Chapter 18 Ever and Grimm
Ever and Grimm
Hayvin
I watch my best friend sift through shimmering dresses, her fingers trailing over silks and sequins as she searches for the perfect one for Friday.
Her laughter rings out as usual, but today her shoulders slump beneath an invisible burden I’ve never seen her carry.
Has she been hiding her pain because she’s been worried about mine?
Guilt twists in my stomach as I realize I’ve been blind to the storm brewing in Everleigh’s world.
“Hey, Ever,” I call softly.
She glances back at me, but the pain flickers across her face before she can hide it.
I slip my dress back onto the rack and turn to Ever, offering her my undivided attention.
I reach out, gently cupping her cheek and guiding her to face me so I can truly see her.
She attempts a smile, but it trembles at the edges. Her eyes, once bright with fire, now hold shadows of pain she can’t quite hide.
“Oh, Ever,” I murmur. “What happened?”
Her expression stays carefully neutral, but a single tear escapes, betraying the ache she tries to conceal.
Every time Everleigh lets her guard down with me, I’m reminded how humbling it is to witness her vulnerability. She’s always been my anchor, so it’s easy to forget she feels just as deeply, even if she’s afraid to show it.
I catch the stray tear with my thumb and hold it between us. “Is Grimm responsible for this?”
Everleigh sneers at the clear liquid droplet that holds a piece of her pain. “It’s the only one that stupid, rotten dick biker will ever have from me.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask, rolling the tear between my fingers and holding it up to her like a tiny, vanishing spell.
I hadn’t performed any magic, but Ever’s face softens now that her pain is no longer on display.
“Nope. Not yet, anyway. Mister President of the Godless Souls MC can go fuck himself in the ass with a barbed wire bat coated in poison for all I care.”
There’s a storm of anger in her words. Whatever Grimm did, he shattered something precious, and he may never get another chance with her.
I adore my girl, but forgiveness is not something she gives away lightly.
“You know I’m here when and if you want to talk, right?”
She squeezes my hand back when I reach out. “You always are. I’m just not ready, Vinnie.”
Her voice falters as she says my name, the tremor giving her away.
“How about we find you a dress that turns heads and then treat ourselves at the spa? We’re about to be surrounded by musicians, Ever. You don’t have to do a thing, but if a certain biker happens to see you looking banging with some handsome guys, well, let him eat his heart out.”
Everleigh smirks. “I always look banging, babycakes.”
I laugh, snatching up the dress I chose. “That you do. That you do.”
Hours later, I drop Everleigh off at her place with a promise to see her tomorrow.
As she disappears inside, her shoulders slumped and her steps heavy, my heart aches for her.
She cared more about Grimm than she did any of the guys she had been with. To know he did something to betray those feelings breaks my heart for her.
When she’s ready, I hope she lets me in, so I can be her support the way she’s always been mine.