Chapter 15
Everly
Tears prick my eyes watching my sister kiss her husband.
The day went perfectly. The sun is just starting to dip into the lake, and it couldn’t be a more spectacular end to the day if we special-ordered it.
I take another longing look at them as they sway to music on the makeshift dance floor we constructed. And by we, I mean Julian.
Via pulls me aside before the last song and hugs me so tight. “Thank you, sister. Everything was perfect.” She wipes a lone tear from her cheek.
“It was all Julian.” I give him all the credit because he really did the heavy lifting—literally and figuratively. My heart swells just thinking about it.
Ryan sneaks his arms around her and nuzzles into her neck. “Can I have the last dance, wife?”
“You can have them all.” Olivia beams at me, fresh tears sparkling in her eyes. She squeezes my hand she was holding and lets Ryan lead her back to the makeshift dance floor.
Turning, I walk quietly to the beach and slip off my sandals when I hit the sand. Yes, the events of the day went perfectly, but the day itself was kind of weird.
Chase was on his best behavior. Not only that, he also showed up sans Kendall.
Via didn’t bring them up at all, so I didn’t ask.
It was her day, hers and Ryan’s, and we could all get along for their sake.
But for some reason, Kendall isn’t here.
And Chase is oddly quiet—like he’s trying to blend into the background.
He and Julian didn’t speak unless necessary, but when they did, Chase was all humble respect.
Like when we moved the ceremony chairs to the tables.
“Hey, Julian, let me get those for you.” Without being asked, he took it upon himself to move all the chairs while Julian helped Pete bring the food out.
“Great. Thanks, Chase. Ev, would you help me?” Even Julian is a little weird today.
Strangely quiet and distant but keeping me close.
He’s all smiles and forehead kisses like nothing is wrong.
He’s the epitome of smitten boyfriend as far as anyone is concerned.
And he’s getting all the accolades for setting up the perfect day on such a crunched timeline.
As he should. I can tell he’s acting a little off—keyed up and hovering.
I just need a couple minutes alone to ponder all the weirdness.
I may have smiled, laughed and happy cried my way through the day, but my nervous system isn’t so easily indulged.
By the end of the day, I just need to take a breath.
It’s all so fucking weird. Did I already say that?
Blue sunsets never disappoint or fail to settle me though.
Tonight’s is using all the colors. It’s so painfully beautiful, it brings tears to my eyes.
I draw in a deep breath, but the exhale comes out shaky.
“Everly?”
His voice drops my stomach. I irritatingly flinch, and the hairs on my arms stand up despite the warm evening air.
Chase places a hand softly on my shoulder and immediately apologizes for startling me. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“You didn’t.” I say it too quickly, too forcefully. I try again. “I just didn’t hear you. Thought I was alone.”
“Sorry. I can go.” Apology Chase is weird too. He half turns to go before I stop him.
“No, it’s fine. Did you need something?” Uber Polite Me is weirder, especially when it comes to Chase. I tilt my head toward him and meet his eyes, almost opaque in the sunlight.
“Yeah, I wanted to talk to . . . to apologize. To you.” Yeah, super weird. But also humble and looking much younger in his sincerity.
“Okay.” I drag out the last syllable, then take a deep silent breath and wait.
“Kendall and I broke up.” At my raised eyebrows, he rushes on. “That’s not what I came down here to say.”
I nod as if to say I’m listening.
“I’m . . . Can we sit down? And talk?” He motions to a couple nearby beach loungers with an umbrella between.
I nod again, trying to calm my racing thoughts and heartbeat.
“Thank you.” Again, the sincerity.
After we sit, I face him squarely and snap, “Look, Chase, just spit it out, okay? Whatever it is, just say it.”
It’s his turn to nod. He takes a deep inhale and blows it out through pursed lips, then runs his fingers through the hair flopping onto his forehead, pushing it back to no avail.
It flops right back over his forehead and most of his right eyebrow.
“I’m sorry I didn’t speak up and tell everyone it was bullshit.
That you didn’t come onto me.” He fidgets with his hands, looking down at them.
When I don’t respond, he stops and looks up into my eyes, squinting a little in the waning sun.
Something in his eyes calls to that place in me—that heartbroken place that knows the pain and doesn’t want anyone else to ever feel it. But the hell I went through fights with my soft, forgiving side. It’s trying to win. “Yeah, why didn’t you?” I don’t trust myself to say more.
