>>nine

These days, Evelyn slept better. The release that writing gave her eased her mind enough to get her through the night unscathed. Suddenly, the endless hours of darkness and fear started to become a few minutes of mindful breathing until slumber hit.

It was something that she hadn't ever had before, and she prayed every night that such reprieve wouldn't slip through her grip.

And when she woke up in the morning, the prospect of putting pen to paper, of seeing him, was enough to get her to make it through another day.

If she was being honest, she didn't really know why he did all this- whether he really thought she was good at writing, or saw she just needed some kind of liberation.

Either way, whatever the reason, she was willing to take what she could get.

In the past, she'd meddled with other methods— each as stupid and reckless as the next. But in the end, they'd all left her in the same place she began, empty and starved.

Tonight, though, just as she was about to fall asleep, she was jolted back into consciousness by a sudden, light rapping sound.

She waited for a few seconds, her breathing the loudest thing in the room, until she heard it again.

Is that coming from my window?

With a cautious demeanour, she pushed herself out of her bed, and walked towards the source of the noise, conscious of not stepping too heavily on the floorboards.

She pulled her curtains back to find Darren looking back at her, the moonlight framing his angled face. In an instant, she pushed the window open in a multitude of concatenated emotions.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered, but made her disbelief apparent.

"I'm busting you out of here for the night," he said, unfazed by her tone.

"Y—you what?" She stuttered. "You're crazy. You know I can't."

He took in a heavy breath, and something changed in his eyes— they didn't have that typical glint that she was convinced was perpetual. "Please, I need to get away."

She bit her lip, knowing that she was now faced with a serious ultimatum. There was something wrong, she could tell that much, and such thought washed her in a slurry of worry. However she couldn't help how her mind fell back to the other time she tried to do something like this, and where that led her.

This is different, a small voice in the back of her head told her.

Somewhere deep down she knew it too.

This was different. But more importantly, Darren was different.

Nothing will happen.

Mother is fast asleep.

Nothing will happen.

These days it was easier to convince herself to do things she thought she probably never would. She didn't know if that was because Darren made it so easy to forget, or if she was starting to realise a truth that counteracted the lie she had always believed.

At some point, 'Mother knew all' began to morph into 'Mother knew some', and most of what came under 'some' was what Evelyn told her herself.

And so, with as much conviction as she could muster, she grabbed a cardigan, slipped on her black ballet pumps, pushed herself out of the window. She followed him out to the front of the house.

"Your carriage awaits," he said, bowing over like a servant presenting something divine. What he was actually directing towards was a bike. A very small one at that.

"Is that a kid's bike?" She asked skeptically. "Surely there isn't enough space for both of us on there."

"Oh Evelyn," he sighed. "You have so much to learn."

He hopped onto the bike and patted the handles.

"Sit."

"Sit where?"

"Here." He gestured to the handles again.

He can't be serious, Evelyn thought. It would topple under their combined weight.

"I don't think that's a good idea."

He sighed once more, but this time more emphatically. "The bike is stronger than it looks. Just get on here."

"Okay..." she said hesistantly. She pushed herself onto the designated seat, wincing slightly as the cold bars pressed into her backside. It wasn't the most comfortable place to sit, but then again, who was she to complain?

"You good?" He says.

"Yes."

In a sudden rush, the warmth of his body flooded her as his arms encompassed her on either side to reach the handlebars. It was almost as intoxicating as his smell— something fresh, and earthy.

She took in a steady breathe, trying to dispel whatever it was that was starting to overcome her.

He pushed off of the ground, settling his feet onto the peddles, and then they were moving.

They rode around the back roads for a while, not saying much of anything. Even though she knew it already, it became very apparent that something was bothering him.

"Do you... do you want to talk about it?" She finally convinced herself to say, the words tentative like she was dipping her toes into unknown waters. She supposed, in a way, she was. She'd never seen Darren act in such a manner before.

Everything felt wrong.

"Not really," he said softly.

She tried another route instead. "Do you do this often?"

