FADED SCARS

CHAPTER ONE Evelyn Point of View I smile at the novel in my hands, knowing fully well I have reached the peak of the story. "Winter," Dad says, and I jolt upright, the book falling from my hands. "Dad." I smile, standing up, and he gives me a knowing look, curse me for having a very expressive face, and my ever-blushing skin doesn't make it easy. "Reading another dirty book, are we?" He teases, and I smile, embarrassed. "I have no idea what you are talking about, Father." I say, hugging him. "Ready?" He asks and I nod. My Dad - Stephen Carter is a Doctor at the Cedars-Sinar Medical Center, he has been a Doctor since I could remember, and I am twenty-nine, so that is saying a lot. He is the Chief of Staff of the Oncology Department, and I, Evelyn Winter Carter, is a Gynecologist at Cedars-Sinar Hospital, and a Professor at University of Sourthern California. "Absolutely not." Mom says, walking out, with her hands on her hips. I watch my parents smile at eachother, feeling disgusted by their loved up display. I do not live with my parents, but every Monday, going to the hospital with my Dad is a ritual, so I take a cab out to Beverly Hills from Echo Pack, and we drive to work, together. "Evelyn, I always tell you to eat, but you indulge your father everytime." Mom scolds, and I smile, kissing her cheeks, then walk to the Kitchen, giving them the privacy they need, because in minutes, they will be all over eachother, like they didn't wake up in the same bed. It annoys me, but, deep down, I am a bit unnerved that after thirty five years together, they are still hopelessly in love, while I am few months shy of Thirty, and still single, with no prospects. _____ "Aria," I say, as I walk towards my office, with a smile, looking at my sister through the phone's screen. "You slaying, B." She says, and I laugh, shake my head at her theatrics, then wave my hands at Jenny, my personal assistant. Aria is my immediate sister, she is twenty-three, while Nicholas is twenty-six, then there are the twins Isobel and Ian, who are twenty-one. "How's the book coming?" I ask, placing my bag on the table, Aria is a writer, like the Carter Family needed an extra push in publicity. "Well, I spent the entire week drafting out the characters' details and all, but I am almost done with the other one." She says, and I nod, settling down. "Jenny, have the patients ready in three minutes." I say, and she nods with a smile. "I should let you go, busy bee." Aria says, and I nod. "Poppy, I made Lasagna." I hear, and laugh softly, as Jeremiah, Aria's husband comes into view. "Oh, Hey Evelyn, How is it going?' He says, and I smile at him, feeling that stupid ache in my chest again. "Jeremiah, you look good. I have to go, catch you later." I smile, hanging up, as my patient walks in. "Hello, I am Dr. Evelyn Carter." I say to the woman who takes a seat before me. "Hi, I am Stella." She says, and I notice her glancing at my hair, plantinum blonde. "I love your hair." She says and I laugh, because it never gets old. "Thank you, Stella, your necklace is almost as beautiful as you are." She blushes, and I smile, threading carefully, she is a new patient after all, and we need to slowly build. "What can I do for you this beautiful morning?" "I," She pauses and I tilt my head, staring at her. "I think I need to get an abortion." I stare at her, and nod, sitting straighter. "Think?" She nods "I am, I am a bit conflicted." "How far along are you, Stella?" "Three weeks." "Wana talk to me about it?" I say and she nods. "I don't think I'm ready to be a mother, and my boyfriend is really busy, he is in Law school, amd doesn't really have much time. We got sloopy one time, and here I am." "I am so sorry that you are in this position, Stella. Have you thought about telling him, maybe over a nice dinner, or a date night?" I ask, and she tear up. "I want to, but I am just so scared, what if he doesn't want us?" I lean towards her, passing her the tissue, noting her use of the word 'us' and say "There's a baby inside you, and the decision is yours. If he doesn't want you and your baby, then he is such an i***t, however, if you do decide to have an abortion, I am right here, willing to guide you through every step, or if you decide to keep the baby, I'll still be here." Now, she is weeping, and my heart twists for her. "Are your parents still around?" I ask, when she settles a bit. "Yes." She nods, with a small smile. "This is something you could talk