Troy and Evelyn crept up the dirt path in silence. Troy had tasked Evelyn with holding the flashlight while he held the gun, which gave Evelyn the impression that he really didn't take her off of the ranch for shooting practice. What he'd actually taken her off of the ranch for, she had no clue, and it scared her. As she walked, she felt an increasing feeling of dread and even a bit of fear. Troy strode a few feet ahead of her. He was typically known to walk with purpose, ever the militant man with a plan, but tonight, he was languid. Calm and collected. Evelyn huffed.

Suddenly, Troy stopped in his tracks. Evelyn slowed to a halt from her spot behind him, keeping what felt like a safe distance. He turned and spoke up, "You know what? On second thought, this might not be the best time for target practice... it's a bit too dark for you."

Evelyn's expression remained unimpressed. Of course he would do something like this. He had become so predictable in the years she'd known him, she'd grown to not trust him. She crossed her arms and waited for him to say more.

He let out a sigh about as authentic as plastic and placed his hands on his hips. "Sure is a beautiful night, though..." he deduced as he stared up at the night sky.

Evelyn softly scoffed. "It'd be even nicer from my bed, as I sleep... can we just go back to the truck?" She pleaded, not wanting to deal with any more of Troy's unnecessary shenanigans at such a late hour.

Troy tutted, and Evelyn knew she was in for an infuriating remark or suggestion. "But it's just so nice out tonight... let's go for a walk before I take you back," he nodded to himself, not giving her any other option.

Evelyn watched as Troy turned and returned to walking down the path. She pressed her lips together and crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't want to go anywhere else with him, especially now that she was able to confirm that he lied to her face to get her out of bed. She despised Troy enough for what he'd done to her, but now he was robbing her of her rest, and if the line hadn't been drawn before, it was now carved into the ground.

Troy didn't hear her timid footsteps following him. He realized Evelyn hadn't moved from the spot. He turned around and met her gaze before chuckling. "You coming? Or are you just gonna stay here... by yourself?" He taunted, knowing she'd be too afraid to be left alone when danger was lurking around every corner. She might've been stubborn as ever, but she wasn't stupid, and he knew she'd end up giving in.

She didn't move as he scrutinized her, and she kept her arms crossed protectively over her chest. "I'm not going anywhere else with you, Troy. You're gonna take me home and you're gonna let me get some sleep."

     Troy's lips curled up into a smirk as she spoke. "Demanding tonight, are we?" He raised his hands in surrender when she scoffed. "Kidding, I'm kidding. I'll take you home right after, Ev. Come on. You don't want to be out here by yourself."

     Evelyn clenched her jaw as he turned around and walked away. She hated that he was right. Well, she hated him in general, but she couldn't bear being off the ranch on her lonesome. Not after what she'd witnessed. She begrudgingly took off after him, making sure to stay a modest distance behind him as he strolled.

     After a little while, he turned around and stopped. "You're so far behind, Ev... I should wait up," Troy commented, knowing he'd get her to roll her eyes. She stopped a few feet behind and, lo and behold, she rolled her eyes. He grinned. "What?" He feigned innocence.

     Evelyn crossed her arms again, unconsciously closing herself off from imposing gaze. "You don't have to do that," her voice was tired and she was ticked off. She wanted to go home. She was sick of the rocks and the dirt and shrubs and lord, she was sick of Troy. "Can we please just get this over with?"

     Troy let out a chuckle, and Evelyn had to physically hold back the eye-roll. "Ev," he stepped closer to her. Evelyn wanted to step back, but she knew he'd get a kick out of that, so she stood glued to her spot, glaring at him with a look that could kill. "Loosen up. Enjoy the breeze. Enjoy spending time with me." Evelyn couldn't hold back her scoff. He smiled. "I know you were dying for target practice, but you're not ready, and I should've realized that sooner. But... since we're out here already, we might as well just enjoy it."

      Evelyn groaned as he threw an arm over her shoulders, trying to shrugging it off but miserably failing. She gritted her teeth together. This guy couldn't get farther under her skin. At this point, every single one of her buttons was pressed. It was bad enough when he bothered her while she was awake, but he quite literally dragged her out of bed for this. She began walking, gripping the flashlight while simultaneously draining the blood from her knuckles, with Troy following with his arm slung around her.

