CHAPTER 15
JAY
My hand stilled on the towel when I heard a loud slam thunder through my room. Wet droplets from my hair hit my face as I turned around.
My eyes widened as I took in Evelyn standing before me, clutching her chest while she tried to heave out something.
The expression on her face screamed that something was terribly wrong.
My instincts kicked in, and I took her in my arms in two quick strides. “What’s wrong?” I inquired, grasping her cheek. Panic set in when I noticed the dazed look swimming in her brown eyes. “Evelyn.” I grasped her shoulder, shaking her out of it. “What’s wrong?” I repeated.
Her eyes darted to me. “Seattle,” she rasped out. “I have to get to Seattle.”
My brows lifted into a frown. “Evelyn, is something the matter?”
She shook her head furiously while the hand grasping her chest tightened.
It took me a moment to realize she was having a panic attack. A sharp inhale escaped me as I carefully pushed her chocolate locks away from her face and pressed my palm to her chest, rubbing her chest in smooth circles. “Hey,” I whispered. “Deep breaths, sweetheart. Deep breaths, okay?” I nodded, locking my gaze with her, urging her to draw in the air.
Her eyes told me she understood what I was saying. Her lips pursed as she willed herself to breathe.
After several attempts, she gasped when the oxygen finally hit her lungs.
I breathed out a sigh of relief and gathered her closer to me. I still wasn’t sure what was going on with her.
She slid out of my grasp, hugging her body as she whispered through her ragged breathing, “I need to get to Seattle.”
Although her breathing returned, the daze in her eyes still remained. I gently hooked my finger under her chin and brought her gaze to mine. “What is it, Evelyn?”
Her beautiful lips wobbled, and tears gathered in the corner of her eyes.
A sight that sent a sharp jolt down my ribs.
“I have to go see her.” A sob broke out of her body as she babbled. “I have to go see Auntie M. I can’t believe I forgot, Jay. How can I forget? I’m such a bad niece.”
I swiped my thumbs over her cheeks. “I’m sure Marie doesn’t think you’re a bad niece, Evelyn. She loves you very much.” I gave her a reassuring smile.
“What?” she mumbled, her eyes shooting straight at me. “Auntie M is dead, Jay,” she said in a broken whisper as sobs quivered her body.
I stilled.
“She died six years ago today,” she wailed, sobbing in my arms.
It took me a moment to shake out of my shock and gather her close to me as her sobs filled the room. She repeated over and over again what a bad niece she was while I tried to calm her down, whispering soothing words in her ears.
The shock about Marie’s death was still reeling through my system. I’d thought she was in Seattle probably married to Liam and started her own family. But never in a million lifetimes did I expect her to be dead.
Evelyn must have been crushed by her death; I knew how much Marie meant to her. She was all she had. A sudden clawing feeling nagged me. She said Marie died six years ago. It was right around the time we broke it off. It meant that Evelyn had been alone all this time. I knew I shouldn’t care, but my mind took me right back to the promise that I made Marie, that I’d take care of Evy forever, but somehow, I’d failed.
It only made the nag claw deeper, drawing blood at the thought of her loss.
I thread my fingers through her velvet locks when she finally quieted down. I picked her up and settled her on the bed against a mountain of pillows.
Her teeth clattered as shivers wracked her body, her nipples hard against the thin tank and tiny sleep shorts that exposed the jagged scars standing stark against her ghastly pale skin. Knowing Evelyn, she never would’ve walked out baring them if she was in her right mind which only made me worry further not knowing what was going on inside her head.
A soft hand clasped mine as I turned to get her something to wear. Gleaming tears of diamonds coated the tips of her lashes as she peered at me. “Jay, I have to go to see her.” Her voice cracked. “But I don’t know how,” she said in the saddest tone that I’d ever heard her speak. It only made the pressure behind my eyes heighten.
I cupped her cheeks, gazing into those browns that kept this dead man alive. “Don’t worry. I’ll take you, okay?”
Something akin to life returned to her eyes as she nodded.
I couldn’t help but press a soft kiss on her forehead.
I gently pulled one of my hoodies down her trembling body. Something about her wearing my hoodie made my blood burn. She looked so small and delicate.
I shook out of it and called Tyler to get the jet ready. I didn’t have a show until the weekend, and it didn’t sit right with me to leave Evelyn alone at this time. And I wanted to pay my last respects to Marie because she meant a lot to me too.
“Here.” I handed Evelyn a steaming mug of her favorite black coffee, which I knew would make her feel a bit better.
She mumbled thanks as she sipped. Some color returned to her cheeks, and although she was still distressed, she seemed a lot better now.
“The jet will be ready by afternoon. Since our time is ahead, we can make it to Seattle by today.”
“Okay,” she whispered, clenching her hand around the hoodie.
I pried her fingers and smoothed them out, running my thumb along her soft creases. “How did she die?” I asked her softly.
“Car accident.” Her lips wobbled once again as she darted her browns to me. “I called you, but you never came.”
My brows furrowed, confused as I gazed at her. What was she talking about? When did she call me? I shook my head. “When? I didn’t get any of your calls, Evelyn.”
She gave me a slight nod. “She must have done something,” she said as a far-off look crept over her face.
An uncertain unease hit me as my confusion furthered. “She?”
Before she could give me an answer, Katy barged into the room, followed by Matt and Mikey.
“Please tell me it’s not true, Emmie?” she steeled out.
