"What are you doing here?" Trudy asked, pulling together her broken parts. She always felt like she had the upper hand when it came to Eva, which always boosted up her confidence. "Isn't it too late for you to be out?"

"I sneaked out." At first glance, Evangeline looked tough and badass, almost understanding why Zarek wanted her so much. Her hazel eyes were edgy and careless, making Trudy envious of her. "I need you. I called you many times last night but it went straight to your voicemail." Eva said, letting herself in the house.

Eva was greated warmly by Trudy's family, with the exception of Sandra's dry glare of course. Paige invited her to the table, but Eva politely declined, telling her that she already ate. The two girls went into Trudy's room before neither of the parents could as much as protest.

Once they were in Trudy's room, Eva let her guard down. She sat on the bed, eyes filled with glassy tears. "You won't believe what happened to me."

Trudy eyed Eva, her eyebrow arched. "What happened?"

Eva's hand wiped away a tear, her eyes unfocused as she stared at her lap. "I-I..." Eva shook her head, her hand tucking her red hair behind her ears as she slipped on an invisible mask. "I got into this ugly fight with Zarek - he's such a jerk!"

Trudy could read Evangeline as if she was an open book. Something else, other than Zarek, was bothering Evangeline. It was clear from the way Eva's delicate lips were trembling, her hazel eyes slightly dazed and staring into nothingness, and her overthinking mind that was probably lost in its own land from all that unnecessary wandering.

Zarek must've hurt Eva, but not to that point - of her showing up at Trudy's door in the middle of the night, barely keeping herself composed. Trudy had a feeling that Evangeline was dwelling over Zarek's ordeal to distract herself from the real problem. Trudy's guess on what that might be was Hannah.

Eva and Hannah were distanced from each other for two years now, ever since House, Eva's father, was sent by the military to a 'confidential' mission. Trudy's psychological intake on that was that Hannah was so hurt when House left her all of a sudden, that she decided to detach herself away from Eva so Hannah's heart wouldn't hurt as much when Eva went to college. Hannah must be in an immense pain, her heart shredded in half, not knowing whether she was doing the right thing or if she was doing herself the biggest mistake and losing her daughter beforehand.

Despite the complex relationship, Trudy never tried helping them get back together. Not once did Trudy talk with Eva, telling her that her mother was going through a lot and that she should offer her understanding instead of disappointment. And not even once did Trudy sit down with Hannah, telling her that she had abounding issues and that seeking medical assistance was a necessity.

Who am I to give psychological advices? Trudy chuckled at herself, I am a nutcase myself.

Even if Trudy tried to help, Hannah hated her and would never take her advice, and Eva always avoided talking about her problems with her mother. While Eva was open minded about her issues with Zarek and discussed them openly, she was more conservative and discreet when it came to her family. Besides, it wasn't like Trudy didn't enjoy Eva's unhappiness with her homelife.

Either way, Trudy was glad Eva didn't talk with her about Hannah because Trudy wasn't looking up to that conversation either.

"Really?" Trudy already knew about Eva's argument with Zarek, he told her yesterday. She still needed details. "Tell me, what happened?"

Another tear left her eye. "He said so much horrible things to me," she hiccuped a bit, "I don't understand why I'm in love with such a... a demon!"

Trudy's eyebrows were up as she soaked in all the information Eva dumped at her. She was feeling pity and satisfied at Eva's misery. If what Trudy was feeling right now was anything similar to what Sandra felt yesterday when Trudy broke down, then Sandra must've had a blast.

"What did you expect?" Trudy concluded, eyeing Eva's wet cheeks, "You insulted his little buddy." She bit her lip, not helping but to feel smug. "To be honest, I don't think it's his fault."

Eva narrowed her wet eyes. "Trudy, don't you even! It's not my fault, it's his. He didn't mean anything," Eva said, "I told you, Trudy, it was too good to be true."

Trudy shook her head, playing with her hair. Trudy regretted the action since her scalp was aching. "You are believing everything you are told," she said, "Ryan said that Zarek made a bet with Hunter. Ryan just assumed it was you; he wasn't sure about who the girl was. Yet you went and attacked Zarek without giving him the chance to explain himself."

Eva crossed her arms. "But he didn't deny it."

"But but he didn't confirm it either." Trudy sighed. "I understand you, okay? You were clueless, and you didn't know what to do. You had your own suspicions from the start. So when Ryan came to you, confirming these suspicions, you couldn't keep it in. You found your reason to blame Zarek, and you couldn't help but burst out."

"I'm glad I have my psychologist best-friend in my life."

Trudy smiled genuinely. "I guess all those psychology courses weren't for nothing, after all."

