Summer in July

BREAKING THE SILENCE

Evelyn never imagined that her best friend, Sonia, would become so close to Liam. She had always kept her friendships and romantic relationships separate.

The thought of her best friend and boyfriend getting too close never came to her mind.

One morning, Evelyn woke up to a message from Liam. She was surprised. Her heart fluttered, but at the same time, she felt anger and frustration. She decided to ignore his message for a while, not wanting to seem too eager or give in too easily.

The morning passed, but Evelyn’s mood slowly brightened. Eventually, she replied to Liam’s message, but decided to keep her response cold and distant. Liam, sensing the tension, replied with the same tone, and they spent the day texting in a detached manner.

The next day, Liam reached out again, his tone more apologetic this time. “I know why you’re doing this. You’re angry with me, and I’m sorry. I was hurt too, so I needed some time to cool off. But I’m good now. Can we move on?”

Evelyn heart softened when she read his message. She realized how much she missed him and that they needed to talk things through. With a sigh, she apologized for her own actions, and they both agreed to put the past behind them.

And everything started going smooth a little bit,unlike before.

Evelyn and Liam had reconciled, but things didn’t feel the same as they once were. One afternoon, Liam texted Evelyn, saying he was in her town.

Evelyn was shocked and overjoyed. “What? You’re here? When did you arrive? You didn’t tell me anything!”

“Yeah,” Liam said. “I wanted it to be a surprise.

Liam then asked, “Can we meet? I really want to see you.”

Evelyn hesitated. Her schedule was tight, and she didn’t know how to fit him in without seeming uninterested. “I’m not sure. I’ll try to find a way,” she said, suggesting they could meet at a restaurant.

“Okay, let’s plan for that,” Liam agreed.

Later that day, as they continued chatting, Liam brought up meeting again. “You know, I’m really excited to see you,” he said.

Evelyn replied, “I can’t wait either!”

But then Liam added something unexpected. “You’ll come to my house, right?”

Evelyn froze. “What? You didn’t mention that earlier. I’m sorry, I can’t come to your house.”

Liam sounded confused and a little annoyed. “Why not? What’s the big deal?”

“I’ve never been to a guy’s house before,” Evelyn explained nervously.

Liam sighed. “I get it—you think I’ll do something to you, don’t you?”

“No, it’s not that. I just… can’t,” Evelyn insisted, her voice in hesitation.

The conversation turned into an argument and went over thirty minutes, with Liam growing more frustrated. “Fine,” he eventually said. “You don’t want to come, right? It’s fine.”

But it wasn’t fine. Liam’s texts became colder, and he started accusing her of things he knew she’d never do. “You’re probably seeing other guys. That’s why you’re acting like this,” he wrote.

Evelyn was confused she didn't know what decision to make at that moment, so she texted her best friend Sonia, and told her everything that happened, Sonia told her not too go if she doesn't want to, Evelyn replied and said "Thank you, I didn't know he was in town actually" he just told me. Sonia replied and said "yes, he's in town he came around last week, he told me."

Evelyn was surprised and started having doubts in her mind "what could have gotten to this point of Liam informing Sonia about his whereabouts before her."

But she decided to brush it off again, so she started limiting herself with Sonia, Evelyn noticed Sonia was aware of everything going on in her relationship, it seems Liam was always telling her things. But there's nothing Evelyn could about it, she can't accuse her best friend and her boyfriend just like that, So she brushed it off again.

Evelyn checked the message Liam sent to her, and she was shocked and hurt by his accusations. She reached out to him, desperate to clear the air. “Why are you saying these things about me when you know they're not true?"

Liam’s reply was cold. “If you want me to trust you, you’ll have to earn it. I’m sorry, but I can’t be in a relationship where I don’t get to see my girlfriend.”

I’m sorry, Evelyn, "let’s break up". I can’t do this anymore. I’ve lost the feelings I used to have for you. You’re a great girl, but it’s not working, you've been amazing but I think this is the best, you deserve more."

Evelyn stared at the message. She was deeply hurt, she felt heartbroken. She turned off her phone, unable to bear the pain. Hours later, she forced herself to reply. “If that’s what you want, I understand, it's okay."

Liam responded almost immediately. “I didn’t want to do this, but you left me no choice. I thought seeing you might make me feel something again,I thought seeing you might reignite my feelings, but it seems you didn’t want to make the effort.”

Evelyn sat with his words, her heart breaking. She thought of the idea of seeing him, wondering if it might truly help. After much thought, she eventually agreed to meet him, reluctantly sending a time for the next morning.

When Liam replied with, “That’s good of you. You’ve made me happy,” But Evelyn was cold and nervous."

The next morning, Liam called Evelyn to confirm their meeting. True to his word, Liam arrived, though he came a bit late, which left Evelyn slightly annoyed. He came with his brother, and they greeted each other, But Evelyn couldn’t shake off her mixed emotions.

While Liam seemed happy to see her, Evelyn was still upset about being pressured into coming to his place. As they got into the car, Evelyn thought to herself, I can’t believe he manipulated me into this.

They arrived at Liam’s house shortly after, and Evelyn became nervous, Liam asked her to come to his room, and though she hesitated, she reluctantly followed him. They went inside, she couldn’t help but feel out of place. Liam noticed her unease and tried to break the tension.

“Why are you acting like this? Why are you making me jealous? And why do you keep talking to other guys?” he blurted out, frustration evident in his voice.

Evelyn’s anger kept her from answering immediately. Instead, she sat down quietly, avoiding eye contact. Liam sighed and sat beside her. “I’m sorry, Evelyn. I shouldn’t have accused you of all those things. Let’s fix this, okay?”

Evelyn remained silent for a moment, but the sincerity in Liam’s tone softened her resolve. Eventually, she nodded, muttering, “Fine.”

Liam smiled, visibly relieved. “Thank you,” he whispered. After a moment, he asked, “Can we kiss now?”

Evelyn shot him a disbelieving look. “Liam, are you serious right now?”

“Come on,” he teased, inching closer. “We need to seal the peace.”

Reluctantly, Evelyn allowed him to kiss her. What started as a soft kiss quickly turned more intimate as they let their emotions take over. The kiss lasted a few minutes, and by the end of it, they both felt a sense of calm and resolution.

Afterward, Evelyn glanced at her phone and remembered her schedule. “I need to leave soon,” she said, standing up.

Liam nodded, though he seemed disappointed. “That’s fine. But you have to come back next week.”

“Next week?” Evelyn asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Liam replied. “You have to come here every week before I leave the town with my brother. Deal?”

Evelyn hesitated but eventually said. “We’ll see.”

As she left Liam’s house, Evelyn couldn’t help but feel conflicted. While she was glad they had made peace, a part of her still felt unsure about their relationship. She wasn't sure if things could still go back as it used too."