His cheeks puff with an exaggerated exhale. He looks back down at his hands. One reaches up to rub back and forth across his forehead. “The short answer is I’m a pussy.”
I smirk at his frank honesty, the begrudging side of me losing ground.
“The longer answer is that Kendall and her family have a way of convincing you they own you. Right after we started dating in high school, it’s like the rest of my life had already been planned out for me.” He begins fidgeting with his hands again, head bent low.
“So, what changed?” I’m genuinely curious. I’m not quite ready to forgive and forget but hearing that Kendall may have treated him like shit too sways me further.
“Via didn’t tell you?” That sideways, squinted look again.
I shake my head, meeting his gaze directly, waiting for him to continue. But my breath is a little shallower, my heart rate a little faster. My fingers curl around the edges of my seat as my lips press tightly together.
“It’s an even longer story that I don’t have to bore you with, but the short version is that Kendall faked her suicide attempt.” He stops fidgeting to stare at the palms of his hands, then begins rubbing them together.
It was all a lie. I let his words sink in. The surge of outrage seizes my chest within seconds. It was all a lie. I scoot to the edge of my chair, still gripping the sides, and hang my head. I try to take deep breaths. I can’t get enough air into my lungs. I claw at my chest.
Chase flies off his chair and kneels in front of me. “I’m sorry, Evvie. Fuck, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. I swear.” He doesn’t touch me, but his hands brace on either side of my chair, locking me in.
It only adds to the panic rising in my throat.
“I can’t . . .” The more I try to catch my breath, the more out of breath I feel.
My hand clutches my chest. The darkness creeps in at the edges of my vision.
My fingers and toes begin to tingle. Chase suddenly disappears from before me.
He flies back onto the sand about five feet in front of me, landing on his back with another figure landing on top of him.
Julian!
My vision clears.
Julian clenches Chase’s shirt in his fists, lifting the top half of his body off the beach while he straddles the lower half.
What the fuck?
“What the fuck? You’ve got about two seconds to explain yourself before I make you really fucking sorry you ever set foot on this beach.” Julian jerks Chase’s face to within an inch of his as he hisses his threat through clenched teeth.
The good news is it rips me out of the throes of my panic attack. The bad news is Chase is seconds away from Julian beating the shit out of him. And I have no doubt he will.
“Julian,” I screech and lunge at his back. Hooking my hands onto his biceps, I pull back with all my strength. It doesn’t budge or faze him in the least.
Chase’s hands are raised on each side of his head in surrender.
“Julian,” I plead his name, still pulling uselessly at his arms. “Julie,” I whisper-cry into his ear.
The tension in his muscles eases a little under my curled fingers.
“I wasn’t going to hurt her, man, I swear.” Chase lowers his hands to the sand, trying to gain some leverage to right himself.
“You shut the fuck up.” Julian shakes Chase by the shirt as he says it before shoving him back onto the sand and releasing him.
“What the fuck, Ever?” He turns his blue eyes on me, although almost none of the blue shows around the dark, angry pupils taking over.
He lifts his body off Chase, kicking sand as he stalks to the water’s edge.
He stands in the darkening glow of the sunset with his hands locked on top of his head. Frustration oozes off him like lava.
“Chase?” I swivel my head from Julian’s silhouette and say over my shoulder. “We’re not done, but I . . . I need a minute.”
He nods and pushes himself up off the shore, dusting off sand as he stands. “Sure. I’m just gonna . . . go find Ryan. Come find me when you’re done . . . if you want.”
I nod and turn toward Julian, who’s now standing with his hands in his pockets still facing the sun, which is now just a thin orange line on the horizon.
Over my shoulder, I add, “I want to hear it. That’s what I want.
I’ll be up in a minute.” With that, I take the few steps to Julian.
I want to put my arms around him, but I don’t.
Despite the calm facade, I see the rigid line of his jaw, the crease between his brows.
I stand next to him, watching the fading orange line.
He doesn’t look at me when he says, “What the hell just happened? What’d he do?”
“Nothing,” I answer back quickly. Too quickly.
“So what? You forgive this guy now? You’re what? Friends again? Because it didn’t look friendly. You looked like you were about to black out.”
“I don’t know. We didn’t get that far before you decided to throw him across the beach.”