to them about, talk to your boyfriend too, and whatever you chose to do, I'll be here. Here," I hand her my personal number. "Call me anytime, all I ask is that you think about this well." She takes the card, and smiles "Thank you, Dr. Carter." "Please, call me Evelyn, we are friends, already." I wink, and she laughs. ____ I take a bite of my pie, scrolling through the news, I have to be USC by Wednesday, and I haven't graded the term papers. "Miss Evelyn." I look up with a smile at Jenny, who is my personal assistant, and in her late twenties. "Hi Jen." I say, and she grins. "Your 2pm-4pm cancelled, and asked if they could reschedule, but your schedule is full for the next two weeks." I frown "Who is it?" "It is the Christophers, they are pregnant, and due in two months." "Oh," I smile, remembering my goofy patients. "Fix them in on Wednesday evening, or Friday morning, before I go to the University, whatever works well for them." I say, and she nods with a smile. "Hey Bitchess." The door opens with a bang, and I shake my head as my best friend, Willow walks in, holding something in her hands. "Wills, I could have been with a patient." I scold for the hundreth time. She scoffs "Please, Jens and I talk frequently." I give them a look, then close my laptop, because with Willow here, I can get no work done. "Up for a visit to our favorite coffee shop?" She says, and I look at her -- Willow is a beautiful woman, and the total opposite to me, with her beige hair, and her green eyes, a contrast to my blue ones. "Yes." I say, grabbing my coat. "For you, my lady." Willow says, handing Jenny a doughnut, then shoves one at me, making me smile. Typical Willow. Willow is a Fashion Designer, and by that, I mean, a very succesful designer who has been in the same room with Vera Wang. Her brand -- Seasons was established in New York when we were twenty five, that was four years ago, and now, she has built an empire. So have I. CHAPTER TWO Aiden Point of View " . . . then, the app will lead them to a button, on a website, where they'll click a link that will take them t -- " "Matt, right?" I say, from my seat, which is at the top. "Yes, Mr Cavendish." He says, and there's a c***k in his voice. "Sit." I utter, and he sits, my voice lingering in the room, and all their gazes on me. Frustration runs through me, and I resist the urge to yell, or throw something, instead, I face my team, and say "You have all had success for a period of time, that won't stop me from firing everyone in a blink of an eye." "One month, that is all you have, I want something iconic, I want Cavendish and Sons on the world's mouth. Cara, you are in charge." "Sir!" Matt gets up, looking furious. I look away from Cara and stare at him "Sit." Once again, he sit, with a very red face. "Dismissed." I flick my hand, wanting everyone out of my sight. f**k, I need something new, differ -- "Mr Cavendish." I turn back, and see Cara smiling, which irritates me. "I said Dismmised." "Yeah, thank you, It will be iconic." She says, and walks out, making me almost roll my eyes. ______ "Brother." A solid grip on my shoulders, and I try not to shove his hand away, but he won't see me c***k, no will. I glance as the world moves on outside of our tall building and glass windows, then frown when I see Cara walking out, the day is not ove -- she takes a part time course at USC, now, I remember. "You okay?" I turn back, and stare at my brother, Charles, he is twenty-eight, four years younger than I am, and the head of the Marketting Department. "Yeah, What's up." I lie, feeling the weight on my shoulders almost crippling. "Ethan has a match tonight." He says, and that is explanation enough, because Ethan is my immediate younger brother, and a very popular footballer, which means the Cavendish Tradition of piling up in our Mother's home, and watching Ethan win. "Meet you there?" I ask, and he nods. "I have to see Steph, she's being complaining." He grimaces and I laugh. "You should bring her." Christian grins as he walks into my office, and just like that, there's a bit of comfort, and more air in the room, I guess been bestfriends for thirty years does that. "Oh f**k off." Charles groans and I laugh. "I'm quite sure Genevieve will be pleased to meet her son's girlfriend." He says, and I burst into laughter, picturing Mom's expression if she ever meets Stephanie. ____ NF's Time plays through my earpods as I walks into my Parents' home. The Cavendishes, we are a very popular