Page 162 of Brutal Little Secrets
“Why would I ever give you up, little devil?” I lift her hand and kiss her ring. “We can make this work. I’ll stand up to anyone who tries to get in our way.”
She swallows. “Even our parents?”
I smile. “Especially our parents.”
“My mom isn’t as bad as you think she is.” Evan shakes her head. “This is always how she is when she’s in a new relationship.”
“Negligent?” I arch an eyebrow.
“I spend most of my time at school or studying. There’s no reason for her to worry about me.” She looks over at Hawk. “She’s there for the big moments. My plays and performances, she’s always there. We have dinners together when our schedules line up. This has definitely been extraordinary circumstances. My mom loves me and would do anything for me.”
“Evan—”
“No, Damon. You’re basing this on the couple weeks you’ve been around us.” Evan shifts onto her knees to glare at me. “All you’ve seen is her in the first flush of love. Not the years we’ve spent together. Yes, I took on a lot, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t supported me. That she doesn’t come and cheer me on. That she wouldn’t step in if I’m in trouble.”
My chest aches a little at that look in her eyes. Like I’m misunderstanding her on purpose. But I don’t say anythingbecause I believe Evan deserves more than bits and pieces of love.
“Do I think she might react really poorly to me fucking my future stepbrother and his friends?” She blows out a breath. “What mother wouldn’t? She hasn’t had to worry about me because I haven’t given her anything to worry about. She knows I’ll roll with the punches life sends me. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t care. Just like your dad cares about you.”
“I never said she didn’t care.”
“You implied it,” she says a little less snippy, but still belligerent. Her blue eyes hold mine. “I love my mom. We have a relationship, and it might not be the type of relationship you’re familiar with, but it’s not bad.”
“Then why haven’t you told her about Chase? Do you think I enjoyed watching that asshole touch you because you were pretending to be his girlfriend?”
Evan opens her mouth, but nothing comes out.
“You didn’t do that for him. You did that for her.” I narrow my eyes. The others remain quiet, but this affects them too. “He used the fact you never told your mom about him ditching you out in the woods or him cheating on you. You need to come clean with her. I don’t care if you don’t want to tell her about us. About any of us. But you need to make sure Chase can’t use it against you again.”
She glances at the others and sits on the bed a little less proud. “I don’t want things to change.”
“They already have.”
She shakes her head and when she lifts her face, there are tears swimming in her eyes. “I’m scared she’ll take me away from you.”
“I’d never let that happen.” I brush my fingers over her jaw.
She scoffs and tips her head back to blink back the tears. “You can’t know that. My mom moved us around until thatapartment complex. She found our house for rent, and it’s the first time I had a home since I was ten.”
I touch her arm, needing that connection, our connection.
She laughs bitterly. “She’s never settled for a guy longer than a few months. And then she pays attention to me. We’d spend almost every minute together until I was feeling antsy from all of her attention. Then she’d find a new boyfriend and things would go back to normal. Maybe I liked not having her focus. I didn’t want to be her little project. To have her fix my hair or offer me makeup. Buy me clothes. I like being me.”
I agree. I like Evan the way she is. Cam moves on the bed and sits behind her. She relaxes back against him as he wraps his arm around her center.
“It’s uncomfortable,” Hawk says.
We all turn to him. She reaches out toward him.
“When they finally focus on you, it’s like suddenly you have to be everything they want you to be.” Hawk turns and he meets Evan’s eyes. Their fingers entwine. “It’s not about us. We’re their little brags to their friends. How much we do on our own. How we take care of ourselves. But when they want to be involved, it feels like them trying to shove the wrong puzzle piece into place.”
“It’s not that I don’t love her.” Evan’s gaze returns to me. “I still need her. But right now, she’s not trying to control my life and I’m okay with that.”
My jaw clenches. I don’t know if I’ll ever get over how I feel about Heather intruding on my life and not paying attention to Evan’s.
Evan sighs. “You have your reasons for not liking my mom, but don’t let it color your view of her as my mom. She’s always there when I need her.”
I keep my mouth shut, but when Evan needed her, her mother wasn’t there. When Jackson stole Evan’s first kiss. Topick Evan up when she was abandoned in the woods. She didn’t do enough to protect Evan from me. And now it’s too late.
