Tennessee Whiskey

Chapter 8-Evan

Chapter 8

Evan

The next day, I take Mary back to the mission. We pull up into the parking lot and I bring her hand, that’s holding mine, up to my lips and place a kiss on her knuckles. “Are you okay?” I ask. “I know you’re worried Evan but I’m okay. Between talking to you guys and snuggling with you, I feel okay. I am going to get a session in with Kathy today though.” She tells me. “Please text me after your session. Let me know you’re okay.” I say. “I will. I promise.” She says before I place a soft kiss to her lips. I get out of the car, walk around, and open her door before lacing my fingers with hers. I walk her inside and see Devin with another guard, talking about his duties. He is taking his head of security position seriously. I nod my hello and he does the same before I walk her to her dorm.

When we get to her dorm, she puts her overnight bag on the bed before turning to me. I cup her face and kiss her one more time and say, “Call me after your session with Kathy so I know you’re okay.” She nods and says “I will but I promise, Evan, I’m okay. I know I’m not alone. I forgave her for me, not for her. But I will call as soon as I get back to my dorm.” She tells me. “Thank you, baby.” I say before kissing her one more time before heading out and when I get to the lobby, Devin is heading towards the security office.

I follow him to the office, and he looks at me concerned. “Everything okay?” Devin asks. “Yeah brother. Just need a favor.” I say. “Name it.” He says. “Can you keep an eye on Mary while she’s here?” I ask. “Sure. Anything I need to look out for specifically?” he asks. I take a seat in the second chair in the room and say “We buried her mom today. She says she’s okay and she’s seeing Kathy in a few minutes but…” I start and he stops me. “But you think she’s going to break, and you won’t be here when it happens.” He says. “Yeah. Her mom had a letter to her. Asking her to forgive her and she said that she did. She said that she forgave her for herself not for her mom, but I just worry.” I tell him. “I get it. I’ll keep an eye out and call you if anything happens. I’ll check in with her too, so she knows I’m here if she needs anything.” He tells me. “Thanks brother. Means a lot.” I tell him before standing and shaking his hand.

I walk out to the car and get inside. I call Logan and he answers on the second ring. “Hey man. What’s up?” he asks. “Can you meet me at my office?” I ask. “Sure. Everything okay?” he asks. “Yeah. I think so anyway.” I tell him and he says he will meet me there.

I get to my office and I’m not there but a few minutes before Logan walks in with Ashton with him. “What’s going on?” Ashton asks. They sit in the two chairs opposite my desk, and I pace next to my desk. “I just dropped Mary off. She just seemed, content.” I tell them. “Isn’t that a good thing?” Logan asks. “I don’t know. I know she’s in a session now with Kathy and is going to call me after and Devin is keeping an eye out on her for me. She said she forgave her mom.” I tell them. “Wow. Why, with what her mom did to her?” Ashton asks. “She said she can’t move forward if she keeps hold of that anger and pain. She said she forgave her for herself not her mom.” I tell them. “That’s a good thing though. I would talk to Kathy and get her input on it. See if there’s anything she can suggest to help her if she does break down.” Ashton says. “What if she doesn’t break down?” I ask. “Then you just have to make sure you’re there and trust that she’s okay.” Logan tells me. “f**k. I hate this s**t. I hate not knowing how to help her.” I tell them. “When Izzy was struggling, it was hard to figure out what she needed, and she wouldn’t tell me. She tried pulling away because she didn’t want to burden me. All you can do is just make sure she knows you’re there for her.” Ashton says and I nod.

After talking to the guys, I feel a little better but until I hear from her, I’m still on edge. An hour later, my phone rings and I smile when I see Mary’s name on the screen. “Hey baby.” I say and she says “Hey.” And her voice is so small. “Are you okay baby?” I ask. “I think so. I mean, Kathy and I talked about mom, her letter and me forgiving her.” She tells me. “What did she tell you?” I ask. “She said that me forgiving her for me and not for mom, is progress. She did tell me that since she’s gone, she’s not out of sight out of mind now so it could cause me to fall back a little but that if I do, it’s normal. Not to stress about it.” She tells me. “It’s a process baby but you’re doing great. You’re getting better. Even if you don’t feel like it sometimes. You are getting better.” I tell her. “I know.” She says. “Is there anything I can do to help?” I ask. “Nothing that you’re not already doing.” She tells me. “You know we are all here for you.” I say. “I know. I also know that you have Devin keeping an eye out for me.” She tells me. “I’m not going to apologize.” I tell her. “I don’t want you to. Thank you.” She says. “Don’t thank me, Mary. I’ve told you over and over, I would do anything for you.” I tell her.