family in America, my Grandfather and his Wife -- Isaac and Ruby Cavendish - Isla created Cavendish and Sons a long time ago, and to balance it out GrandMa Ruby established Cavendish Funds. "Rowan." Mom smiles as I walk in. I am from a very large family, with three brothers and a sister, counting Christian, that makes it four brothers. "Hi, Mom." I say, kissing her cheeks. My mother - Genevieve Cavendish-Winthrope is a very successful and reknowned Accountant, with over thirty years of expertise. "You look dashing." She grins at me, as she walks to the Kitchen, as rich as we are, Mom never got any help, no cook or cleaner, she taught us to clean, to cook, to wash our clothes, we are not spoilt. "Yes, you do look dashing." Amelie walks out of the kitchen, and I take her in my arms, perhaps she was a bit spoilt, she is the only girl in our midst so we are very protective of her. "You okay?" I ask, and she nods, but I know Lia, know when she is lying, like now. "Where's Dad and the boys?" "His office." Mom calls, and I head towards his office, then knock. "Come in." He says, so I enter. My Father - Grayson Cavendish is a man in his mid fifties, as much as he hides and carries it well, I still ow old he is getting, which makes me wonder why he retired and gave me full control of Cavendish and Sons. "Aiden, sit." "Good morning, Father." I say, and he looks at me from his book, Dad has a fascination with Dante, which is why I am not suprised to see him reading Dante's The Divine Comedy. "River's match is on?" He asks, and I nod. I watch as he gets up, feeling anxiety twisting in my chest, that subtle reminder that he is not proud of me, and I do not know what else to d -- "Rowan," He pauses at the door, and I get up, looking at him. "You should bring your woman, let the Family meet her, God knows your old man is not getting any younger." There it is - Woman. How possible was it get a woman when my heart doesn't belong to me, when there's a void in my chest where it is supposed to be, hit my chest and hear it echo. ______ It is Friday night, and I am at Harlowe, with my annoying best friend. I feel out of sorts here, don't get me wrong, I like to party, to get drunk, but the point is I have done everything. Now, in this bar, amidst drunk and sweaty people, I am haunted by a set of fading blue eyes. I stand straighter at that realization - fading, she can not fade, that is all I have left of her. "We should leave." I say, and he groans. "Tonight, we are unwinding. We have been working our asses off, we deserve to rest, enjoy." Deserve? I do not deserve anything, not after what I did. "You will be my Ted Mosby, and I will be your Barney Stinstin." He bumps my shoulder and I look at Christian, knowing fully well that something got him in this mood, so tonight, I will indulge. "Okay." I smile, and he grins. We move to the Bar, with our A-game, order our drinks, and we wait. "Oh my, you are Aiden Cavendish." "You are Christian Callahan." "Hi ladies," Christian smiles at them. "Hi, I am Nyssa, and this woman who can not contain her excitement is Felicity, my best friend." "Hi Nyssa, Hi Felicity." I smile at them. "What would you ladies like to drink?" Christian asks, and they smile. "Or we could go to the VIP section, I am quite sure you do not want to be photographed in a setting like this." Felicity says, and I nod. We get up, and Christian signals to someone, who directs us to a our VIP section, frequenting Harlowe has its perks. So, what do you do Felicity?" I ask, staring at her. Felicity is a black haired woman, with green eyes that -- Fading blue eyes. f**k. "We are Reporters at The New York Times." She says, and I stiffen, because we are not dumb, we know the power of the media. "Easy boys, we are having fun tonight, not working." Nyssa says, and Christian laughs. Fading blue e -- "Are you okay?" Felicity asks me, and they all look at me. I grit my teeth, not answering, because all I can think about is how much I need to hold on to the only thing I have left of her. "What's her name?" Nyssa asks, and I stare at the drink in my hands. "Eve." CHAPTER THREE Evelyn Point of View It is Spring break, which is why I am at my Parents' for the weekend, I miss the solitude that my apartment provides, but Mom adores these bonding times, and I would see my siblings, so there's that. Of course, Willow is with me. "I should have been called Winter and you, Willow." She says, as I drive into my parents' home. "Yeah?" I say