I sighed; I didn’t have time to deal with Katy now. “What is it, Katy?”
“Please tell me you didn’t get the jet ready to leave for Seattle?”
“Katy,” I stated as patiently as I could. “Not now, I’ll explain everything but right now you need to leave.”
A glint crossed her eyes as she shot her gaze to Evelyn. “Is it her?” she shouted. “Are you out of your mind, Emmie? We have a show in two days, and you’re all over her. Again . Do you not remember what happened last time?”
My jaw ticked with irritation, and a glance at Evelyn told me the earlier daze in her eyes was returning. I didn’t want Katy’s yelling to spur another panic attack.
Mikey placed a hand on her shoulder, pulling her away. “K, maybe now is not the time.” A concerned look marred his face while he looked at Evelyn.
Even Matt could read the room and tried to prod her away, but knowing Katy, it only fired her up.
“No, I won’t stop. I’m not sure what delusional world you’re all living in if you are making Emmie go through all this with her again,” she hissed, pointing an accusing finger toward Evelyn, who was now crying softly.
And it only made my blood boil. “Shut the fuck up, Katy.”
Matt slid his arm around her shoulders, frowning as he tugged her back. “Katy, I get that you’re mad. But it’s between them. I don’t think it’s right of us to interfere.”
All this yelling brought a worried Lily to the room, who immediately rushed to Evelyn’s side at the sight of her crying.
Katy brushed off Matt and got in my face. “Have all of you gone mad? Do you not remember what happened the last time they were together? Did you all forget that!?” She screamed so loud that it echoed the whole room.
I could hear tiny whimpers coming in from behind. I didn’t want Evelyn to listen to all this when she was in this vulnerable condition.
As much as I loved Katy, she was getting on my nerves. “Katy. I understand. But like I said now is not the time. Evelyn is going through something, okay? Trust me, you don’t want to do this right now. I’ll come out and tell you everything, but right now you need to leave.”
“No,” she argued. “I’m not letting this go. Not as your friend and certainly not as your band manager. You may be blind to whatever act she is putting up to get you back again, but I’m not. All she’s ever done is ruin our lives. We were perfectly fine before she came along, but look at us now. I’m telling you, Emmie, she is only here to destroy us. All this crying.” She waved a hand. “It’s fake. It’s so she could get you to believe whatever tale she is twisting. Trust me, I can see right through…”
“Katy.” I thundered so loud that she took a step back, wide-eyed, but the damage was already done.
Deep guttural moans wailed in from behind me, a sound so painful that it reverbed like a shrill through the room, stunning everyone. I was by her side in a second, trying to shake her out of it, but she was gone, stuck in some phase of endless agony.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Lily’s pale face met mine. “I don’t know what’s wrong with her, Emmie. She won’t stop screaming.”
Evy huddled herself into a small ball, clutching her ears as she screamed into her knees. The sound was almost like a wounded animal howling in the dead night.
I wrapped my helpless arms around her and pulled her to my chest as I held her tight.
“Call a doctor,” I ordered Mikey, who nodded and immediately ran out of the room.
Katy stood stupefied; her eyes glazed. “I..I’m sorry.” She shook her head, whispering, “I..I didn’t know.”
I held up a hand as I glared at her. “Matt, please take your sister away before I do something I regret.” I ignored them as I turned my full attention to Evy, who still hadn’t stopped screaming. And it was scaring me. I thought I didn’t have a heart, but tiny shards poking inside my rib cage only drove further from her wails. I didn’t like seeing her in this state one bit.
“Sweetheart, hey.” I pried her hands from her ears. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s going to be alright.” I pressed slow kisses alongside her face. “I’m here, it’s okay. We’ll go see Marie soon, okay?”
She stilled, her screams halting abruptly. She slowly tilted her head from my chest, her face flushed red and glistening, but the sadness in her eyes just about killed me. “You promise?” she croaked, her voice so scratchy that I could hardly hear her.
I pressed my forehead to hers. “Yes.”
She nodded as her eyelids fluttered closed, her body giving way to exhaustion.
“Is she going to be okay?” Lily whispered from beside me.
I shook my head, not being able to drift my gaze away from Evy.
A doctor soon came in to check on her, and thankfully, nothing was physically wrong with her, but mentally, it was a different matter. He advised that she might have some unresolved deep-seated issues to have such a visceral reaction, and it would probably be best if she could seek therapy for it. He prescribed some sedatives in case she had another outburst.
My head throbbed from a dull ache from seeing her like this. It worried me. As much as I didn’t want her in my life anymore, it was glaringly obvious something was wrong with her. It was an instinctive tic when it came to her. Even though she destroyed me, I wanted her to be happy and safe, not this broken shell of a person.
I sighed as I watched her sleep. Her thick, long lashes fluttered over her pale, flushed cheeks, and her pink lips pursed as she drew in a breath. The twitch in her hands and the lines around her eyes told me it wasn’t a peaceful sleep.
My mind flashed back to everything she’d told me.
The phone call. LA. Cece.
Although I’ve built a fort not to buy her lies anymore, it was hard to believe that Evy would lie in a situation like this.
“Hey, man. Everyone’s ready to go.” Mikey placed a hand on my shoulder.
I nodded.
After all this was over, I vowed to get to the bottom of this and find out what actually happened six years ago.
It was constantly nagging my mind because if any of what Evy said was true.
I fucked up.
Big time.