy sh—”

  “Be quiet, all your food here is free anyway. But yeah, he still pays. Mostly for charity and hospital stuff.” He nodded and dug his hands in his jeans pockets. “Oh, but um… this ill little boy and this chick he’s been talking to, Fallie—”

  “Allie?”

  “Allie, Kallie, Tallie, whatever. Same-ass difference. She and the little boy stopped him. He couldn’t say no to the little boy so they’re just playing with him. He’ll be back in a bit.” I nodded and put my head down on my pillow, puffing my cheeks. The next words Jesse told me made me a bit angry. Just a bit. “You know, ever since you were in coma, Zavier hasn’t really been able to smile. But when he was with her, he seemed to find it pretty easy to do.”

  Oh.

  Ha. Yeah, okay. Sure.

  “Does he like her?” I asked very casually.

  Jesse crossed his arms and nodded like it was nothing. “As a friend, maybe a sister, yes. But he’s completely in love with you. He can’t just stop loving you like that. Though the girl does like him, apparently.”

  She does?

  Be cool.

  Oh, what the fuck!

  “Really?” I asked, though I noticed my voice came out a bit high-pitched, which meant it was almost completely obvious I was holding my anger in, trying not to growl.

  Though Jesse here didn’t even seem to notice it. He just gave me a weird look and pointed to his throat. “Something wrong with your throat?” I smiled at him and shook my head, so that made him forget all about it. “Anyway… yeah. It’s completely obvious that she likes him. He is a pretty likeable dude still.”

  I nodded and pursed my lips a little. “Huh, ‘kay.” Allie… alright then. “Hey, buddy. What’s her last name?”

  He averted his eyes. “I don’t…”

  “Room?”

  “Evel—”

  “Social security number.”

  At that, Jesse raised his arms up with his open palms facing me. “Hey, come on now, no need to be jealous enough to kill the girl.”

  “Oh, jealous? Nah! Nah, I’m not jealous. I’m just… I’m gonna give her a sweet little visit. Yeah. An Evelyn visit.”

  He chuckled. “Calm down, he let her down easy and she acted a bit crazy but then apologized. She actually gave the guy a freakin’ interview and possibly a scholarship to Harvard. Harvard. Ha! Can you believe it? It’s like his dream school.”

  My eyes went wide at hearing that. “What!? That’s amazing, he didn’t tell me!”

  “Oh, he didn’t? Well, why the hell not? It was a huge surprise for him. When he told me about it, he also told me to pinch him in case he was dreaming. So I slapped him.”

  I laughed and covered my face, feeling happy that Zavier was getting something as amazing as this.

  “And well… it’s real. No dream at all. The guy’s happy.”

  That Allie girl really did this for him? Well, I wished I could at least thank her for making my teddy bear this happy.

  But… what if I wasn’t able to make him that happy? I guessed I did… I could see it in his eyes and his smile whenever he saw me. It just gets hard at times. Because sometimes you don’t feel good enough for the other person. But I wanted to be the best I could be for him. No matter what.

  But the thing was, I was leaving to go to another state. My old state, back to the Orphanage because apparently I still wasn’t of ‘legal’ age, or whatever. Which was completely pathetic, but I guess it’s what they do. I didn’t even know how they think they could do that. But even the damn police was in on it.

  I was glad they sent me here in the first place though, because I got to meet such a sweet and great guy. I got to know him, hung out with him, taught him a few things here and there. And I also got to love him, a whole bunch, more than I thought was possible.

  But going away now? I didn’t quite think of any of this until now. Would we even be able to keep our relationship going with no contact? Or will he end up forgetting about me in the end?

  All right, you are thinking way too much. Just stop it before you start freaking out some more.

  My thoughts were cut o
ff when Zavier finally walked in, making Jesse walk right back out with a salute to me. Zavier had a couple of snacks in his hands and a huge grin on his face as he came over to me and kissed my lips. But I just stayed motionless.

  “Hi, angel. I brought a couple snacks you will love.”

  “I’m leaving, Zavier,” I said in a very low voice, and he shrugged but still kept on smiling as he put the food down on my bed and table.