with a smile, and she nods, absolutely animated, one of the things I love about Wills is her never-ending animation, no matter what she is speaking about. "Imagine it, Evelyn Willow Carter, it sounds fancier. Winter Zara Reed." "Babe, shut up." I grin at her, she gives me the finger as we get down from my car. "Hungry?" I ask, and she nods. "Starving." "Winter!" Isabel exclaims running towards us with open arms. I meet her halfway, God, I have missed my siblings so much. "Belly." I smile at her, pulling away, then hold her face, her big blue eyes bright with joy. "You look good." She says, and I spin in my sundress, giving her a full view, making her giggle. "Belly." Willow says, and Isobel sneers at her. "Wills." She says, and I bite my lips to hold my laughter in. My sister and my bestfriend hates themselves, which is why they taunt eachother, by saying the names I call them in a condescending manner, clowns if you ask me. "Are you done?" I ask them, then drap a hand over Belly's shoulder. "How's life treating you in New York?" I ask, and she shrugs, making me know she doesn't want to talk about it. "What did you cook, Belly?" Wills asks, hunger fading away her condescension. "Venison Stew, with Crab Cakes." She says with a smile, and my stomach growls on cue, making me giggle, as we enter. "And, here comes the Queens." Ian bellows when we walk in, making me smile. "Luke." I grin, hugging him. "Sister, beautiful as ever." He smiles, and I blush. Ian is Belly's not-so twin brother, and my youngest brother. "How's Law School?" I ask, as I ruffle his dirty blonde hair, and he gazes at me with matching deep blue eyes to Belly's. "After my life, save me." He groans, hugging me, and I laugh. "Squidward." Wills snorts, and I burst into laughter, because Wills constantly pretends to hate all my siblings. "Spongebob." He smiles, deligently giving her the finger. "Hey, Evelyn." I hear, glance forward to see Jeremiah, Aria's husband, I don't know why his presence shocks me, but I glance at him, then my sister, something is off, or I am just really tired. I catch Wills eyes, and she gets it, she always does. "Jeremiah." I grin, recovering, as I walk to him, and we share a side hug. "How are you?"I ask, and he smiles, shrugging. "Babe." I say to my sister, hugging her. "You okay?" I ask when she doesn't respond. "Yeah, just tired, pulled an all nighter trying to finish the manuscript." She yawns, and I nod, kissing her forehead. "Where's that annoying brother of yours?" Wills asks, after hugging her. "Who let the raccoon in?" Nicholas walks down the stairs and I laugh as Wills' murderous glare, above all, Nicholas annoys her the most. "Says the Sasquatch." She glares at him. "Nicholas." I say, hugging him. "Evelyn." He kisses my cheek, while giving Wills the finger. "Elias, I saw that." Mom says as she walks down the stairs with her husband. "Sorry, Mom." Nick says, blushing. "Looking precious as ever, Winter and Willow." Dad says, kissing our cheeks. "To the dining table." Mom says, with a smile in our direction. _____ "Today on the menu, we have Venison Stew, Beef Bourguignon, coupled with Beef Tartare and Boeuf a a mode. There's also Lobster Thermidor, Roasted Root Vegetable, Jambalaya and Baked Salmon. For Desert, we have Crab Cake, Macarons, Creme Brulee, Panna Cotta and Strawberry Shortcake." Belly says, gesturing at the table. "You've outdone yourself, my love." Dad says, with pride. "We are going to call a truce, Belly. This is amazing." Wills says, and Belly blushes. "Mom and Ian helped a bit." Belly shyly says, and I smile. "Do not be modest, you are amazing." I say, and everyone nods in agreement. "Let's dig in." Mom says, and we do. I start with the Jambalaya, and Venison Stew, making a mental note to take leftovers home. "Luke, how is Law School?' Mom asks, and he looks up. "It is fine, a bit stressful, but it is exciting." He says. "Everything How To Get Away With Murder built it up to be for you?" Aria smiles, and he nods. "Aria, how's the book coming?" "Great," Aria beams in joy, nothing has ever made her delirious with glee like writing. "I completed the last chapter - Chapter 80 last night. Now, I just need to engage in rigorous editing, work with my designer and editor, then talk to my agent." "Give us a clue what the book is about." I beg and she laughs. "Seriously, I have been on the edge of my seat, I really want to know what it is about." Belly says. "No, you'll have to wait a bit, but trust