Eva couldn't help herself and before she even knew it, another tear left her eyes. For a second, Trudy pitied her. Of course Eva was being dramatic. After all, all what Zarek did was scar her with a few words. It was nothing compared to what happened to Trudy that same night, still, Trudy related.

Trudy surprised herself when she reached for Eva's hand and squeezed it, looking straight at her eyes. "It's okay, Eva, I got you." Even though Trudy was genuine, she sounded so fake it sickened her. She pulled her hand away, feeling disgusted with herself.

At the action, Eva's face brightened considerably. "Thank you," she beamed, "But it's not okay."

Trudy frowned. "Why?"

"My love for Zarek is killing me," Eva blurted, "He was after me because I turn him on. He thinks I'm egotistic. He doesn't care about me. And, all this time, he has a girlfriend."

Trudy shook her head. "You're still believing everything you are told."

"I-"

Trudy crossed her arms over her chest. She felt serious and -judging by Eva's wary eyes- intimidating too. "Let me explain one thing about Zarek; Zarek is weird. Don't take everything he says or does seriously. Zarek won't come to your face and states something. No, he'll imply it. You should look between the words he said, that's where you'll find what he wants to say."

What she said wasn't all false. Zarek was a complex creature, quite hard to understand. He would say one thing but mean another, do one thing but intend another. Somehow, Trudy understood him.

Maybe because I am just like him; a nutcase.

"Okay, can you explain-"

"Gladly," Trudy cut Eva off, "He has an erection over you; you're his type and he's attracted to you.

"He said you are an egotistic bitch; he is disappointed in you. He hoped you'd forgive him, but you couldn't overlook the fact that he hurt you. You can't be with him because it won't be juste for yourself - you put yourself first. That's why he said he thinks you're an egotistic bitch.

"Zarek said he doesn't care about you and he has a girlfriend; a defense mechanism. You insulted him, you said you hate him and you wish you never knew him - all that, in addition of expressing your regret about seeing him that day in the coffee shop. Of course Zarek would say all these things and lie so that he wouldn't look like a fool."

"But-"

"There's no buts!" Trudy snapped, making Eva shut up. "I have proof. I have proof that everything I said is true."

Eva was too much of a coward to open her mouth.

"He came here last night, after he fought with you. He asked me about you." Trudy wasn't about to tell her about Zarek's accusations towards her, of course.

"What did you tell him?"

"What could I tell him?" Trudy snapped, remembering how much of an asshole he was to her, "I said that he should try to understand your position. He said that he's done and that he'll-..."

Some panic leaked into Eva's hazel eyes. "What?"

Trudy looked straight at Eva's soul, a hard glare on her face. "He said he was trying for you, but since you gave up on him, there's no need for him to hold on anymore. He said that he can't stop the relapse, that he feels guilty, after he had been clean for so long."

"What are you telling me?"

"He'll do drugs again, all because of you."

So maybe Trudy was adding a few details that didn't exactly occur, but they were still true. Zarek didn't need to tell her for her to figure it out. She knew he would do drugs again, just as much as she knew that Zarek cared about Evangeline more than he showed. If he was only after her because of a bet, then he wouldn't have cared when Eva found out. Why did he risk losing Ryan, his best friend for ages, for her?

Trudy didn't want to admit it, but Eva and Zarek made sense. They were opposites, but they complemented each other. Eva would get to live properly, and Zarek would have his sanity back.

Eva's face darkened for a moment before she shook her head. Trudy could see that she was avoiding the problem, acting as if it wasn't there, just like Hannah would.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, Trudy noted.

"Whatever," Eva dismissed, "Tell me, what happened between you and Justin?"

What a smooth transition, Trudy thought. "What do you mean?" she played dumb.

"You know," Eva said, "How did he take the breakup?"

"Fine, I guess." Trudy said, "I mean, he wasn't cool about it, but I, eh, managed to convince him," Trudy gulped, hugging herself instinctively. She didn't want to remember what happened. She jumped in her place when a rock flew in through her open window.

Eva was the first one to stand up and peak outside, her hazel eyes widening. "It's Justin! He's sitting under your window," she gushed, "I told you he loves you, you shouldn't have broken up with him."

"You can't understand." Trudy was disappointed with her supposedly best friend. "I don't blame you though, nobody does."

"Oh, shut up," Eva retorted, "I need to go back home before mom finds out I left. You'll drive me, right?" She didn't wait for an answer. "By the way, we should take the backdoor. I definitely don't want to run into him after I broke you two up. Awkward."

Yeah, right. Eva was the one feeling awkward. "Pff, whatever," Trudy said, fetching her leather jacket and Lamborghini keys.

W

hat do you think of Trudy's intake on Hannah's condition?