About an hour had passed and Troy was still sat on Evelyn's bed. She grew more and more exasperated by the minute. Answering Troy's teasing questions was not something Evelyn wanted to spend her day doing, but she asked for it the minute she stepped out of her home.

     "Well I better get going," Troy finally spoke.

     "Thank heavens," she'd been waiting to hear those words the entire time.

     "Don't miss me too much!" he teasingly grinned.

     "Trust me, I won't," she began to follow him out of her room. She trudged down the stairs behind him.

     "Bye, Evelyn," Troy singsonged on the porch.

"Goodbye Troy!" she aggressively shut the door.

"Troy?" Michelle stepped into the living area right as Evelyn began to make her way up the stairs.

"Troy," she stated dismissively, turning to run to her room.

"Not so fast!" Michelle walked over. "Is he your friend?"

"No," evelyn tried to state matter-of-factly, but her voice was shaky.

     "Ev, you don't have to pretend. I'm so happy you made a friend!" Michelle pulled her daughter into a tight hug. "I'm a bit shocked it's Jeremiah's son but that doesn't matter."

     Evelyn faked a laugh. Not wanting to disappoint her mother, she lied. "Yeah, me too, but he's pretty nice."

     "Oh, I'm so happy," Michelle repeated. "I might cry."

Evelyn felt a pang of guilt rush through her. She didn't mean to lie, but it wasn't her fault. She'd never seen her mom be this happy for her. She wanted to truthfully say that she liked Troy, but she knew he had nothing but bad intentions. Not one word that slipped his mouth was genuine, not even one syllable.

"Why are you gonna cry?" Carson questioned. He strolled into the room with his rockstar walk that he swore was the coolest thing.

     "Evelyn made a friend!" Michelle cheered.

     "Oh my god it's a Christmas miracle!"

     "Shut up you freak!"

     "Hey!" their mother shut them down. Evelyn stuck her tongue out at her annoying brother.

     "Whatever," Carson turned on his heel. "Who's the unlucky person?"

     "Jeremiah's son, Troy," Michelle voiced too calmly. Carson spun, looking at his mother and sister with a shocked and concerned look.

     "Troy Otto?!" he exclaimed.

     "Yup, real great guy," Evelyn grinned painfully.

     "Troy Otto? Great guy? Those words do not belong in the same sentence!"

     "Why not?" the older woman asked. She knew troy wasn't always the nicest guy, but she didn't expect him to be mean. Every time she was around him, he kept to himself and minded his own.

     "That kid is the devil in disguise," Carson exaggerated, "literally."

     "No he's not," Evelyn shook her head. "Really, he's a great guy! trust me mother." Michelle did.

     That night, Evelyn slept with her blanket bunched up at the foot of her bed. She didn't want to sleep with the same thing Troy touched, but she also didn't know how to wash it.

     The next morning, she decided that she didn't want to hang around the house all day; so she went to visit her favorite horse.

     "Hi Susie!" she smiled, greeting the animal.

     "You're not gonna say hi to me?" a figure beside her asked. Her head snapped in his direction.

     "Ugh," she noised. next to her was the one person she didn't want to see. "Hello, Troy."

     "No, I won't accept that. I need more enthusiasm!"

     "Take it or leave it."

     "Don't get sassy," Troy playfully warned. Evelyn sighed. She wished she could like him, she wished she could be his friend, but she couldn't. She had to instead lie for her mother's contentment.

     "I'll get sassy all I want," she quietly remarked, running a hand over Susie's smooth back.

     "Okay, sure," Troy smirked at her. "Sadly i've got other places to be. I have a long day of work ahead me. I just thought I'd come say hi to my new favorite person."

     "'Kay," Evelyn responded. She was too entranced with the creature in front of her. So much so that she barely registered or cared for Troy's words.

     "Bye, evelyn, see you later friend!" he stalked off. She rolled her eyes.

     Evelyn was there for a while longer. She was just about to turn to leave when something caught her eye. Nailed to the front of the stable was a wooden plank, carved into it was the horse's name. "Susie," Evelyn repeated the sloppily written word. As she walked back home, she wondered who made it. The only person she told about it was Troy. Maybe he told someone else, someone nicer.

a/n
HEY YALL HOPE U LIKE
THIS HAHA
if you couldn't tell i'm really
trying to make this dialogue
as natural as it can be. i know
the sibling banter stuff is not
very necessary but i think it's fun
so i'll add it anyway lol.
vote and commenttt
wc: 816
12.05.21