36. Evangeline
Chapter 36
Evangeline
“ D o you really have to go?” Phoenix brushes a lock of hair from my forehead, glaring at me from his spot beside me in the car.
I chuckle. “We’ve talked about this. Sometimes, we have to do things away from each other, and that’s okay.”
I play with his engagement ring, a sight that will never get old, especially now that I’m really engaged to Phoenix Montgomery. When he asked me if I wanted to end the engagement, I asked him in return how he felt about a long engagement. He said yes by devouring me on the edge of the pool. I know we’ll probably need a lot of therapy to get to a healthy place, but at least we’ll tackle this journey together.
I sigh. “Plus, Ruby said we’ve been back from our trip for a week, and sending daily selfies as proof of life isn’t enough anymore. She’ll show up at the house every day until you finally let me see them.”
Phoenix huffs, clearly not amused. “That makes it sound like I’m holding you captive.”
I move closer to whisper in his ear, “I like it when you hold me captive. You know, there is this one scene with some restraints . . .”
Two groans sound in the car simultaneously, both for very different reasons.
Holden’s is louder in the driver’s seat. “Seriously, Princess. Have fucking mercy, will ya?”
Phoenix glares at him, and I touch his cheek to get his attention back.
“I haven’t seen them in forever. And once they’ve grilled me about everything and see I’m well and alive, I’ll be all yours again. Promise.” I lean in and kiss him.
Getting lost in him has been my favorite pastime since our poolside conversation. We’ve been glued to each other’s sides even more than before, whether we work, study, or relax. It’s a craving we share and both happily indulge in.
Lucky for me, it was fall break at school this past week, giving me the time I needed to finally catch up with everything I’ve missed. Otherwise, I’m afraid, the lenience the teachers have given me with my recent schoolwork and assignments would have vanished into thin air.
In a few days, it’s back to normal life, whatever that means anymore. I have a feeling it’ll be a hard adjustment for both of us after spending almost every waking minute together for most of the last month.
“Fine.” Phoenix glares past my shoulder at the café before pressing his lips against mine again. “Let me know when you’re ready to leave.”
“I told you, you don’t have to wait. He’s really gone.”
His gaze is relentless. “Angel, we’ll wait.”
With Ben behind bars, I thought things would just be easy sailing from here on out, but I’ve quickly learned in the last two weeks you can’t just undo years of fear and paranoia at the drop of a hat. It’ll take some time for all of us to truly believe the threat is gone.
At least they’re letting me go inside by myself. Baby steps.
“Fine, I’ll keep you updated.” I climb out of the car and blow him another kiss.
The moment I shut the door in his grumpy face, the door to the café flies open.
Ruby almost tackles me to the ground. “Evie, fucking finally.”
I laugh and squeeze her tight. But something, or rather, someone, is missing, and I look around. “Where’s Mase?”
She groans. “He’s sick.”
“What?”
“Yeah. He just texted. He left this morning to go shopping and to the gym and was supposed to meet us here after. Apparently, he puked, so he said he’s heading home but to give you a hug.”
“Well, that sucks.”
Ruby keeps her limbs wrapped around me and pulls me toward the door. “It does, but I’m here, and I want to know everything.”
Although my chest aches because Mason isn’t here, I can’t stop the happy smile over seeing Ruby.
Once we’re inside and in our favorite corner booth, Ruby starts talking so fast, I laugh and wave my hands around to make her stop.
“Slow down. I didn’t understand a single word you just said.”
Tyler’s arrival distracts me as he crosses the café and puts two drinks on the table.
He leans down and gives me a side hug. “Hey, stranger. Good to see your face. Ruby was worried Phoenix and you might have killed each other after all.”
“Nope. No killing anyone.” I shake my head.
He grins at me. “I had to promise Ruby to help kidnap you if needed.”
Ruby groans. “Oh, come on. I wasn’t the only one who was a little worried when she suddenly canceled our coffee date, our first real chance of properly seeing her after the explosion. It was a tiny bit suspicious.”
I lift my finger to interject, but she waves me off to continue.
“No, seeing you at your engagement party doesn’t count because we only got to see you for like two minutes, with Phoenix and Holden sending us murderous glances the entire time. And then boom, he’s dragging you on his private jet to take you to some faraway island. And all we got was a ‘Don’t worry about me. I’ll call you when I’m back’ message. Not cool. That sounded like something he would send us in your name if he decided to finish the job and throw your body out of the airplane somewhere.”
She delivers the last line with a glare, and the intended guilt swirls in my stomach. I lift my hands in surrender, not even mentioning the daily pictures I’ve been sending. “You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry. A lot happened, and I know I haven’t been around much.”
“Fine, you’re forgiven.” She leans forward with an eager smile. “But only if you tell us everything.”
My smile slips a little, and I grab my drink to cover it up. I’ve talked to Phoenix about this exact scenario and have decided to keep my friends on a need-to-know basis regarding Freddy and my sister. I hate keeping them in the dark, but it’s better this way.
Before I can say another word, the bell rings, and we all glance at the group of older people that walks through the door.
Tyler groans. “Figures.”
Ruby waves him off. “Don’t worry. I’ll tell you all the gory details later.”
They share a meaningful look, and he takes off with a sigh.
I tell her what we decided is safe information. Most of it is public knowledge now anyway after Ben’s arrest, and the witnesses who have come forward to confirm his hatred for us and the scheming against our families. I keep things vague about what happened with Phoenix and me since so much would be tangled in lies and connected to Freddy. I don’t want to lie to my friends, but it’s too much baggage, and I don’t need more people I love to have to shoulder it.
Ruby leans back and sips her drink. “So you basically just hung out at the house together? Both here and on the island?”
Her disappointment is written all over her face, and I chuckle.
“Pretty much, yeah. First out of necessity, but then also to spend more time together.”
And then we move on, just like that. Ruby fills me on everything I’ve missed at school and parties. I’m sure she embellishes a story or two, but I don’t even care. An hour later, my stomach hurts from all the laughter.
Tyler’s been sitting with us during his downtime, adding his own juicy details to the latest school gossip whenever he can. It feels good to spend some time with my friends, although I can’t deny I already miss Phoenix like crazy.
Baby steps.
When Ruby finishes her drink, Tyler takes the empty cup and asks, “You want another one?”
She looks at her phone screen and back at him. “Are you still driving me to rehearsals?”
“Yeah. Shelly should be here any second to take over.” He points toward the front door, just as his colleague walks in. “Ah, there she is. Perfect timing.”
Ruby’s gaze swings to me. “Since Tyler’s playing chauffeur, I can stay another half an hour. Should we have one more?”
I nod and reach for my phone. “Sounds good. I’ll text Phoenix to let him know I’ll be ready in thirty minutes.”
Tyler returns with our drinks a few minutes later and slides in next to Ruby. “I’m officially done for the day. What did I miss?”
My bladder uses that moment to yell at me, and I groan. “I’ll be right back. Bathroom break.”
Tyler whispers something in Ruby’s ear, and I get up. Their hushed voices follow me all the way to the hallway in the corner, only cutting off when I step into the women’s restroom.
I take care of business and wash my hands when heeled footsteps sound outside the door. It opens a split second later, just as I turn to grab some hand towels, and something sharp pierces my neck.
“I’m so sorry, Evie,” are the last words I hear before someone catches me, and everything turns dark.