Eva
Idrive up the narrow winding road to the top of Sanderson Park. I feel like I could throw up or pass out. Probably both. The road dead-ends to a small parking lot that should be empty this time of evening. Except, it’s not. Every spot is taken but one. My throat goes dry and everything goes numb.
What is going on here?
I pull the truck into the last spot and reach for my phone in the seat next to me. My hand pats the empty upholstery where my phone should be sitting.
Shit. I left it at home with Sorren.
He must think I’m crazy the way I ran out of there without saying a word. I’ll explain everything when I get home. Unless he figured out a way to get back to the underworld and is gone by the time I get back. The thought makes me sad.
Riley bangs on the window, scaring me to death. In the fading evening light, I make out a frantic look on her face.
“Riley, what are you doing here? Where’s Grant?” The gazebo at the top of the hill is lit up with twinkle lights, and a small crowd has gathered.
“Eva. I’ve been trying to reach you, where have you been?” she asks, yanking me out of my truck into the shadows away from the parking lot lights.
“I fell asleep after work. Where’s Grant?” I ask, still confused.
“Eva. This is bad. After you left work, Grant invited us all here for a ‘surprise.’ You need to go home. I’ll take care of it. I’ll tell everyone you’re sick. Or you accidentally cursed yourself and turned into a frog. Yeah, that sounds good.”
“Eva?” Grant calls from the pavilion.
“Sorry I’m late!” I call over Riley’s shoulder without thinking.
She grabs me by the arm, terror all over her face. “Eva. I was trying to warn you.”
Before she can explain any more, Grant is there, taking my hand and pulling me toward the lights and the people.
“What’s going on? I thought it was just going to be me and you.”
“Something better. Hold on, you’ll see in a minute.” His steps are fast propelling me up the small incline. I’m still unsure about what is happening, the sense of dread I felt upon waking up is steadily growing.
My mom and Aunt Paige are huddled together at the edge of the group. About twenty people stand around watching us approach. Most with big wide smiles.
Not my family though. My family just looks worried.
“Mom?” I ask as Grant directs me to the center of the crowd.
“No surprise here, Eva is late!” he laughs. Half the people join him, the other half give him a dirty look.
Riley stands next to my mom, wringing her hands and shaking her head.
In front of all our friends and family, Grant gets down on one knee. Everything goes in slow motion as his hands come up and he flips open a small box, exposing a diamond ring.
“Eva. Will you marry me?”
I stagger backwards, completely knocked off balance.
The world spins around me. Grant’s voice slurs and his mouth moves in slow motion, “Eva?”
My stomach drops, and I lurch forward. Grant grabs my elbow to hold me up and everything suddenly snaps into a strange focus. I move back and sit down on a wooden bench.
Mom and Paige are the first to get to me, Riley right behind them. “Evie, everything okay?” Mom asks, her face close to mine, blocking everything else out.
“Huh?” I don’t know what's happening to me. I feel like I have cotton balls stuck in my ears.
“Eva, are you okay?” Paige asks, leaning down her face next to mine.
“Yes. I mean, no. I’m not okay. I can’t do this.”
Riley clears her throat.
I look up and Grant is standing there, his smile fading into concern.
The three women look between us, long enough for a tear to well up and escape my eye.
“Eva?” Grant asks. One word steeped in hurt.
“Okay everyone, party’s over,” Riley announces over all the background noise. She does crowd control and herds everyone toward the parking lot. “You don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here.”
Grant sits down on the bench next to me. “Eva. What the fuck?” He stares down at his hands as he rolls the velvet box around and around.
“I’m so sorry I was late tonight. I fell asleep on the couch after work. As soon as I woke up I drove here.” I wipe another errant tear away. “I thought it was going to just be me and you.” I say again, still trying to wrap my head around the situation. “There are things we need to talk about.”
“Like what? Talk about how you are constantly late and standing me up because of more important stuff, like your mom’s weird coven? Or a coffee shop that can barely keep its lights on?”
The words sting, partially because of the underlying truth, but mostly because they were deliberately meant to hurt.
“I know you hate it when I’m late, but I don’t think there are ever going to be enough ‘I’m sorrys’ to make it not bother you.
But it’s not a ‘weird coven’ or just a coffee shop.
It’s my life. Only a year ago, it was yours, too.
” My insides are boiling, but I fight to keep my voice calm and even.
I don’t want to argue with him about this.
“Don’t make me feel guilty because I got a new job and found something I like.” He rakes a hand through his hair and stares off into the distance.
“I’m not.” I can hear my tone rising. A deep breath in and out before I’m ready to continue. “I don’t want you to feel guilty. I want you to be happy, and that’s not possible with me.”
I’ve given myself time to think all this through. But as of an hour ago, he thought we were getting married, so patience is the least I can offer.
“Eva, I can deal with the lateness. I forgive you. We can figure it out.”
I put my hands on his, stopping him from fidgeting with the box. “You shouldn’t have to. My head is all over the place, and you deserve someone who will make you their entire world.”
“You used to,” he says quietly.
“We’ve both changed so much. We aren’t good for each other anymore.” The last part comes out with a hiccup, and my tears flow freely.
“How long have you felt like this?” His voice turns cold and hard.
“For a few months,” I admit. It sounds like such a long time, I should have talked to him about it before now. “I told myself that it was a rough patch, and we’d get through it, but after the club and the reading—”
“You did a reading on our relationship?” Grant snaps, his eyes blazing with anger. We had an agreement that I’d keep witchcraft out of our relationship when he admitted that the prospect of knowing our future made him uncomfortable.
“No. The reading wasn’t about us, but the signs were clear.”
“No wonder. That witchcraft bullshit has you all confused. None of it means anything!” He stands and spins, turning his back to me.
There it is. The truth about how he feels about my way of life. It dawns on me that we were always destined to end up right here. There was never going to be a happily ever after with someone who didn’t respect my culture and beliefs—someone who doesn’t value those pieces of me.
“You have to go where the universe is directing you. It’s just not sending me there with you.
” There’s nothing more to say to a person who fundamentally doesn’t understand me.
I started this conversation wanting to take the high road, so I walk away before I say something that I’ll feel bad about later.
With a few shaky breaths, I release the stress and pressure from the last few days. I’m halfway home when the tears stop flowing, and by the time I’m in the driveway I’m all cried out. Ready to move forward.
The only light in the house is coming from the upstairs window of Sorren’s room.
I drag myself out of the truck and into the house.
Inside it’s quiet and dark, no demon doing my taxes or watching reality TV, and I’m relieved.
Tomorrow is another day, and I’ll figure out how to solve his problems, but for tonight, I’m done.
My cell phone is on the coffee table, right where I left it. I drop down onto the couch and turn it on. Four missed calls from Grant. Twelve missed warnings from Riley. And a text from my mom.
Proud of you. Be brave. Ask the universe for what you need.