Chapter 3
CHAPTER THREE
EVE
I ’ve got to get out of this fucking place. They’ve been controlling me for the past three years, and I’ll be damned if I let my daughter grow up around them. My father’s empire is crumbling, and his threats are going to be no good anymore.
“What are we going to do?” My mother wails at the dinner table. She’s dressed in her perfect tailored suit, and not a hair is out of place on her platinum blonde head because, after all, appearances mean everything. “What am I going to tell all my friends? How could you let this happen, Richard?”
“It was one bad investment, Gayle. Don’t be so overdramatic. We will just have to lay low for a little bit. We can move to another town, and you can tell your friends we are living in Bali for all I fucking care.”
One bad investment? So that’s what you call the feds showing up and taking every single thing you own at your business? I knew my father was shady, and it was only a matter of time before his karma caught up with him.
“I don’t think you can leave town during an investigation,” I say, spearing a piece of steak and ignoring the glare from both of my parents.
“What would you know? You’re just a child. It’s not really an investigation,” he says in denial as he loosens his tie, and sweat starts to bead on his forehead. My father could be considered a good-looking guy with his dark hair and brown eyes. He disgusts me, though, when I look at him. I’ve been told more than once growing up about how I was an accident and they never wanted children. At least with a boy, he said, he would have more things in common with but he got stuck with me. I know he’s never been faithful to my mother, but she doesn’t seem to care. As long as she can use his black Amex card whenever she wants to, she’s happy.
“It’s the FBI. It's definitely an investigation. They will find out, you know. Anything illegal is something you are going to have to deal with.” I’m finding my voice more and more every day. I see my daughter picking up on things even though she’s only two. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen her hug my parents unless my mom has company over and she forces her to so she can look like a doting grandma.
I’m finding strength through her, and I won’t have her grow up like I did. I want better for her and to be surrounded by a family who loves her like I do. Grey eyes come to mind, and I stuff the memory back inside before the hurt overtakes me again. I’ve gotten good at shoving it to the deepest part of me. If I didn’t, I would never be able to leave the darkness, and my baby girl needs me.
“I didn’t hear you complain when you got the best growing up,” my father roars at me, and I barely flinch. I’ve gotten so used to it by now that it doesn’t even faze me. “I’ve given you everything you could have possibly wanted. This goddamn house is worth millions alone.” He waves his hand around the mansion, and all I see is a cold place with no love staring back at me. It’s like a museum in here with its polished floors and high-end decor. I made sure my room, which is connected to my daughter’s, looks nothing like the rest of the house. It’s our own private place filled with things we love.
“I asked for none of it. I only wanted one thing, and you took it from me.” I stare back into his cold brown eyes. Done are the days I will remain silent. I refuse to be afraid anymore.
“We did what was best for you. You would be living in some tiny apartment right now as a bored housewife.” My mother self-medicates again as she pours herself another glass of wine mixed with whatever the choice of pills for the night is.
“I could care less about the money. I would be happy. You didn’t even let me say goodbye.” Tears threaten to spill as I hold them back when the pain slices through me all over again.
“We’ve been through this a million times. I don’t want to hear another word on the matter. We are giving you a better life than he ever could. Even if your father didn’t have to move for work, it’s not like we could have stayed and told our friends that our nineteen-year-old daughter got pregnant because she couldn’t keep her legs shut. We gave you a fresh start. Quit being such an ungrateful brat. You had to leave one person. Think of how we felt having to leave all our friends behind.”
My mother wouldn’t know what a real friend was if it bit her in the ass. She has acquaintances, and they both feed off each other to better their status until there is no more use for them, and they part ways, finding the next victim.
“I never asked you to move for me. You forced me. Father threatened…”
“Enough!” I jump as my father’s hand slams down on the table. “If I hear one more word about it again, I’ll do what I should have done in the beginning and follow through on my threat just because the son of a bitch got you pregnant. And trust me, no amount of begging this time will get me to stop.” He rubs his forehead with a pained look on his face. “I have more concerning things to worry about right now, and your high school crush is not one of them. I’m sure he’s moved on by now, and it’s about time you grew up and did so, too.”
His words cut through me like a knife. It’s those images that haunt my nights while I toss and turn, crying myself to sleep. It’s not like I could be mad at him for moving on. It’s been three years and I left without saying goodbye. I’m the one he hates, and it breaks me in two to know how badly I must have hurt him. All my appetite is gone as I slowly push my plate away and stand up.
“I’m going to bed.” I walk away without looking at either of them.
