Chapter 14
CHLOE
The next morning, Sunday, I prepared myself to handle things carefully. I didn’t want any awkward run-ins between Scott and Evan. And I asked Scott to stay in my room so I could have a private moment with Effie to explain my leaving. When I heard someone in the kitchen, I got up.
I was relieved to find it was Effie, not Evan. She was serving herself a bowl of cereal.
“Hey, girly,” I said.
“Good morning.” She flashed a sweet smile.
“Can I join you?” I pulled out a chair.
“Yeah.” She put the milk back in the fridge and carefully carried her bowl over to her seat.
Leaning my arms against the table, I came out with it. “So, I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“You’re leaving.” She frowned.
My eyes went wide. “How did you know?”
“Daddy told me last night to prepare me for it.”
Hmm. I nodded. “I’m actually going to be moving out today.”
She looked down into her bowl. Her sad expression broke my heart.
“I’m not going very far,” I clarified. “Just down the road to a house that recently opened up. That way, you and your dad can have your space back.”
“I don’t want space.” She looked like she might cry. “I want you to stay.”
My heart felt like it was breaking. “I know.”
She stirred the cereal mindlessly. “You make me forget that I’m sad.”
Now my eyes started to water. “I promise I’ll still come visit. And you can come visit me, too, if your dad says it’s okay. That’ll be fun. Maybe he’ll even let you sleep over. We can make more bracelets and…”
I lost my train of thought when Evan entered the room. His jaw was tight, and there wasn’t a hint of a smile on his face. He didn’t make eye contact with me as he prepared the coffee. He was once again the cold version of Evan I’d met when I first arrived.
Effie turned to him, a helpless look in her eyes. “Daddy, tell her she can stay.”
Evan’s eyes finally found mine. His expression softened for a millisecond only to harden again as his gaze moved beyond my shoulder.
I turned around to find Scott standing there.
What is he doing? I’d asked him to stay in the room.
“I’m sorry,” he said, looking over at Evan. “I just really need to use the bathroom.”
Crap. He hadn’t gone since he’d arrived.
“Who are you?” Effie asked.
He smiled down at her. “I’m a friend of Chloe’s. My name is Scott,” he said in a gentle tone. “You must be Effie. It’s really nice to meet you.”
“How do you know who I am?” Effie asked.
“Chloe told me all about you.”
It was stupid of me to think I was going to sneak Scott out of here without Effie ever noticing.
She didn’t say anything as she looked over at Evan for guidance. Even at her age, she seemed to sense the awkwardness of the situation.
Scott nodded at Evan and continued down the hall to the bathroom.
“Scott is a friend of mine from Chicago,” I explained to Effie. “He came to surprise me last night. He’ll be here for a week. So that’s another reason it’s smart for me to go to the other place, so we’re not too crowded here.”
Evan continued to say nothing, letting me take the reins on this conversation—or perhaps throwing me to the wolves.
And rightfully so, since I’d created this mess.
Effie continued to look suspicious. She wasn’t stupid.
Even if she didn’t say it, on some level she’d probably noted the tension between her father and me.
“You promise to come visit?” she eventually asked.
“Of course. For as long as I’m here in town, I’ll always come visit. And like I said, you can visit me, too, whenever you want, if it’s okay with your dad.”
She nodded, but the sadness in her eyes was palpable. I felt like a piece of shit for disappointing her, even if it was inevitable. I tried to console myself. Wasn’t it better that I left sooner rather than later? It would’ve only been more difficult the longer I stayed here.
“Daddy told me last night before he went to bed that he’d make waffles for breakfast, but when I went into his room this morning, he said he’d changed his mind and would make them another day instead.” She looked down at her now-soggy Cheerios. “That’s why I’m having cereal.”
That hurt. I suspected Evan had canceled the waffles because of Scott showing up. Now poor Effie had to miss out because of me. My eyes met Evan’s for a brief moment before he looked away and sipped his coffee.
After Scott came out of the bathroom, he clapped his hands together. “Ready to get packed up?”
“Yeah, uh, I’m just gonna have some cereal with her first, though.”
He turned to Effie. “Mind if I join you guys?”
“That’s fine.” Effie shrugged.
To my surprise, Evan set his coffee mug on the counter and walked toward Scott. “We haven’t formally met. I’m Evan.”
They shook.
“Thanks for having me last night,” Scott said.
Evan nodded curtly. I noticed his ears turning red. Then he abruptly left the kitchen.
As I sat there eating my cereal and making small talk with Effie, all I could think about was Evan and what he was doing in the other room. I felt an intense urge to go to him.
By the time I forced down the last of my Cheerios, Evan still hadn’t reemerged. Thankfully, Scott had started a conversation with Effie. With the two of them occupied, I took the opportunity to talk to Evan in private.
I found him in the laundry room, leaning against the washer. He wasn’t doing laundry, though—just staring blankly out the window with his arms crossed.
“Hey.” I closed the door behind me.
He turned, his voice low. “Hi.”
“You okay?”
After a long pause, he answered, “I don’t know.”
“Is it because of Scott or—”
“Like I said, I don’t know why I’m angry, but it doesn’t matter.” His tone was bitter.
I inched closer. “Why doesn’t it matter?”
“It doesn’t matter how I feel about him showing up…or how I feel about you. That’s my problem. The situation is what it is. I’m sorry I couldn’t get myself to be more hospitable to your guest.”
“You don’t owe me that, Evan.”
He rubbed between his eyes. “Just know I’m still here for you, if you need me. I want you to be happy, Chloe. You deserve it.”
That sounded like goodbye, and that was unsettling.
The words were at the tip of my tongue: I’m not happy with Scott.
I should’ve ended things more clearly before I left Chicago.
The only moments of happiness for me lately have been with you and Effie.
And I’m so damn attracted to you, Evan. More now than ever after witnessing the amazing man you’ve become.
But I’m scared to tell you all this because I can’t handle another rejection.
Instead of pouring out the truth, I said, “I hope you know how much I appreciate you letting me stay here and the offer you made to let me stay indefinitely.”
He nodded and just kept looking at me. His stare made me feel like my skin was about to melt off. There was no sense of time in here; I had no idea how long it’d been since I’d left Scott sitting at the table with Effie.
Evan’s eyes fell to my lips, and in that moment, I swore I could taste him.
Saliva gathered in my mouth as my nipples hardened.
As his breathing became heavier, I started to wonder if he was going to lean in and kiss me.
He moved closer, and it scared me, because I didn’t know that I had the willpower to stop him if he did.
I fisted my hands to prevent them from lifting to touch his hair like I so desperately wanted to.
He stopped with his face just inches from mine.
My heart practically beat out of my chest, and I felt my legs grow weak beneath me.
His breaths quickened, and I could feel each one of them on my face.
But he suddenly stepped back. “You’d better go,” he murmured, his voice gravelly. His chest heaved.
Despite his words, I felt the truth in every fiber of my being. He doesn’t want me to leave.
And yet I turned around and walked out of that laundry room, leaving all the air in my lungs behind. Even though nothing had happened, everything had happened.