me, your mind will be blown." "I'd expect nothing less from my angel." Dad winks at her, then says "Nicholas, how's living your dream?" Nick laughs, and I smile, taking the last spoon of Jambalaya. "The Washington Post is amazing, and being a senior reporter has exposed me to various aspect of the field, we are thinking of colaborating with New York Times, still in the works though." How amazing to see my siblings do what they love. "Isabel, your turn." Mom says, loving her food. "Well, Family, The Institute of Culinary Education is as fabulous as expected, and since I am have gotten my Certificate Programme, and the Associate Degree Programme, this Bachelor's Degree Programme is a bit intense." "Oh, Belly, I am so sorry that you are this stressed." Ian says, and she shrugs. "It's all good though, exciting, and we are going to New Orleans next month, for a two weeks seminar, I can't wait." She laughs, and I grin, serving desert. "How is Seasons, Zara?" Mom asks Wills, and I smile because Mom likes Willow specially, in a way that only they understand. "Well, uhm. . .I don't know. ." Silly Wills purse her lips, as though in thoughts. "Oh, here we go." Nicholas rolls his eyes. "Amazing!" Wills exclaims. "Seasons is amazing, florishing. I got a contract to design three set of wedding dresses, the designs got approved, and now, I have to make art, so exciting." I laugh as I take a bite of Macaronus. "That's splendid. Evelyn, the floor is yours." CHAPTER FOUR Evelyn Point of View "Work is great." I shrug, because there's nothing much really going on in my life, apart from work and home. "Teaching at USC is enlightening, I have intelligent students," I say, remembering Cara. "The Hospital, too. Jeremiah, how's work going." I say, diverting attention away from me, Mom gives me a look, but says nothing. He smiles and says "Firefighting is very dangerous, in an obvious manner, so everyday is like waking up to walk through fire, but the thought of saving lives daily, it makes me happy." I smile at his respond, then watch as he whispers in Aria's ear, who giggles in response, I must have imagined the tension, and New Jersey seem to work for them. "Babe," Mom says to Dad, and I roll my eyes because rub it in more, why not? "The Hospital, like Evelyn said, is great. I should retire though." Dad says, and I nod my head, no one says anything, because we are not surprised. "Well, working at Cavendish Fund, the bank is something," Mom says and I stiffen, but she is oblivious to my reaction, and keeps going. "As an Accountant, I have to spend the entire day with people and all, but I have a very special job I do at the Bank, which I will not go into -- " Thank God. "because I will like to talk about the actual Cavendishes." Oh God. I feel Willow, Aria and Belly's glance on me, but I don't look at either of them, you can call me a bit of a machochist, because I could tell Mom to talk about something else, or just politely leave the table, but instead, I am here, greedy for every piece of hi -- "I see Genevieve and Amelia everyday in the office, Amelia is so grown, I think she's twenty-five now . . . ." Twenty six. "Then there's Charles, who works at the company - Cavendish and Sons, that is how succesful and influential they are. I think he's the first son." Third. "We all know Ethan, the popular Basketball player, I would say the finest of them all." Football. "There's Miles, he was at the bank last week, so intelligent and respectful, but not like his brother A -- "EVELYN." Aria, Belly and Willow yell, making me jolt out of -- whatever that was. "Girls." Dad frowns, so does Mom, but I say nothing, still in semi shock, at the almost mention of his name -- Aiden. "Winter," Nicholas says softly, and I realize they are staring at me, they've been staring at me for a while. "This was great Mother, but I have to prepare my seminar for next week, and check on my patients. Girls, thank you for reminding me." I say with a forced smile. "Wills, Will you come with me, or get a cab when you are ready?" I ask my bestfriend, knowing that I don't need any conversation, just silence, solitude. "I'll take her home." Nicholas says, and I nod at him. "Thank you, Nick. Ian, chaperone them, so they don't kill eachother, or something." ______ I fish out my key, then open the door, resisting the urge to crash on the floor. Today started well, but took an odd turn. Sometimes, I wonder if Mom is just oblivious, or chose to make me suffer. I loosen my