Song: Saturday Nights - Khalid

As the wet tears covered her vision, Evangeline West sobbed against the cold, hard steering wheel.

Her forehead accidently honked the car, and she jumped in her place, frantically looking around her. She was parked next to her house, not quite ready to enter. However, since she did honk, she was now obliged to.

Her delicate fingers swiping the wet tears away, Eva tried to mend the cracks in her ill heart. She couldn't, especially since Zarek had purposely stepped over her already broken pieces, shredding them to more prickly parts.

Eva felt like every time she tried picking them up, they would only cut her, hurting her even more.

Eva kept her face neutral while she stepped out of her mother's car. She checked that the vehicle was locked before she jogged her way to the doorstep. She unlocked the door with her keys and entered the house. She didn't even manage to close it when her mother, Hannah, overwhelmed her.

"Where were you?" Hannah hissed, honey eyes peaking over her slipped glasses. It was obvious that she was reading, most likely the Bible, when she heard her Fabia's familiar honk.

"Give me a break," Eva mumbled, genuinely tired. She was barely holding her tears back. Why won't she just spare me this time?

Hannah's honey colored eyes widened. "What?" she spat, poking her daughter's shoulder, "Do you know what time it is? It's ten p.m. You were supposed to be home by seven!"

At the painful nudge, Eva hardly rolled her eyes. "You've had your Bible discussions later than that." Eva was not proud of mouthing off to her mother, but she was still curious about what her mother did at those religion gathers.

Hannah barely reacted before she slipped her glasses up her nose. She shook her head, short red hair bouncing off her long neck, and went back to her desk. She continued reading her Bible, as if Eva wasn't even there.

"Finally," Eva muttered, riding the stairs to her room.

Eva always hated her mother's ignorance towards her, but at the moment, she couldn't have needed it more. The second Eva closed the bedroom door, all the repressed tears flooded out of the redheaded's hazel eyes. She couldn't pinpoint a reason as to why she was breaking down, all she knew was that it was more than just one.

Her eyes looked around her small bedroom, focusing on her drawers. She had a flashback of Zarek standing there, invading her underwear. She felt disgusted and threw herself on her bed. She cringed and stood up, remembering that Zarek sat there too.

She realized she was standing on the pink Power Puff carpet, the only thing Zarek disliked about her room, which was why she let her exhausted body collapse on it. Her hazel eyes glanced at the closed window, and Zarek's last words before he jumped off rang in her ears.

"I'll be waiting for you."

Lies! Evangeline screamed in her head. She never mattered to him from the start, it was all for a bet. She was his doll, manipulating and moving her in the direction he wanted when he already had a girlfriend.

Still, Evangeline didn't feel betrayed or cheated on, because deep inside, she knew. She knew it was too good to be true, she knew Zarek would never be genuinely interested in her, but she believed him anyways. Eva hated how naive and gullible she was.

She loved Zarek so much that she couldn't believe it herself. How could someone love another with so much intensity, when they knew it wouldn't lead them anywhere? Zarek would never appreciate such unconditional feelings. That saddened Eva more than it should've.

Eva didn't know how long she had been sitting on her pink carpet, staring through the window at nothingness till she fell asleep, but by the time she woke up, it was daytime outside.

The sunshine was blinding Eva's puffy eyes. She held her stiff body up, standing on her wobbly feet. She went into the bathroom to wash her face when she jumped at her reflection. She knew her eyes were puffy from crying, but not to the point of having a new pair of eyeballs.

Evangeline tried washing them with cold water, but it wasn't enough. She opened her bedroom door and tiptoed her way down to the kitchen. When there was no ice in the fridge, she grabbed a sac of frozen beans. On her way up, Eva thought she heard sobs from her mother's bedroom.

She was about to check on her mother when she remembered that her mom didn't check on her yesterday. Her mother knew her daughter wasn't feeling well, and yet she didn't bother a single, halfhearted 'are you okay?'

It was a bit harsh, especially coming from the sweet Evangeline, but their relationship had been awkward for quite sometime and it was already too late to make a move. Even if Eva did walk in on her mother crying, she wouldn't have known how to react anyways.

So instead, Eva shook her head, pressed the frozen bag against her swollen eyelids, and went into her bedroom.

A few hours must have passed before Eva heard knocking on her bedroom door. Quickly wiping her tears, Eva glared as Hannah opened the door and peeked her head inside. Eva's glare softened, her heart clenching at the sight of her mother's baggy eyes, seeming to be just as puffy as Eva's own.