After talking to her for a while, she says she wants to take some time to draw, we end the call. I immediately call Kathy. “I was wondering when you were going to call.” She says. “That predictable?” I ask, laughing. “That protective.” She says. “That I am.” I say. “You want to know how to help Mary.” She says rather than asks. “Yeah. I’m worried about when she breaks down or how to handle it if she doesn’t.” I tell her. “Talking to her today, I feel that she’s going to be okay. No one can tell if or when she’s going to break down. And if she doesn’t, that doesn’t mean that something’s wrong.” She tells me. “So, she can actually just be okay with this?” I ask. “It’s possible, yes. People who go through the kind of trauma that she has, Evan, go one of two ways. The first way is to turn to destructive behavior to cope with it. The second way is to embrace that they can’t change what happened and they choose to move forward rather than live in the past.” She tells me. “I see what you’re saying. So, is there anything I can do to help her?” I ask. “Nothing that you’re not already doing.” She tells me and I thank her before ending the call.

I pull up the email that Logan had sent to me earlier this morning that has Mary’s mom’s file. I start reading through her doctor’s notes and see that her mom really was working on the program like she said she would. She was actually trying to get better. Looking at the notes on her autopsy, it shows that not only did her heart give out but there was damage to her lungs and liver too. Wow, she didn’t seem to stand a chance. I file the information away so if Mary ever wants to see it, she can. I work on some paperwork when someone knocks on my door. “Come in.” I say.

When the door opens, Jefferson, a lawyer from the Prosecutor’s office, walks in. “What can I do for you Jefferson?” I ask as I motion for him to take a seat. “We’ve had a case come to our office and we need a warrant to bring the suspect in.” he tells me. “Tell me about the case.” I tell him. “The suspect’s name is Mitchell Robertson and he’s the last person to see Ellie Crenshaw before she was reported missing. Ellie’s body was found in a field half a mile from his house. He’s got priors for harassment, aggravated assault, and s****l assault. Medical examiner did a r**e kit and we’re having trouble getting a DNA sample to compare.” He tells me. “Okay. Other than him being the last one reported to have seen her alive, is there another reason that you suspect him?” I ask. “She filed a restraining order against him about two months ago and the judge granted it, but he’s violated it four times and the officers that respond just tell him to leave. They don’t arrest him for violating it.” He tells me. I hold out my hand and he hands me the warrant. I sign my name and say, “You let me know if you need anything else.” I tell him and he thanks me before leaving.

After work, I call Mary, and she answers. “Hey baby.” I say. “Hey. How was your day?” she asks. “It was okay. Got a lot of work done but I would like to see you.” I tell her. “Do you want to come here and watch a movie in my dorm room?” she asks. “Yeah baby. I’ll bring dinner. What are you in the mood for?” I ask. “Can you get something from that little Italian place we went to the other night?” she asks. “Lasagna?” I ask. “Please.” She says. “I’ll be there soon baby. Pick a movie for us and get comfortable.” I tell her and we end the call.

I get our food and walk into the mission and straight to her dorm. I knock on the open door. She looks up at me and smiles. I walk in and kiss her softly before bringing the food to the bed and she runs to the kitchen to get us bottles of water. When she returns, I have the food out of the bag and ready for us to eat. We sit against the headboard, and I ask, “What movie did you pick?” She looks at me shyly and says, “Field of Dreams.” I smile and say, “That’s my favorite movie.” She looks down at her food and says, “I texted Logan to find out what your favorite movie was.” I tilt her chin up to look at me and kiss her softly. “I love you.” I tell her. “I love you too.” She says softly before we start the movie and start eating.

After we eat, we’re snuggled up on the bed, watching the movie and she asks, “Did something happen today?” I kiss the top of her head because I don’t want to keep anything from her. “I had a case come in. Missing girl was found murdered and r***d. Prosecutor needed a warrant to get a DNA sample.” I tell her. “That’s horrible.” She says. “Yeah. I also got an email from Logan today.” I tell her. “Why wouldn’t he just call you?” she asks, confused. “Because he sent me the paperwork on your mother’s treatment and her autopsy. I have the info filed away in case you ever want to look at it.” I tell her. “Will you tell me what’s in it?” she asks, looking at her hand on my chest. “According to the notes her therapist put in her file, she was taking the therapy and rehab seriously. She was getting clean and doing everything they asked. She was doing two sessions per day with her counselor and doing AA and NA meetings. She was really trying. One of the notes says that her ultimate goal is to earn your forgiveness even if she doesn’t deserve it. She wanted to get better so that she would deserve it if you were ever willing to give it to her.” I tell her. “She was really trying.” She says softly. “She was. Her therapist noted that she was doing really well, and she was being open to the entire experience.” I tell her. “That’s good. What about the autopsy?” she asks. “It does say her heart ruptured but her lungs and liver were also badly damaged. Baby, she was dying.” I tell her. She looks up at me and asks, “Because of the drugs?” I nod and say, “Most likely.” She lays her head back down on my chest and says, “I’ll never do anything to my kids to have to ask forgiveness.” She says. “Our kids babe. Our kids.” I tell her. “Our kids.” She repeats.