  “Well, I know, I mean it’s quite horrible, but we’ll be alright. I know we will be.”

  Before he could continue, I sat up and talked again. In a very serious tone, holding a straight yet sad face so that he knew what was up. “But, look I don’t know if this can work out or not.” What the hell was I doing? Did I think this was best for him or for us?

  His smile died down as he stared at me. “I… o-of course it can. I want you, Evelyn.”

  I shook my head and gave him a sincere smile, though it was very hard to with what I was telling him. “You don’t understand. They won’t let me. I realized they won’t let me have any contact with you or the others, not even through phones. I mean I know I got out last time but now the place is more secure. I can’t leave until I’m of legal age because of these idiots.”

  “B-but I… We’ll still be together, right?”

  I sighed and grabbed his hands, kissing them right after. “It’ll be hard for us. And I wanna fight for you. I would do that no matter what. But this is slightly different. Plus, I don’t want to hold you back either. I’m doing this for you because I care.”

  All he did was nod and look down. His sad eyes made me want to cry already but this was my decision. I hated it but sometimes it’s what had to be done for things to be okay, even though they really weren’t.

  “Teddy bear—”

  Before I could say anything else, he quickly let go of my hands and walked out of there while gripping his hair. I screamed his name out but he didn’t come back. He just didn’t come back and I was left there, all alone.

  I wanted to tell him that even if we weren’t together, or in contact, that we could still see each other later and be together again. If he still wanted to, that is. But until then, we’d just have to wait.

  I wasn’t letting him go. Of course not. He was still my teddy bear. He will always be my teddy bear.

  • Zavier •

  I ran all over the house in search of her. I already started freaking out when I didn’t see any of her stuff in her room, so that made me think that maybe I was too late.

  Okay, yes, I was upset by what she said but I understood nonetheless. I guess seeing her made the pain resurface or get worse. I hated that I couldn’t go with her or even get to hear her voice for months. How else was I supposed to react?

  I’m an idiot. I could’ve spent the little time I had with her those past few hours but I just… Dammit, now she was gone!

  I wanted to shout and break everything I saw.

  I woke up and every single thing of hers was gone. I thought she would be leaving later but my mother called and told me she had already left without wanting to say goodbye to me, which hurt a lot. But I knew I deserved it.

  The thing I hated was the fact that the teddy bear I had given to her was sitting on my nightstand. I thought a note would be on it, saying she couldn’t keep it and that she would miss me and still loved me. But there was absolutely nothing. She left no trace. It’s like she never even lived here with me. And I hated the thought of that.

  Quickly reaching for my phone, I dialed the guy that could probably get me to the airport faster than anyone else. Of course, he goes at the speed limit required and charges his passengers, but still, I had no one else.

  “Jesse, get here as quick as you can. Please!”

  And like I said, he came as quick as he could. He didn’t ask, I just said I needed to get to the airport as soon as possible. The whole way, the teddy bear was in my hand, as well as a little something I had gotten for Evelyn that I was planning to give to her later. But I guess now was the right time.

  If we got there just in time and she hadn’t left yet.

  When we finally got there, I didn’t even wait for Jesse to completely stop the car. He was going at about 5 to 10 mph when I hopped right out and ran inside like my life depended on it.

  I held on to the things I was holding rather tightly and stopped when I saw how crowded it was. I almost panicked when I took a look around, trying to find someone in particular. But I just couldn’t find her, and that alone made me angry.

  Angry at myself of course.

  I was about to run one way, when I heard a lady in the intercom saying something about the flight to Virginia leaving in section 8.

  So that made me turn around and run the other way.

  But I groaned and gripped on to my hair when I saw how far it was from where I was standing. I didn’t even think I could make it if I ran there.

  I cursed and then looked to my left to see a guy looking down at his phone, with a skateboard in his other hand. I looked back at section 8, and then quickly went over to him.

  “Hey, um, excuse me.” He stopped and looked up at me, waving away his waist-long hair. “Can I use your skateboard? It’s an emergency.”

