“She has no right to try and drag you down in the process,” he said. “She's been with half the school, and everyone knows it. She may not have gotten pregnant, but I know for a fact she's passed a few other things around.”
“I don't care,” Everley shook her head. “It's bad enough everyone wants to make some sort of weird example out of me, I don't need to spend the rest of the school year having people go to war for me.” At least the summer would offer her a break, and Heath would be right back at her side when they returned to school for her junior, and his senior year.
“Hey,” he took her hand and gave it a squeeze, “it's not fair, you know, these damn double standards. Girls picking on you, guys slapping me on the back. It's stupid, and I swore I'd be there for you, and I meant it. So, if I have to go to war, then so be it.”
Everley smiled at him, knowing that once he had his mind set on something, there was no way she could talk him out of it. To be perfectly honest, she liked the fact that he'd go out of his way to protect her. He was right about the double standards, her run-ins with Miss Cheerleader were evidence enough of that, but their real friends didn't bat an eye when it came to sticking by them, and that brought her a comfort she never knew she needed.
And damn, did she ever need it right now.
Chapter 6
Everley’s little blue sedan came to a screeching halt outside the sandwich shop. She had to get away from Heath… at least for the time being, and Brandi was her safest option. The apartment upstairs was vacant, and Everley knew her friend never batted an eye when someone needed a place to crash.
Or in Everley’s case, a place for solitude.
“Everley!” Brandi looked up when she flew in the door. “What are you doing here?”
At that moment, only one thing sounded better than a bit of solitude. “I need a drink,” Everley stated. “And no lectures about it being before noon.”
“Well,” Brandi grinned, “it's a good thing my parents left this place to me, because I always keep the good stuff on hand.” She reached under the counter and pulled out a bottle of whiskey that Everley figured had to be “the good stuff”.
“If you say so.” She forced a smile as Brandi poured a shot.
“I'm not a bartender,” her friend said, “but I'm still a good listener.”
Everley took the shot, trying to forget how much she hated the stuff. She attempted to let the slow burn numb her as she choked out, “Another?”
“You got it,” Brandi gave her a sad smile, “what's going on?”
“He kissed me,” she blurted out after her third shot, or was it her fourth? Was she losing count already?
“Wait,” Brandi frowned, “who kissed you?”
“Who do you think?” Everley snapped.
“Well, I'm hoping to God it was Heath and not Benny,” Brandi replied. “You haven't had the displeasure of running into that creep yet, have you?”
“Just his dad,” Everley muttered. “So yes, it was Heath. Benny wouldn't bother, and I wouldn't let him if he tried.”
“The truth comes out,” Brandi grinned as she poured out another shot. “You wanted Heath to kiss you.”
“No!” Everley protested, “I didn't! He just did! Then, I ran away, because that can't happen, and he doesn't seem to understand why.”
Brandi sighed as she put the shot glass away and handed Everley the bottle. “Maybe I'm stupid,” she said, “but I fail to understand the 'why' as well.”
“Same here.”
Someone had entered the restaurant from the side door of the building and Everley groaned. It was Benny, and now that she had a buzz going, it was going to be even harder to deal with him.
How much had he heard?
She didn’t turn to look at him, but could hear him stop on the other side of the counter. “Nobody asked you,” she warned.
“Don’t I have a right to know?” His words were as venomous as always. “Because you were pining for the guy the entire time you were with me, and if he's willing to take you back... well, you'd better jump at the chance.”
“Like I said,” Everley shot back, “no one asked you. And if you thought I was pining, why the hell did you propose in the first place?” She refused to look at him, refused to let him see that she'd been crying. The only thing he could see was that she was drowning her pain in booze.
“Does it really matter now?” he asked. “You did everything in your power to not have that baby-”
That struck a nerve so fast that Everley didn't even know what hit her. In an instant, she was off her seat and in his face, clutching his shirt in her hand, “Say it! Say it one more time, you asshole! I wanted that baby. Whatever twisted story you have in your head is something you made up all on your own. How dare you leave me alone in my grief. I needed you, and you went out and cheated on me!”
“Shit,” Brandi jumped over the counter and grabbed Everley, but it was no use. Everley refused to budge.
The bells at the door chimed, signaling another patron. “Brandi,” Heath called. “I need a drink, and I don't need a lecture about it being before - what the hell?”
“Heath!” Brandi shouted, “Help me before she kills him!”
Everley felt him take hold of her and finally, both he and Brandi managed to pull her off of Benny without further incident. Benny however, was less than grateful. “Go crawling back to him,” he said, “the idiot is too stupid to see how worthless you are.”
“Heath...” Brandi warned, but it was too late.
Heath let go of Everley and threw a punch that landed right on Benny's jaw. Not wanting to get caught in the crossfire, Brandi brought Everley back to the counter just in time. Benny didn't take long to catch on, and he threw a punch back, only to be met by a block, and then a fist to the stomach. Benny fell to the ground, and Heath hauled him back up by the shirt. “You listen to me,” he growled, “I don't know what brought your sorry ass back to town, but you leave her alone. You're the one who left, so there's no reason to keep bothering her.”