We’re still laying there when the movie ends. I get up and help clean up before walking to the dorm room door to head home. “I can’t wait until you’re living with me full time. I hate leaving you.” I tell her. “I still need to work through some things first but that is my first goal is to be comfortable enough to move in with you.” She tells me. “I like that goal.” I tell her and smirk. I kiss her goodbye and head out the door. I nod to the security guard on my way out.

Pulling up at home, I walk inside and to the kitchen where Jane is making her a cup of tea. “Hello Evan.” She greets me. “Hey Jane.” I say and she looks at me concerned. “I’m okay. Just came from the mission with Mary.” I tell her. “How’s she doing?” she asks. “Better I think but I’m still worried. She’s been through so much and now her mom dying and she sent Mary a letter asking for forgiveness and Mary gave it to her, for her, not for her mom.” I tell her. “But that’s good right?” she asks. “It is but I could tell she was still worried, so I had Logan get her mom’s medical files from the rehab center for me. Apparently, she was taking the treatment seriously. She was doing the program like I told her to. She was going to AA and NA meetings. She was doing the therapy. All of it. She told her therapist that she wanted to ask Mary for forgiveness and that she wanted to deserve it.” I tell her. “Wow. What did Mary say?” she asks. “She seemed relieved that her mom was actually trying.” I tell her. “That’s great, Evan. You’re good for her.” She tells me. “She’s good for me.” I tell her and she nods her agreement.

I pour myself a cup of coffee and then take my seat at the island across from Jane. “Can I ask you something?” I ask. “Of course.” She says. “You know how I feel about Mary. She does too. I know it’s too soon to propose, even if that’s what I want, I’m setting up the pool house for her as a studio. Do you think it would be too soon to take her shopping for what she needs for here so that she doesn’t have to pack a bag for when she comes to stay here?” I ask. “I don’t think so at all, but you should tell her that’s what you’re planning and make sure she’s there when you go shopping. That way she has a say in what you’re doing. What she has been through, she needs that reminder that she’s the one that has control over herself and what happens to her.” She tells me. “I will. Thanks Jane. For everything you do for me.” I tell her. “You took me in when I didn’t have anything and gave me a job. I owe you everything.” She tells me. “You’re family too.” I tell her and she hugs me before putting her cup in the dishwasher and heading to bed.

I walk up the stairs and head to my home office. I take my phone out of my pocket and call Mary. “Hey Evan.” She says as she answers. “Hey baby. I just wanted to check in and make sure you’re okay.” I say. “I promise I’m okay. I’m going over some of the information on the new social workers coming in and getting their packets together. Trying to stay busy.” She tells me. “Busy is good, honey. Just make sure you’re not overworking yourself.” I tell her. “I won’t. I promise.” She says. We talk a little longer before we both head to bed.

Waking up the next morning, I’m looking forward to tonight. Mary and I have our first art class together and it seems like the day is going so slowly. I text Mary to make sure she’s ready for tonight and she tells me that she’s excited but nervous. This will be the first real time she will be out doing something without all of us being there.

I pick Mary up at 5pm and she’s ready to go. We walk out to my car, hand in hand. I open the passenger door and help her in before taking the driver’s seat and heading to the local college. We pull into the parking lot and before I get out, I notice she’s a little tense. “Are you okay? We don’t have to go in if you’re not ready.” I tell her. She takes a deep breath and says, “I need to do this.” I bring her hand to my lips and kiss her knuckles. “You tell me if it gets to be too much.” I tell her. “I will.” She says before I get out of the car and move to open her door. She takes another deep breath, and we head inside.

The hallways are full of students, even for evening classes. I feel Mary hold my hand a little tighter and I squeeze her hand for support. Once we make it to the classroom, we take the two stations in the back. Charlie steps up to the front of the class and introduces himself. “The first thing we’re going to do is assess your talents. I want you all to draw your interpretation of this bowl of fruit. I know it’s a little boring but it’s a great way assess how best to guide you all.” He says and Mary and I start our drawings. Mine are more abstract whereas hers is more realistic. By the time the class is done, we both have completed our drawings.

