Page 18 of Waiting For Ever
Evvie, I’m sorry.
Let me make it up to you.
I still think about you.
“What is this?Whois this?” When she just continues to press herself into my chest and say nothing, I lean back to try to look at her.
She curls her nails into my skin and looks up at me through her lashes but doesn’t answer.
“Hey. Tell me what’s going on. I’m here. I won’t let anyone hurt you. Talk to me.”
Chapter 17
Everly
Three-ish Months Ago
“Evvie, what did you do? Tell me it’s not true. You slept with Chase?”
This is the second time in less than eight hours I’ve been awakened by crazy accusations and wondered how they could be referring to me. Me, who’s never even kissed a guy. At least the grogginess is gone now, replaced by the most incredible headache I’ve ever experienced.
Pressing the palm of one hand to my forehead, I use the other to push myself up in my bed.My bed. How’d I get home to my bed?
My sister, Via, is standing over me, hands on hips looking more like my mom than I dare tell her. “What the hell happened after we left?” She watches me struggle to get my bearings, waiting for my answer.
She and Ryan left the party before anyone else. I remember that clearly. I remember them asking if I wanted to stay. Kendall and Chasetelling them to let me have some fun for once. Everything else is foggy at best.
Her question hits like coffee to my veins. “What? No! How can you ask me that? Who said that? How’d I get in my bed? How’d I get home? Fuck, my head hurts.” Squeezing my palms to both sides of my temples, willing the pounding to stop, I try to piece together the blank spots of the previous night.
Her face falls. “Oh, Ev, I knew we should’ve taken you home with us. Okay, first things first. Let’s get you some water and Advil and then we’ll get into what the hell happened.” As she starts to leave the room, her phone rings. Looking at the display, she swipes to answer it.
“Hey, babe. Ev is—WHAT? When? No, I’ll meet you there. Yeah, I will. You too.”
Hanging up, she turns to face me, sheet white. “Ev, that was Ryan. I . . . I need to meet him at the hospital. Kendall, umm, Kendall tried to . . .” Tears well up in her eyes. “She took some pills. She’s going to be okay, but she tried to . . . she . . .” One tear spills. “I guess she tried to kill herself last night. I’ve gotta meet Ryan at the hospital. Chase called him.”
My stomach revolts at the mention of Chase or that Kendall tried to kill herself, I’m not sure. Both? I start fast swallowing to keep any contents down.
“I need to go. Are you gonna be okay?” Sliding her phone into her back pocket, she tracks my expression. “I could stay. I mean, do you need me to stay?” Sighing, she adds, “Evvie, what the hell happened last night?”
I shake my head, still holding it with both hands, struggling to stand up as if to go with her.
“No. Just sit down.” She stops my momentum, placing her hands on my shoulders. “We’ll figure this out. I’ll . . . I’ll be back as soon as I can. Okay?”
I think I nod. She doesn’t wait for an answer. It’s just as well. I don’t have one. I can’t make complete thoughts. I just need a minute to think. Kendall tried to kill herself? The bile threatens to come up again. How were these two the ultimate couple goals less than twenty-four hours ago and now I’m being accused of sleeping with Chase and Kendall is in the hospital for an apparent . . . suicide attempt? Nothing makes sense.
I stand up too quickly, intending to get the water and Advil Via suggested. I sway, my room going dark at the corners and closing in. I reach back and steady myself on the edge of the bed. Run my hand down my chest to my stomach as it protests and threatens to empty itself on the floor at my feet.
I look down at the T-shirt and jeans I still have on from last night. Flashes of Chase’s hand moving up the hem of my shirt, his hand on my stomach. The more I push my mind to grasp the details, the further away the snippets drift until they evaporate completely. The harder I try to hang onto them, the fuzzier they seem. I need to fill in the blanks.
Someone has to know what happened, but my answers will have to wait. First things first, this headache and the desert that is my throat. A tall glass of water will surely unstick my tongue from the roof of my mouth and unpeel the inside of my upper lip from my teeth. I stagger to the kitchen, thankful for once that my mom isn’t here. I spot my purse and keys on the entryway table, triggering a flash of Chase setting them there . . . last night? Chase was here last night. Did Chase drive me home? Is that when Kendall took the pills? What the actualfuck happened last night? And why doesanyonethink I’d sleep with Chase? And why isn’t Chase telling them we didn’t?
Chapter 18
Everly
Still clutching Julian’s biceps in my clenched fists, I take a deep breath and blow it out on a shaky exhale. I press my forehead to his chest again. I don’t want to look at him. I don’t want him to look at me differently. What if he blames me like everyone in Oak Valley? What if it happens again and everyone here turns their backs on me? Where will I go then?
“Is that your boyfriend?”
