With Friends Like These. . .

A Hell Of Her Own Choosing

Evie woke up in a bed that wasn't her bed. Sitting up with surprise, a dark set of covers fell off of her. She looked around. Nobody else was there. She was still wearing Liam's sweater. The sheets smelled the same. A mirror swam into her dim line of sight.

She was in Liam's room. Memories of the night before came flooding over her, and Evie worried for a moment she might be sick. The nausea passed, in its place was horror. Her phone! Where was it?!

She stood up, shaky, and exited out into the hallway, walking off towards the front door. Before she could pass through the kitchen, a shrill voice broke her concentration.

"Mae, my darling oh my goodness, are you okay? Papa told me everything!" And she came skidding to a stop. Liam grumbled beside her.

"I didn't tell you anything, you're too clever for your own good." He replied, shaking his head. "Whether I answer or not, you get the answer you want." He grimaced apologetically, and took a sip from his coffee cup.

Evie smiled weakly. "Yeah. . .it's.. .uh. . . I dunno. I think I may have gotten something wrong somewhere. . .I dunno, I was thinking about it, I really do have to talk to him about it."

Liams expression tightened severely, but he said nothing. She felt this overpowering sense of disappointment radiating from him. Her cheeks flushed, and Evie ducked her head.

“Gotten something wrong, my dear? Didn’t you hear it with your own ears?” She tossed a hopeless glare in Mr. Alinac’s direction, who helplessly held up his palms, as if asking for mercy. And still, she saw that expression. Like he wanted nothing more than to tell her she was being a fool. Evie wouldn’t give him the opportunity.

“Nahh, I was watching TV when I got the call,” She announced loudly. She didn’t even know why she didn’t want to talk to Karli about it, she just didn’t. “Honestly, I was definitely overreacting. I’m just gonna go home and take a shower, I feel pretty wiped, and I’ve got a bunch of stuff to do today.”

Before she heard a single protest, the door clinked shut behind her, and she was halfway across the yard they shared. Step one? She had to get her phone back. That was easy enough, it sat on the table where she left it the night before. A little lower on battery, but charged enough for her to see three missed calls. All from Karli. Not a single text from Trev. For some reason, though? This didn’t hurt her nearly as much as she thought it might. Her mind, more enraptured by the mystery of why Karli called in the middle of her date, not once, but three times? She hoped Karli didn’t have an awful night too. . .

Then again, Karli always had the best luck, ever since they were kids. Sure, every once in a while she would get bed-ridden with some mystery ailment, but other than that? It felt like Karli always got what Evie wanted.

After all, hadn’t she had a crush on Jeremy long before Trevor transferred to their school? The envious viper coiled tighter in her heart, she could feel it preparing to raise her ugly head again. No, she didn’t want to be jealous. Not Karli. Not her best friend. After all, wasn’t she always so supportive?

What seemed so urgent only two minutes ago--Get her phone and contact Trevor--Could wait a bit longer. After all, hadn’t Trevor kept her waiting? What was the rush? Now that she was alone, she could get her head on straight. Collect the facts. Confront the jackass.

Break up? The jury was still out on that one.

Much to her surprise, a few hours later, Trevor was the first to reach out. She wasn’t expecting it, the fire of confrontation burning itself out fast, leaving her with a stony chill deep in her gut that paralyzed her to the couch in front of the TV.

She hadn’t even noticed, recognizing the fact that she’d stolen Mr. Alinac’s sweater, so overwhelmed with embarrassment she didn’t feel her phone buzz at first. Oh my god. Oh. My God. Ohmygod. I just charged out of Karli’s house, wearing her dad’s jacket. How f*****g weird was that? Maybe that’s why he looked disappointed?! And now she was going to have to deal with this? On top of everything else? What a day!

Still. . . She pressed her nose to the sleeve, breathing the scent of him in. Wouldn’t it be nice to fall for a guy like Liam Alinac? Somebody who would support her, even through the roughest times. Somebody soft, and caring. Somebody who gave a s**t if he disappointed you.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

Her text messages went rapid fire, three incoming messages one right after another, flooding the notification bar on her phone. Groaning, slapping her warm cheeks to ‘punish’ herself for blushing, she grabbed her stupid cell. Trevor.

[Hey babe, sorry I passed out last night, did you enjoy your solo movie night?]

[Babe?]

[Wtf are you up?]

[I saw you active on snap. Answer me!]

A flash of nausea unsettled her stomach, and she prepared to type back. Her fingers hovered over the keys just long enough for her to think of something to say, and just as she went to type? Her screen flashed that he was calling. Her stomach dropped. Now, picking it up from between her thighs, she accepted the call.

“What the hell babe, I haven’t heard from you all day!” He huffed out, before saying anything else. Not even a hello. Somehow, this didn’t leave her with the same, achingly cold feeling she’d grown used to up until this point. No, instead of midwinter, she felt like autumn. She felt like there was a change coming.

“Oh, sorry, I thought you’d still be sleeping or something.” She replied as lightly as Evie could manage, with her heart thundering in her chest. “I just didn’t wanna bother you. Y’know, after you buttdialed me last night.” She could die on the spot. Her throat felt like it was closing up. This was it. She was going to do it. She was going to tell him exactly what she heard and that he could go f**k himself!

“W-Wait, what? No I didn’t. When did I do that?” She could hear his pacing stop from the other end of the line. She caught him. He knew it. She knew it. They were as good as over!

“A little after you told me you couldn’t come over. I thought you were calling to tell me you changed your mind, but--”

“But what? What did you hear?” Was that. . . Panic? Or excitement. . . ? Her stomach sank into the couch cushions, it felt so low. I heard you f*****g another woma, and telling her how good she felt on your grody d**k, Trevor. That’s what she wanted to say. What she hoped with all her might would come from her lps. No stuttering, no tripping over her words. But it wasn’t what came out.

“What, was there something I wasn’t supposed to hear?” Evie asked. Her body recoiled in revulsion, bile creeping up her throat, threatening to be sick. “Just a whole lot of nothing, and then I hung up.” Why was she betraying herself like this?

Because, Evie argued with herself in a voice that didn’t quite sound like her own, you need time to properly confront him.

But deep down, she knew that wasn’t true. She just wasn’t ready to be single. Rather have a shitty partner who at least tries to hide his affair from her, rather than no partner at all, right?

Right?

“Good, there was some really important meeting stuff going on, I could get you in trouble--Me too--If you heard any of that. haha.” Disappointment? Did he sound disappointed? No--That couldn’t be right. Why would he want to get caught?

“Well, good thing your phone sucks fat nuts then dude.” She responded, her voice remarkably clear for how much she was shaking. “Nobody’s getting in trouble today. Except me if I don’t finish my term paper. I should probably get to it, I’ve been slacking all day.”

There was silence from the other end of the line, and for a few horrible seconds, Evie was sure that he hung up, or the call dropped.

“. . . Kay.” He finally answered, tersely. Evie was sure he’d throw a tantrum later, but for now, she safely navigated the conversation. “You’d tell me if anything was up? Like, if something was bothering you?”

“You know I would, Trevor. I trust you.” Liar! She screamed in her mind, so loud she worried it might blow her phone speaker. But, of course, no magic shot through the phone, no energy fried Trevor’s stupid face off, and no knight in shining armor would come to rescue her from this shitpit she found herself in.

“Okay. Yeah. You too. Love you babes.” And then the line went dead. She heard the beep in her ear and dropped the phone, feeling cold. Tired. Lonely.

“Too bad you weren’t screwing a praying mantis, so she would eat your stupid fuckin’ head off after you came too quick.”