Eva pushed whatever sympathy she might've built for her mother, choosing to hold grudges. It wasn't in Eva's nature to clutch at hard feelings, but she wouldn't be naive again. If being cold-blooded would protect her heart from the immense pain and treason, then so be it.

"We need to talk," Hannah croaked, "In the kitchen. Now." Hannah didn't wait for a reply and walked away.

Eva stared at the half opened door, too confused and frustrated. What did her mother want from her this time around? Was she going to lecture her about last night? Evangeline wasn't ready, mentally, for one of her mother's lectures.

Trashing in her bed for a couple of minutes, Eva pulled at her red hair and huffed. She didn't want to talk with her mother about anything, she just needed to grieve over her unfortunate fate by herself. At least then, no one would judge her.

Feeling forced and obliged, Eva walked downstairs to the kitchen, each step a painful throb to her wobbly feet. Her anxiety intensified once she reached the kitchen and took in her mother's condition.

Hannah's red hair was stuffed in a messy bun, strands greasy and wet from all the sweat as if she hadn't taken a shower in ages. Her baggy eyes were dark and puffy, a clear evidence of the lack of sleep and the tears she shed last night. Hannah was still in her night robe, her hands shaking as she held a hot mug of coffee in one hand and rubbed her wrinkly temples with the other.

Eva sat on the stool, her hands on the counter, eyeing her mother that was leaning against the refrigerator, fighting for her mental strength. The last time Hannah was in such a bad shape was when her husband, House, told them that he had to go away for a mission for a couple of years.

Surely, Eva's late night outings weren't as serious as that.

Eva's wary, hazel eyes watched her wrecked mother. "Look, if this is about last night, then I'm sorry." Eva said, wanting to get the ordeal over with as soon as possible, "I came home late last night. I promise you it won't happen again."

Hannah glanced at her daughter, her empty, honey colored eyes glaring. "It better not," she hissed, "What you did last night was irresponsible and stupid. I don't expect such things from you again, or you will have to deal with the consequences."

Eva rolled her hazel eyes, too drained to argue. "Yeah, mom, I got it." Eva gave a mechanical smile. "That's it? Good. I'm going now." Eva didn't even make it up the stool when Hannah's glare said it all. Eva sat back down with a scowl. "Now what?" Eva exasperated.

"I received a phone call." Hannah shugged a mouthfull of coffee, barely wincing when the scorching hot liquid burned her tongue. "It's your dad."

Eva beamed at this. Her lips curled on their own, her hazel eyes glinting with happiness as if all of her previous misery was forgotten. "What did he say? Will he be back?"

Hannah put down her empty mug on the counter, heading for the yellow sofa. When Hannah sat, the old sofa creaked as it usually did. Hanna's clammy hands rubbed at each other, her gaze fixed on her lap. "It wasn't him who called me," Hannah said, "It was his work; the military."

Eva jumped to her feet, panic leaking into her soul. "Mom, what's wrong? Is dad okay?"

Hannah looked at Eva, Hannah's eyes were so lost and afraid. "I don't know," Hannah whimpered, her bottom lip twitching, "They said he was injured, and that he was admitted to the hospital."

"Injured?" Eva's heart was tense, feeling like she'd faint any moment, "H-how bad?"

"They wouldn't tell me anything yet," Hannah whispered, her emotions of uncertainty lacing her voice, "But it must be serious, since he's retiring from the military soon."

Eva heard a whistle in her ears, her breaths getting ragged. Before Eva could digest the horrifying information, Hannah stood up, her detached mask back on her face. She looked down at her daughter with disdain before she shook her head and walked up the stairs.

At the last stair, Hannah stopped and glared at Eva. "Do something useful for once and wash the dishes," Hannah ordered, retreating into her bedroom.

Eva's heart thumped loudly against her ribcage, hating how Hannah always brought her down. Eva should have been used to it by now, but she couldn't just shake away the disappointment everytime Hannah broke Eva with her carelessness.

Even in such situation, her mother was keeping her distance from Eva. Hannah was the grown up - the parent. She was supposed to comfort Eva, be there for her. Yet she was blunt, throwing facts at her face and forcing her to deal with it on her own.

Instead of helping each other, Hannah chose to go through this alone, pushing Evangeline away when they needed each other the most.

hello, readers. i'm not familiar to how the military works, exactly, but let's just hope that my researches are correct and sufficient. don't hesitate to correct me though, you'd be doing me a favor.

enjoy.

Why is Hannah so ignorant?