Once the class has cleared out, we both head up to Charlie and I introduce them. “Charlie this is my girlfriend, Mary. Mary, this is my old buddy, Charlie.” I say. “Nice to meet you, Mary.” He says. “You too.” Mary says quietly and Charlie looks at me. “I met Mary through the mission.” I tell him and he knows what’s going on. “So, Mary, how did you like your first class?” he asks. “I like it but is every class going to be this full?” she asks. “Generally.” He says and he can see her unease. “You know, I do a small class on Saturday mornings. There’s usually only about six in there. You two would make eight. Would that be better for you?” he asks. She looks at me and I nod, and she says “That would be great. Thank you.” He smiles and says “Let me tell you a little something. My sister went through something similar to what I’m assuming you went through. She had a hard time getting back out among crowds so I understand but I do need you to understand that Evan will never let anything happen to you and you can include me in that now too. Anyone that Evan deems special, is automatically under my wing.” He tells her and she seems to relax a little bit.

We leave the classroom and head out to the car. I open her door for her and before she gets in, she wraps her arms around me, hugging me. I wrap my arms around her and pull her close, kissing the top of her head. “Thank you, Evan.” She says softly. “Don’t thank me baby. We’re in this together.” I tell her. She looks up at me and has a small smile on her face.

We head to the mission, and she asks. “Can I stay with you tonight?” I bring her hand to my lips and kiss her knuckles. “Of course. We can get some things for tonight and head home.” I tell her and she smiles softly as she looks out the window, watching the scenery go by. I glance over at her, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this relaxed, this calm.

Once we pack her some things, we head home, and we are sitting in the window seat together. She has a cup of tea and I have a class of scotch. We’re sitting across from each other and looking at the stars. “I want to talk to you about a couple of things.” I tell her and she looks at me concerned. “Okay.” She says and I see her looking down at her cup. I tilt her chin up and say “It’s good. I promise. But I need you to hear me out please.” I tell her. “Okay.” She says softly. “I want to take you shopping, tomorrow. I want to get the things for your studio and start getting it set up the way you want. But I also want to take you to get some things to keep here. Clothes, shoes, toiletries. Things like that.” I tell her. She looks up at me and asks, “Are you sure?” I pull her to sit between my legs and say “I’m positive baby. I also want to get you a card to my account.” I tell her. “I don’t know if I’m ready for that.” She says. “I just want you to have it so you can get what you need both for the studio and for yourself.” I tell her. “Can I think about it?” she asks. “Of course. I still want to take you shopping tomorrow though.” I tell her. “Okay.” She says as she leans back against me.

After enjoying our drinks, we talk a little more before heading to bed. Climbing into bed, I kiss her softly before pulling her close. I move to hover over her and deepen the kiss. I move to kiss down her neck and hear her moan. I pull back to look into her eye and she nods. “You tell me if you need to stop.” I say and she nods again. “I need your words honey.” I say. “I promise.” She whispers and I bring my lips back to hers and feel her hands pulling my shirt up. I break the kiss before sitting up and pulling my shirt over my head. I don’t move. I just let her look at me and touch me, taking things at her pace. I wrap my fingers around the bottom of her shirt and look into her eyes. She nods. I start pulling her shirt up slowly, noticing her deep breaths. I stop at the top of her stomach, and she whispers “Please.” I pull her shirt up farther and she raises her arms so that I can pull it over her head and see she’s not wearing a bra. Lowering my head, I whisper “Fuck.” Before looking back up at her. “You’re f*****g perfect.” I say softly. She’s in nothing but her panties so I slide down the bed and slip her panties down her legs as I go. Once I toss them onto the floor, I kiss the inside of her thigh and hear her sharp inhale. I run the flat of my tongue up her folds from entrance to c**t before swirling my tongue around her c**t. “Evan.” She moans breathily. I wrap my lips around her c**t and suck as I slowly slide one finger into her warm channel and slide it in and out. “Oh God! Evan.” She moans as she writhes underneath me. I add one more finger and speed up my finger thrusts while holding her hips down. I feel her come up off the bed as she finds her release and I lap up every drop.

I move up the bed and kiss her softly before asking “Are you sure?” She nods and says “I want this Evan. Please. Make me yours.” I kiss her one more time before standing beside the bed and sliding my pajama pants and underwear down my legs and off. I climb back onto the bed and say, “I love you.” Before slowly thrusting inside.