“Goodnight, dear,” I hear my mother call out like she doesn’t know what their words do to me. I ignore her as I climb the enormous staircase to my bedroom. Luckily, my parents’ master suite is downstairs, so unless we have guests, the upstairs is all mine. My parents never come up here unless it’s to yell at the maid for something that wasn’t to their liking. I don’t think anyone could ever live up to their standards. The maids are replaced so quickly that I stopped learning their names a long time ago. I would get close to them and feel like I had a mother figure, only for it to be snatched away in the blink of an eye. I learned at a very young age that the only person I could count on to never leave was myself.
I even kept my friend Brooklyn at a distance. We were friends in high school, but I never really allowed myself to open up to her. We slowly drifted apart when she moved away after graduation to attend a college in Connecticut.
My only exception was him. I let him all the way in and loved him more than I’ve ever loved anything in my life. I never knew what love felt like until I met him. Like a fool, I thought it would be forever, but my parents had other plans.
I walk across the plush cream carpet and bend down next to the toddler bed. Her auburn hair is soft as I brush back the curls that frame her face. She’s squeezing her teddy bear in her arms. I found the bear at a flea market in town when I was pregnant. Some sweet older lady sells them and makes little t-shirts for the bears. This one has a black Porsche on the front and I immediately thought of him and had to have it. I set it next to her the day she came into this world, wanting a piece of him next to her.
A single tear slides down my face as they do every night when I’m not strong enough to keep the memories of him away. She’s the perfect combination of the best parts of both of us. I see him every time she looks at me with her big grey eyes. It hurts in a way that I never knew possible and is a constant reminder of what I lost, but the love I feel for her is what keeps me going.
I kiss her soft hair and pull the covers tighter around her before walking through her room to mine. I leave the door open like I do every night so I can see her while I sleep. I strip down to my underwear and pull a worn t-shirt over my head. It’s the only thing I’ve stolen in my life, but I had to have a piece of him with me. It took me months before I would even wash it. His scent is long gone, but I still can’t bring myself to get rid of it. I feel close to him when I wear it, and if I close my eyes, I can almost pretend he’s hugging me at night.
I wash my face quickly before climbing into bed and pulling the covers up to my chin. The nights are the worst. It’s so hard when the silence is deafening, and your heart wants to remember the one thing you yearn for. Reaching under my pillow, I pull out the photo that made it through when my mother destroyed all the others. She erased three years of my life like it didn’t exist. The fire licked at the edges of the photos before they were swallowed up by the orange and blue flames. I cried until I was hoarse as I watched his face become ashes, just like my heart did that night.
I look at the photo in my hand, unable to stop the tears from falling. It was prom night, and we looked so happy as we both smiled into the camera. He’s wearing a black suit with a blue tie that he insisted had to be our color because it matches my eyes. I went shopping with Brooklyn and found the perfect blue dress and heels. His arms are wrapped around me from behind, and I can still feel how safe I felt in them. He was the only light in my life only to be dimmed far too soon.
I close my eyes tight and hug the photo to my chest as the memories wash over me, and I cry myself to sleep.
Prom Night
Eve - Seventeen
The excitement in me is so profound that even my parents can’t ruin my mood tonight. I begged them for weeks to let me go to prom.
They agreed on two conditions.
One, I had to double with Brooklyn. Done.
Two, they got to pick my date, who happened to be the son of one of my father’s acquaintances at the country club he belongs to. He’s a senior and has already been accepted into med school, so to them, he’s the perfect choice.
Ryder and I have been seeing each other as much as we can since the night we met ten months ago. It became apparent early on that my parents disapproved of him. My father had seen him around town with his two older brothers covered in tattoos and made his own assumptions about him. When he found out he works in a garage, that just sealed the deal that he was no good for me.
The one time I was brave enough to have him over while my parents were at dinner, they came home early unexpectedly and caught us watching a movie in my bedroom. They took my phone away for a month and told me if I ever saw him again, they were taking me out of the school I love so much and putting me in an all-girls boarding school far away from this town. After that, I’ve gotten really good at keeping our relationship a secret from them. Ryder doesn’t like lying to them and says he can change my parents’ minds, but he doesn’t know them like I do.
Brooklyn has been my wing girl and covers for me when I go over to Ryder’s. I adore his family so much and have gotten close with his brothers. His parents have welcomed me into their home like I was one of their own. Savi, his younger sister, and I have become close since she’s only three years younger than me. They are the family I’ve always wished for but never had.
