Once her four hours were up, Evelyn made a beeline back to her home. Her interaction with Troy left her feeling hot-headed and annoyed. She couldn't believe her situation— she vowed to never come back, and never ever see Troy again, but here she was. Stomping back to her house angrily because the anger she was feeling made her want to burst.

     "Hey, Ev," Michelle's greeting sounded confused. She'd just watched her daughter yank open the front door. The troubled scowl on her face told all she was feeling. "What's going on?"

     "I could punch a wall right now, I'm so mad," Evelyn's smoothed out her clothes with her hands, giving herself something to be occupied with.

     "Please don't," her worried mother winced. "Come, sit." Evelyn sighed and followed. Michelle could practically hear all the stress that had been stored in that breath of hers, and she frowned. Her daughter was broken. She led the young girl to the couch in the living room. "What happened?"

    "Well, I was planting my carrots," Michelle's frown deepened. She should've known something went wrong while Evelyn was doing her chores, but Scott assured her everything would be fine. Jake would've been there to keep her company, and Jeremiah insisted she pull her weight. Michelle had scoffed at that statement. These people had no sympathy. Her daughter owed them nothing. "I was talking to Jake and everything was fine, I was actually enjoying myself a little bit until he left to get us water. You'll never guess who decided to show up."

     "Who?" Michelle's heart began to quicken in worry for her daughter. Her sweet, innocent daughter who could do no wrong in her eyes. Everyday she felt worse and worse for keeping Evelyn in such a place, what kind of mother does that? She knew should've done something, but it was far too late now. Evelyn had grown up, resenting the thought of her childhood.

     "Troy," Evelyn made an ugly face of disgust, like saying his name was enough to make her nauseous. She never told her mom the full story, she wouldn't have even told Katie if it weren't for her nagging skills. She'd felt embarrassed. She didn't understand how she could let herself fall for something so stupid. Anyone could've predicted it, and still let her guard down. She knew she shouldn't have but she still did and god, did she regret it.

     "Oh, Ev," Michelle pulled her daughter into a hug, not understanding the severity of Evelyn's situation. "I know breakups are hard, especially when they're your very first love."

     Evelyn frowned. Her mother didn't know the half of it. She just assumed Evelyn was having a hard time coming to terms with the past. That everything was alright and Evelyn was just missing the boy from her past. That wasn't the case, it was the farthest thing from it. "He hurt me, mama," she embraced her mother tighter.

     Michelle heard her daughter's voice break and suddenly she wanted to cry along with her. She couldn't. She felt she had no right after what her and Scott made Evelyn go through. As a child. Michelle had finally pushed her out of the house and right into Troy's arms just for him to break her heart. "I know," she blinked the guilty, regretful tears away. Not knowing what else to say, she repeated, "I know."

     Evelyn wiped away a few tears that had managed to slip out of her eyes as she dreadfully headed up to her bedroom. She wanted nothing more than to change out of her sweaty clothes and sleep off her all sad feelings. She'd had the longest day possibly ever, and it was hardly five o'clock.

     She came to a halt when she reached the closed door. She didn't remember closing her door in the morning. Katie and Carson wouldn't have cared enough to close it. Her stomach turned and her heart began to race. "Please don't be Troy, oh please don't be Troy," Evelyn spoke to nobody in particular. She ran her hands through her hair before mustering up all the courage to go in. It was her bedroom after all. She opened the door.

     Evelyn immediately let out a sigh of relief. She grinned softly. It was the first time she'd smiled in hours. "Someone's happy to see me," Ethan teased and chuckled from his spot on her bed. He noted the way her shoulders dropped and her face softened when she laid her eyes on him. She'd had a long day.

     "You have no idea," she couldn't rid herself of the slight smile on her face as she walked over to find clothes to change into. As much as Evelyn wanted to tackle Ethan into a much-needed hug, she needed to change her clothes first. Not only was she left mentally exhausted from Troy's visit, she was physically exhausted as well. She had never sweat so much in her life. She hated it.

     Evelyn sighed at the feeling of dry, clean clothes on her body and immediately made her way over to her friend. She flung her arms around his neck, allowing herself to fall on top of him. She didn't care how they ended up. She just needed comfort from the person she loved most. "How was your first day on the job?" Ethan's voice was a bit muffled as he spoke into Evelyn's skin. He let his head rest in the crook of her neck.

     "Fine, at first," she let out an angry huff. She'd unconsciously pushed her anger down the minute she'd opened her bedroom door, but thinking about it again made her irritated. Ethan pulled back a bit to look into her matching dark eyes.

     "Oh no. Tell me everything," that she did. Evelyn told him more than she told her mother. She told Ethan what she was feeling. Her head was now rested on his shoulder as he ran his fingers through her long hair. "Ev, I'm sorry," he clenched his jaw at the thought of Troy bothering her. He'd seen how he hurt her, how she responded to it. To this day he could see the metaphorical marks on her. She'd never trust anyone the same. It made Ethan angry. He knew from the minute he'd met both Troy and Evelyn that their so-called relationship wouldn't end well. He couldn't say anything at the time though, he also knew that Evelyn was way too in love to care about anything the new boy had to say. "I can try and pull some strings, maybe we could take shifts together."

     "No!" Evelyn blurted. "I can handle it," she didn't want anybody to have to protect her at all times, she was stronger than that. She was scared at all times, yes, but how would she grow in times like this if she was under constant supervision. When she was young she never felt safe enough to go anywhere without her family by her side, but she was a grownup now. She could protect herself on her own. Or at least she could try.

     "I don't want you to have to deal with him alone, Evelyn. You know him. He's not gonna stop until he's all the way under your skin because he's sick and likes hurting people," Evelyn sighed at the sad truth. Ethan was right, but she still didn't want to give in.

     "Not yet," she sat up to look him in the eye. "You'll be the first to know if anything goes wrong— I promise."

     "I know," Ethan chuckled. "I'm always the person you come to first."

     Evelyn playfully rolled her eyes at her friend's cocky grin. "If your ego keeps getting worse, I might just start going to Katie instead."

     "You wouldn't dare."

     "Oh, yes I would," she chuckled and placed her hand on top of his. For a split second, she wondered if it was too bold of a move. Their dynamic had changed, that's for sure, but neither of them had ever brought it up. Her thoughts were cut off by Ethan completely intertwining her fingers with his.

a/n
just a little heartfelt moment
with ev and michelle and a
cutesie moment between her
and ethan! enjoyy
wc: 1380
03.20.23