"Not really."

So he really didn't want to talk. She began to fear that there would be nothing she could do, but then he spoke again.

"You hungry?"

"Uh, at this hour? Of course not." It wasn't what she was expecting to hear, but at least it was something, despite how absurd the notion was.

In all honesty, she was hungry. But eating at a time like this was unheard of in her house. The phrase 'mid-night snack' may as well have been blasphemous.

"What do you mean 'at this hour'? It's never too late for food. What do you want? We'll go where ever you want."

"I don't really..."

"Come on Evelyn. Reach from somewhere within. What is that heart of yours really craving?"

A mother who actually loves me. A life where I didn't have to pretend to be someone I'm not.

She jolted at the onslaught on harsh thoughts, pushing them back down just as fast as they'd appeared.

"Well," she said, trying to genuinely think of an answer. "It's been a while since I've had McDonalds."

"Sticking to the classics— I like it. McDonalds it is, my lady."

• • •

Darren insisted on paying, and even though she tried to refute multiple times, all he did was direct her towards a booth and told her to 'stay'.

So she sat, and waited, taking in the feel of the counter before her, and inhaling the smell of greasy food that surely had no other purpose other than to clog up her arteries with saturated fats.

Or at least, that's what Mother always told her.

Oh, how she'd missed fast food restaurants. Or any restaurant for that matter.

How long had it been?

"You should say away from him."

She jolted out of her reverie to be met with someone she least of all expected to see, especially at two in the morning in the middle of McDonalds.

Audrey.

"What?"

She rolled her eyes like this behaviour was typical of Evelyn. "My cousin. You should stay away from him."

It took a second to register what she saying.

My cousin...

"Your cousin?"

"Yes," she deadpanned. "He already has enough problems as it it. I don't think getting close with him will help either of you. You'll probably just end up making things worse for him."

She couldn't really understand where these words were coming from, or what Audrey what trying to imply, but none of it sat right with her. Who did she thing she was— telling Evelyn how to live her life?

The words bubbled up to the surface, but she feared that all that would come out was an incomprehensible mess.

Darren arrived with a tray of food, seemingly not noticing Audrey as he placed it on the table.

"Hi Chr—"

Darren jumped. "Audrey! What are you doing here?"

"Was just popping over to say 'hello' to Evelyn," she said to him casually, as if she wasn't just berating Evelyn a few seconds before.

"Uh, funny that you're here actually. Do you mind if I could talk to you for a second?" He said, his tone somewhat off. Or at least to Evelyn it sounded that way.

He dragged Audrey off to the side.

Curiosity bubbled within Evelyn as she peered at the two. The fact that they were related struck her in a way she couldn't understand.

Perhaps it was because she didn't want to be in a potential situation where Audrey could return to her life. She hoped that this wasn't what this all meant. And from her own deductions, she would assume that Audrey felt the same way.

For a second, the two glanced over at her, making it very apparent they were speaking about her, and she averted her gaze.

After a few minutes, they both returned to the table.

"I should get going. Told mum I'd be quick," Audrey said, but she wasn't really talking to Evelyn. As she turned to leave, she gave Evelyn one final look. It wasn't threatening by any means, but it felt like it bared the weight of the whole world.

Darren took the seat opposite her.  "Didn't know you knew Audrey."

"I didn't know you knew her either."

He laughed, picking up a chip, but his mind seemed to be elsewhere. "Small world, ey?"

She quirked a smile, also unable to fully focus on the words before her. She couldn't stop thinking over what Audrey'd said.

Everyone had problems, that was no hidden truth. But the fact that Audrey had confronted her spoke volumes in a way she couldn't quite decipher.

She looked back up at him intensely as he played with his food, trying to see further than the surface of his skin. But all she saw was the boy she always did, except at this moment he seemed to be in a world of his own. His eyes were still tender, despite being downturned and his voice held the tone of one deep in thought, contemplative.

She only felt all the more bemused.

Darren, what demons are you battling?