“I could have your ass arrested,” Benny argued.
“Go for it,” Heath said, “it would be worth it.” He let go of Benny and the man dropped back down to the floor. “I’m sorry, Brandi,” he said, as he made his way over to the counter. “I made sure to only break his face, and I even went easy on that...”
“Still need that drink?” Brandi asked, nodding over to the forgotten bottle of whiskey.
Heath declined and looked at Everley. “Are you all right, Evie?”
“No,” she mumbled, still clinging on to Brandi.
“We need to clean this up before the lunch rush starts in,” Brandi stated. “Do you think you could get Everley upstairs while I deal with Benny?”
“Of course,” he nodded. It took some convincing, but Everley eventually let him take her up to the apartment.
***
With Benny gone and Everley tucked away safely, Heath headed downstairs to help Brandi clean up. Fortunately, there wasn't much of a mess, but the whiskey was still out and there was some residual evidence of a scuffle. “Need help with the rush?”
“Heath Mitchell,” she giggled, “are you giving up your afternoon to help me keep this place running?”
“Knock it off Brandi,” he rolled his eyes, but there was no bite to his words. “Do you need help or not? I see you're missing a cook.”
“Dammit,” she frowned. “I hired that idiot to help out, and he keeps disappearing on me.”
“It's been awhile, but I think I can handle it,” he winked. “Can't be harder than taming a classroom full of rambunctious teenagers, right?”
“Right,” Brandi agreed.
Heath stepped into the kitchen and looked through the window to the dining room. “Remember when you and Everley would be goofing off, and your mother would yell at you? Meanwhile, I'd be back here, slaving away and picking up the slack.”
“Those were some good summers,” Brandi laughed.
“Maybe for you!”<
br />
“You had a good time, and you know it,” she said. “Maybe we'll start having summers like that again soon.”
“We aren't children anymore,” Heath reminded her as he started up the grill. The memories they’d made belonged in the past, and apparently, Everley didn’t want to make any new ones with him any time soon. Or ever.
***
Later that afternoon Everley woke up with a pounding headache. Silently cursing her idiocy, she went over to the bathroom and tried splashing water on her face. It didn't help one bit. A light knock on the door put her on alert. She knew Brandi wouldn't send Benny upstairs, but what if he had figured it out?
“Everley?” the person on the other side called, “it's Heath. I've got some painkillers for that headache I know you have.”
Slowly, she shuffled towards the door. She wasn’t up to dealing with Heath either, but he was a more welcome option.
“Everley?” Heath knocked again.
Everley opened the door and pulled him inside. She did a quick hallway check then slammed the door and bolted it.
“What the-”
“Benny,” she said. “I don’t want him to try and muscle his way in.
“He’s gone,” Heath assured her. “And I’m not here to pester you.” He held up the bottle of water and some painkillers for her.
“Thanks.”
“I'm sorry,” he said. “For earlier this morning, and this afternoon. I had no right to do either of those things. It wasn't fair to you.”
“I know why you punched Benny,” she said. As she took the medicine, she thought about whether or not she should continue asking questions she wasn’t sure she wanted the answers to.
“You do?” he asked.
“He asked for it,” she shrugged and walked over to sit back down on the bed. “What I don't understand, is why you kissed me.”
Heath sighed, and took a couple, cautious steps towards her. “You really don't know?”
She shook her head.
“I'm still in love with you. Always have been...”
“That's...” She frowned. Brandi told her he was still in love with her, but how? “Impossible. I broke your heart! You don't love people who hurt you like that.”
“If you're trying to tell me you don't deserve it, then you can just forget that argument right now. Yes, Everley, you broke my heart. I won't lie, there was only one thing that hurt worse than losing you.” He didn't have to say it, she knew what he meant, because losing their daughter was the thing that hurt her most too. “We were young, irrational, and dealt a very difficult hand. So, yes, it hurt, but it didn't make me love you any less.”
“I'm not even the same person,” she mumbled. “How can you say you're still in love with me when you don't really know me anymore?”
“You're not all that different.” Heath stepped forward again, still cautious, as though he didn’t want her to feel crowded. “Same Evie. Maybe a little older, a little wiser, but under that mask you've been wearing is the same girl I fell in love with all those years ago.”
Everley wasn't sure what to say to that, because as impossible as it seemed, Heath still had a grip on her heart too. Had they really both stayed in love all these years, even with the distance and silence between them?
That sort of thing just didn't happen in real life.
“Everley,” his voice brought her out of her daze and back to the present. “Tell me what happened?” he asked as he sat next to her, “because you don't just react that way unless someone has burned you badly.”
“We got married not too long ago,” she said, “I mean, we'd been living together ever since we left town, but he wanted to get married, so I agreed, even though I was pretty sure I was making a mistake. But I felt bad, you know? Because he obviously loved me, and I just couldn't love him the way he needed me to.”
“That didn't look like love down there,” Heath said.
“He blames me.” Her lower lip started trembling, and she wanted to tell him it was time for him to go. He didn’t really need to hear that she'd gotten exactly what she deserved.