     "So, Ev," he began speaking, and Evelyn sharply inhaled, prepared to ignore whatever irritating comment he was about to spew, "I'm sure I told you already, but... I missed you while you were away."

     She hummed, choosing not to encourage him further.

     "I mean, seriously. We had some great times together," each word was like a blow to Evelyn. It almost felt like he had a knife lodged in her stomach and he was twisting it with every utterance. Her face remained stoic, and she chose to remain silent. None of it was true, that she knew for sure, so there was no point in reacting. "I knew you'd come back to me."

     They continued to walk down the dirt paths in silence, waves of gross nostalgia pulling Evelyn under and filling her lungs. She was drowning. He'd done this to her before; the impromptu nighttime strolls with the unnecessary touches. It felt like her life was on rewind, and she refused to let him do this again. She chewed on the inside of her cheek and thought of Ethan, her life jacket in this choppy sea of betrayal and manipulation. Her one good thing in a place where it felt like nobody, not even her own father, could truly back her up. She almost felt disgusted as she became hyper-aware of the arm wrapped around her shoulder. She was a nothing but a pawn in the chess game Troy had once won before, and in this moment, she began to realize just how much she resented him.

"You ready to head back?" Troy spoke up, pulling her out of her loathsome trance. Evelyn hummed, turning around and pulling away from his grasp. She heard him chuckle, but she didn't react, all she wanted was to get back to that damn truck.

The engine hummed as Troy drove them back to the ranch, filling the cold atmosphere inside the vehicle. She continued to chew on the inside of her cheek, fed up of this game he was continually trying to force her to play. "Why did you really take me off of the ranch, Troy?" She did her best to keep her tone neutral and calm, knowing how much he loved to see her riled up, but she wasn't sure she was doing too great of a job.

Troy glanced over at her for a long moment before answering. "I told you—miscalculation on my part," he shrugged. His nonchalance made Evelyn want to hit him.

Evelyn glared at him with an accompanying scowl. "Don't play coy with me, Troy. I know you had a reason and I know it wasn't target practice... why did you take me off the ranch?" She crossed her arms over her chest, a gesture not unfamiliar to her when she was in his presence.

Evelyn watched Troy chuckle to himself, and it took a lot of internal struggle to keep it together. He spoke, still sticking to the story she knew wasn't true. "I'm sorry for disrupting your beauty sleep, Ev," he reached over to pat her leg. She clenched her jaw. "We'll try this again when you're ready."

Evelyn didn't respond to that. She was done with him and his stupid game, and she knew that with the less pushback, this whole ordeal would be over quicker.

She almost teared up with the amount of relief she felt when her house came into view. After a torturous minute or two, Troy put the truck in park. "Goodnight, Ev. I hope you enjoyed the time we spent together tonight as much as I did," he shot her a pretty smile that would make another girl, perhaps a lighter girl, blush. With all the contempt she'd felt for him in every drop of blood in her body, she was sure she'd never be able to do that again. She shut the door without an answer, not caring enough to acknowledge his snickering before she retreated back to the safety of her home. Tonight, she made sure to lock her front door.

After changing back into her pajamas, Evelyn couldn't wipe the scowl from her face. She was angry, so, so angry and she had only one thought on her mind. She hardly let herself think it through before slipping her shoes on, and she found herself outside of Ethan's front door.

The sight of the boy eased the tension from the muscles in her shoulders, and she didn't even let him speak before practically throwing herself at him, their lips colliding in a bruising kiss. All the distress slipped from her mind as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and she knew he'd take care of her for the night.

a/n
hi everyone!
so... i know i haven't
updated in forever.
I'M SORRY :(
i've been the busiest woman
alive and it took a major
hurricane to finally give me
some time to come up with
something. i actually like this
chapter um like a lot (suggestive
ending for the first time in three
years... hello who is she?) but
as always, your feedback is strongly
encouraged. i hope you all
enjoyed this chapter. i've really
missed writing!
#troyreallysucks
wc: 1773