“Let me take one more, then you can go.” My mother snaps another picture of Michael and me in front of the big fireplace. She’s doing a really good job acting like a mother who cares in front of someone she already has her eyes on for her daughter. A doctor in the family would be something she could brag about to her friends. Sorry to disappoint you, Mother, but it will never happen.
I place a fake smile on my face just to get this over with. She finally takes enough to be satisfied. It’s not like they are going in a scrapbook or anything. I don’t even think I have one single photo album of me growing up. She’ll delete all of them from her phone except the one she will be showing her country club friends tomorrow.
We walk to the door, and Michael charms her with his goodbyes and promises to keep me safe. “Don’t forget, Mother, I’m spending the night at Brooklyn’s after the dance.”
“I didn’t forget. Have fun, dear. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She smiles at me, but the love never reaches her eyes. I turn and walk out the door, not giving her a second thought. I only have one person on my mind, and he’s waiting down the street for me. I quickly get in Michael’s car and breathe a sigh of relief as we pull away.
“So, how did I do?” He grins at me as we drive down the street.
“You were exactly what she wanted you to be. I’ve never seen her look so happy. Ever.” I laugh.
“Both my parents go to the country club with yours, so I’ve gotten real good at putting on a fake smile and feeding bullshit to a bunch of pretentious assholes.”
“Yeah, I’ve gotten real good at it myself as well. Thanks for doing this.” He pulls to a stop about a mile from my house, and I grin when I see Ryder standing there. He looks breathtaking in his suit and blue tie, which match my dress.
“You can thank your boyfriend. He’s the one paying me.” Ryder opens my door for me, and I immediately wrap my arms around him. Laughing, he hugs me tight.
When Ryder found out who my parents picked for my date, he approached him at school and made a deal with him. Michael was more than happy to get out of this forced date that our parents had set up.
“God, you look beautiful tonight. I’ve missed you.” He buries his face in my hair as I breathe him in.
“I’ve missed you too.” We saw each other at school yesterday but I couldn’t sneak out last night like I wanted to. “You look hot in that suit.” I finger his tie before grabbing it and pulling his lips to mine for a kiss. He moans softly against my lips as I eagerly kiss him back.
I hear Michael clear his throat loudly, and we reluctantly break away. “Can I get paid so I can leave? As entertaining as this is, I’ve got a party waiting for me and a girl who’s a sure thing tonight.”
“Sorry, man.” Ryder reaches into his pocket and hands him the two hundred. I tried to get him to let me pay, at least for half, but he insisted it was worth every penny.
“Thanks. Have a good night, and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He grins and pulls away. Ryder grabs me in a hug and spins me around. Laughing, I meet his grey eyes that have become my whole world. He sets me down and takes my hand as we walk over to the car waiting on the side of the road. I gasp when I see it.
“Where’s your car?” I look at the sleek red one sitting in front of me. I’ve gotten to know cars a lot more since I’ve been coming up to the garage on days he’s working. Jimmy lets me sit and talk to Ryder while he works. I think Ryder told him about my parents and our situation. He seemed happy to help us out so we could see each other more.
“Jimmy insisted we go to prom in style.” His grin can’t get any bigger as he opens the door to the Corvette in front of me.
“Jimmy let you borrow this?” I run my hand over the roof of the cherry-red car.
“He did. You should have seen the look on my face when he handed me the keys today. I about pissed myself,” he laughs.
“I bet.” I giggle. I slide down in the cool leather seats as he shuts the door and gets in on the driver’s side.
He roars the engine to life and grins like a kid at Christmas. I love how much he loves cars and his passion for his work. I see it every time I watch him restore one piece by piece until a work of art is standing before me. He’s beautiful to watch, and I find myself daydreaming a lot about his hands and how skilled they are. He’s taken things real slow with me, and besides making out and some touching, he’s been waiting for me to be ready. And I am. I’m so ready.
I just turned seventeen, and it’s the only time we are briefly the same age before he turns eighteen this year. A lot of the students, including Ryder and me, got hotel rooms tonight. Brooklyn and her boyfriend, Bryan, got one, too, along with Miles and his date. We left my phone at her house earlier, so my mother will see my location there when she checks later. She never bothers to call but loves to be able to track me. I think Brooklyn has had my phone this year more than I have, so she doesn’t get suspicious when I’m with Ryder.
“What are you thinking about right now?” He looks over and smiles at me, causing my heart to burst wide open.
“I’m just thinking about how happy you make me and how I can’t wait for tonight when we don’t have to leave each other sides until tomorrow afternoon.”
“You make me happy too. I want tonight to be special for you.”