  He frowned at me and hugged the skateboard like it was his lifeline. “No way, man.”

  “Please, I just… I really need to…”

  “I said no.”

  “Come on, please!”

  “No.”

  “Just, please…”

  That’s when Jesse practically popped out of nowhere and pushed me out of the way while giving the guy a good, scary look. “All right listen, bitch, the girl that this guy loves is leaving for another state! Now if he doesn’t get over there in time, then he might very well just lose her forever. So are you gonna help him or not!?”

  At that, the guy looked back and forth between us. I gave him a look of sadness and panic, and it was weird when he actually started sniffing and crying as he handed me his skateboard.

  “Go get her, man,” he said as he put his wrist to his teary eyes.

  I looked back at Jesse and all he did was push me forward very hard. “Go, you motherfucker!”

  I didn’t hesitate as I dropped the skateboard to the ground and stepped on it, riding it as fast as I could all the way to section 8. Since there were tons of people, and a couple of stairs, I had to be careful with them. I almost ended up bumping into a pile of cargo, but luckily, I made it just in time to see Evelyn (and Bradley) standing in line for their flight.

  “Evelyn!” I yelled at her as I stopped the skateboard and ran over to her. She looked around almost confusingly, but when she spotted me, she gaped at me. She looked at Bradley and faked a warm smile at him before looking over at me again with a look of horror. He didn’t seem pleased to see me, though he just turned like he didn’t care about why I was there.

  Well, hey to you both.

  “Zavier, what are you doing here?” Evelyn asked as I went over to her and gave her a nice smile.

  “Just… I’m sorry. I’m really sorry for acting the way I did. I seem to be doing that a lot and it’s just me not being man enough to realize that you’re going to get hurt in the process, too. But that’s not what I want. I want you to be happy, even if it’s not with me. Though I wouldn’t be happy without you. I just… I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m glad I got to know you. You taught me how to do so many things. How to laugh, how to live. But mostly… how to love. And I love you more than anything in this world.”

  I licked my lips and grabbed the special little thing I wanted to give her. It was in a tiny black box.

  I opened it up and showed it to her, watching her gasp and bring her hand to her mouth in surprise.

  “I have this promise ring. Please wear it every day, and remember that I'm here for you no matter what. That I love you. That we’ll be together later on, whether you find someone or not. That we will never lose each other.”

  She looked at me w
ith her glowing, hazel eyes that seemed to have tears in them. Giving me a sweet smile, she held her hand out and I gently placed the ring on her finger.

  It was silver, with a heart engraved on it, surrounded by little diamonds. And it had both our initials on it in cursive writing on the inside.

  Evelyn grinned and covered her mouth as she stared down at the ring. “Oh, God it’s beautiful!” she managed to whisper as she looked up at me and practically attacked me with a tight hug. “I love you so much.”

  “I love you, too.”

  After a while, since people were starting to get really irritated, we pulled away and she got back in line. I was waving goodbye to her and didn’t want to leave until she was really inside the airplane.

  But I didn’t want to watch her go either, so I turned and started walking back… when I realized something halfway there.

  I looked down and saw the soft, brown teddy bear in my hands. Then I looked at the front entrance and saw Jesse standing there, giving me a look of confusion as he nodded at me.

  Dammit! How could I be so stupid!? It was right in my hands, too!

  That’s when I turned back around and made a run for it.

  I hoped I wasn’t too late.

  50: End Up Here

  • Zavier •

  5 months later

  I held on tight to my pencil and began to write again, yet my hand felt a little bit more unsteady than the last time.

  Dear Angel…

  No. Nope. We weren’t dating anymore. We haven’t even seen each other for a while. We. Aren’t. Dating. Why couldn’t I just keep that in my head sometimes? Oh, that’s right… because I missed her that much and I wondered just when her or the guys would reply to me, which would probably be close to never.

  Dear Evelyn…

  No, no. Now, I was thinking that sounded too sappy. What the hell was I even doing? If I thought they’d never reply to me, then why was I wasting my time doing this? When I should be getting ready to pack my things to leave for college soon.