“You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to,” he assured her. “But whatever he blames you for, I'm certain it's not your fault.”
“Brandi didn't tell you?” she asked.
“Tell me what?”
He was completely clueless. Brandi had heard everything, about the baby and the cheating, and Heath had been down there with her for God only knows how long, and she didn't tell him? “About why I was fighting with Benny in the diner?”
“Our friend may be a gossip, but she draws the line when it comes to some things,” he frowned, “which means, whatever he did to hurt you must have been something really bad.”
“I-” she hiccuped, and the tears started falling. “I was pregnant,” she finally choked out, “and I lost the baby, and he said all sorts of horrible things to me. Like how it was my fault, and I did it on purpose, and that I didn't want it anyway. Then, he went out to find a replacement for me. I got divorce papers less than a month after I miscarried. I was already hurting, and I just needed him to love and comfort me, and he didn't care. He was just in his own stupid world, convinced that I wasn't invested in anything. But it wasn't true. I may not have been what he needed, but I was determined to make it work. I was invested and he threw me away.”
“Jesus, Everley,” Heath whispered.
“I guess you can say I got what I deserved,” she added, “because that's almost exactly what I did to you.”
“No one deserves that kind of treatment,” he said, “and that's not what you did to me. Our circumstances were different, and you may have pushed me away, but don't forget that I was the one who ran. It sounds to me like he was the one looking for a way out and the only way he could make himself feel better about it was by tearing you down in the process.”
She wanted to protest, because she didn't want him being so damned nice to her when she didn't deserve it. But she couldn't deny that getting everything off her chest felt like a huge weight was lifted. “I'm sorry,” she whispered.
“For what?”
“For pushing you away, then trying to ease the pain by running away with the one person you hated more than anything.”
“I used to hate his father more,” he admitted, “but knowing what I know now? I think it's a tie between them. But like I said, it was a long time ago, and we both made our mistakes. There's no taking them back, so we can't dwell on them.”
This time, she kissed him. He hesitated, but then, he was kissing her back, weaving his fingers in her hair with one hand, pulling her towards him with the other, slipping his arm around her waist.
Another knock on the door pulled them apart, and for a moment, Everley wanted to pretend she didn't hear it. “Evie?” Brandi called, “Benny left, do you want me to call Ryan to give you a ride home?”
It would be rude to not answer the door now, Everley decided, crossing the room to acknowledge her friend. “I'm fine,” she said, once the door was opened.
Brandi pushed her way in. “I still don't want you driving. We also gotta talk about… oh ...” She stopped talking when she saw Heath sitting on the bed. “Sorry, didn't mean to interrupt. I thought you'd be gone by now.” She gave Everley a wicked smile.
Everley groaned, knowing exactly where her friend's mind was going. It wasn't difficult to guess, it was the same place her own mind had been going mere seconds ago. The very place it wasn't supposed to go.
“What do we need to talk about?” Everley asked, hoping her face wasn't as red as it felt.
“I managed to get Benny to keep quiet,” she said, “he's not going to say anything about the fight.”
“How did you do that?” Heath asked.
“I may have told him the witnesses saw something different than what he was describing,” she explained. “But I'm glad you're here Heath, you need to hear this too. Because as awesome as it was to see you give that guy his just desserts, it can't happen again.
We won't always have the luxury of an empty restaurant, and it doesn't matter if he's the one starting things, you and Everley were the ones that attacked first. Your witnesses may not always be as wonderful as yours truly either.”
“I'm sorry I put you in that spot,” Everley said. “I don't know what got into me.”
“From what I saw on the counter, it looked to be quite a bit of whiskey,” Heath quipped. Everley shot him a look that dared him to make another joke.
“You know what?” Brandi grinned, “I'm going to go. Let me know when you're ready to get out of here.” She left the room, closing the door behind her.
Everley walked to the door and opened it. “You too.”
Heath looked hurt. “Why me? I thought we were getting along?”
“Because I had all that whiskey, and I can't be trusted to make good decisions at the moment.”
Chapter 7
“Hey Evie!” Heath ran up to Everley and threw an arm around her. “Glad you could make it!”
“Ew!” Everley giggled as she shoved him away. “You're all gross!”
“That tends to happen when you play sports,” Ryan laughed as he joined them, scooping his cousin into a bear hug.
“Knock it off!” Everley squirmed as much as she could to get out of his grasp. “God, you two are disgusting!”
Ryan released her with a grin. “Where's your friend?”
“Talking to Lee,” Everley said with a mischievous grin, “I think she likes him.” Ryan's expression changed quickly, and Everley could see a flash of jealousy in his eyes as he began scanning the parking lot for Lee Brenan. Once he spotted Lee and Harper, he took off.
“You’re mean,” Heath pretended to scold her, giving her one of those lopsided grins she liked so much. “You know he’s crazy in love with her.”
“Apparently Lee is kind of fond of her too,” Everley said.
“He's fond of the ladies in general,” Heath rolled his eyes. “Besides, he's too old for her.”
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