“It already is.” I grin at him, and his eyes light up with love.
Prom was everything I had hoped it would be and more. I was in Ryder’s arms all night long as we danced the night away with our friends. His brother Miles is a drummer in a band, and they even got to play for a bit when the one they hired took a break. I’ve never smiled or laughed so much in my life. I never want this night to end.
Ryder closes the door to our hotel room as I walk to the balcony overlooking the ocean. You can’t see it in the dark, but the waves can be heard pulling me into their rhythmic sounds. His arms come around me, and I smile as my head leans back on his chest.
“I had the best night of my life tonight. Thank you for taking me.”
“You don’t have to thank me. There is no one in this entire world that I would have wanted to go to prom with. You’re my forever, Eve. I’ve felt it from the moment I met you that you were it for me.”
I turn to face him and weave my fingers into his soft, dark hair. “You’re my forever, too, Ryder. It will always be you.” I bring his lips to mine and show him just how much he means to me. My fingers start to undo the buttons on his shirt, and when he frees himself from the tie and white dress shirt, I run my hands over his hard muscles and gasp when I see the tattoo on his heart. It’s a beautiful sunset with such details that even though there is no color, you can imagine how magnificent they are.
“You got a tattoo?” I stare in awe at him before lightly tracing it with my finger.
“I talked Travis into it. My parents don’t know yet, but I turn eighteen soon, so I figure I can’t get into too much trouble if they see it.” He grins at me before searing me with those greys. “I wanted you by my heart…forever.”
“My evening sun…” I whisper, remembering the first time he whispered those words in my ear. He told me my hair reminds me of the most beautiful sunset, and with my name, I became his evening sun. I blink away the tears. No one has ever loved me this much in my entire life.
“Hey, don’t cry.” He swipes away the tears. “I just wanted to show you how much you mean to me, and I couldn’t think of a better place to remind you than permanently placing you on my heart.”
“I’m just so scared that it’s all going to be taken away from me. I don’t think I could take it if you weren’t in my life anymore.” The paralyzing fear is always there that he’s going to be ripped away from me, and I’ll be all alone again.
“Look at me, Eve.” I look up and meet his eyes as he stares into mine. “I’m not going anywhere. I will always be here for you. I want forever. I know we’re still young, but I know how I feel, and nothing will change that.”
I search his eyes and feel his love shining through them. The moment I met him, I knew the broken pieces of me had become whole, like a puzzle piece that had finally clicked together. I can’t explain it, but I felt like I could finally breathe for the first time in my life, and I didn’t feel alone anymore.
I pull his head down to mine and meet his lips. Sighing, I hungrily kiss him back. My hands run over his back, meeting hard muscles. When I step closer this time and feel how hard he is, I don’t give him the chance to back away. Not this time. My fingers fumble with his belt, and he stills my hand.
“Are you sure? Just because we got a room doesn’t mean we have to do anything. I just want to be with you.”
“I’m sure, Ryder. I’m ready. I want you to be my first…tonight.” He groans against my lips before lifting me up and carrying me to the bed.
“If we do this, I need you to know that I’ll make damn sure to be your last. You’re mine, Eve. Now and forever.”
“Now and forever,” I whisper. “Now show me what it’s like to be yours.”
He takes his time undressing me like he wants to memorize every inch of me. I’ve never felt more alive and more beautiful than I do right now. When we are both naked, I watch him put on a condom before feeling him at my entrance. I bite my lip in a nervous habit.
“Look at me, Eve.” I meet his greys, and that’s all it takes to put me at ease as my body starts to respond to him. A deep ache has me gasping in surprise. “Are you sure this is what you want? I will wait forever if you ask me to.”
“I’m sure.” I nod my head as he inches his way inside. I feel my body stretch around him as it welcomes him in.
“Keep your eyes on me, my love.” He pushes through my barrier in one motion, and the pain quickly recedes as he kisses me while fully inside of me. “Are you okay?” He breathes against my lips.
He slowly starts to move, and any pain I have is quickly replaced with pleasure. “I’m better than okay.” I moan as he fits perfectly to me. My body responds to every movement and touch he gives me. His reassuring words flow over me as our bodies become one. When I feel a deep pull in my core, I lift my hips to meet his.
He groans as he goes deeper, and my body explodes around him as I cry out, bringing him over the edge with me. Sensations I never knew possible flood my body. It’s like a burst of love that’s felt in every part of my being.
“I’m going to love you forever, Eve,” he whispers into my hair, our bodies still joined together.
“I’m going love you forever, too, Ryder.”