hair, then pack it up in a messy bun, as messy as I feel. Then, I strip of every piece of clothing, like I could rid myself of all the million ways and place I am bound, restricted, imprisoned. Naked, I walk to my mini bookshelf, and pick up Theodorina's Sin on the Skin. I have always been captivated with the concept of sin, everything it encompasses, and in this book, the Writer explicitly discusses it through her characters, so does Dante in his very existence. I place down the book as another concept shuffles through my head, I can not remember the book, or author, just the concept -- It spoke about two individuals who love each other very much, and when they found religion, they realized that their love slowly encompassed them, and they've made Idols of themselves, making them Pagans. This reminded me of Aiden and I, the intensity of our love for eachother, the way we were utterly consumed by eachother, in eachother's presence. Our love was a fire that never stopped burning, how stupid of me to think it would not burn me too. ______ Aiden Point of View I turn a lingering glance at the Television, where Fleabag is on, and ignore the familiar twist in my heart, while trying to postpone my Gym time. Instead, I switch off the TV, Fleabag is a series I have watched numerous times, and could probably say the dialogue, word for word. I put on Burna Boy's Big 7 as I grab my waterbottle, and make sure my phone is fully charged. I make sure the door is locked, the gate too, then I take off, running through the estate. All through my race, there's a ringing in my ear, which is ironic, because I am running to rid myself of the constant ringing, only for it to get prominent, overtaking my hearing, and getting replaced by a line from the damned show - Fleabag. -- I think you know how to love better than any of us, that's why you find it all so painful. -- I ignore it, and keep running, even when I get to the Gym, I don't stop to talk to anyone, I just hop on the threadmill, and run for hours, like it was easy to outrun one's demons, if it was, I would have been rid of her, but I am not, and it has been years. After hours in the Gym, I make a call to Christian, one look at my face, and he says nothing, just open his car door, and drive to my Condo, where I go in, and try to pretend I am not having a bad day, which has become a routine, and is always centered on her, not the way she was, but the way she left. To rephrase that correctly -- the way I made her leave. ______ "Good day everyone, I am Charles Cavendish and these are the actions the Marketing Department of the Company took this month, and the result it generated." Charles says, and I watch my younger brother speak to the board, watch our father give him a proud look. "This month, we started by Media Interviews, Press Releases, Social Media Engagement and Speaking Campaigns. We were interviewed by Nicholas Carter and featured in The Washington Post, as well as, Tatiana Cloudy, at Fox Business. There was a bit of coverage in CNBC, Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. We made sure to be on every News House." "In terms of operating costs, the company has reduced its expenses by 5% through a number of initiatives such as renogotiating supplier contacts, optimizing production processes and streanlining operations. The company also invested in new technologies and infrastructures including AI-powered "Now, the Press Release," He gestures. "Over the course of the month, the company has released a number of Press Releases, and they include - New Product, Company News, Industry Trends, Financial Trends, and New Partnerships. The company also engaged in Social Media Campaigns, There's an active presence on f*******:, LinkedIn, i********:, and we expanded to Pinterest, t****k, wherever anyone is, they can not help but see Cavendish and Sons." "Conclusively, there were also speaking engagement we've participated in. Mr Greyson Cavendish, and Aiden both spoke at THw World Economic Forum, and The Consumer Electronic Show amongst others."others." "Thank you for that rundown Charles, Christian, you're up." Mr Crown says, and he nods. "Cavendish and Sons made some financial engagements in the past month. We generated One million dollars, which is a 10% increase from last month, and this is due to a combination of factors like increased sales and cost-cutting measures. There was also new product launches, expanded distribution channel, and marketting initiatives."