11. We've got Einstein son among us!

"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

-Maya Angelou. 

✪ Growing up 

Chapter Eleven

 

I didn’t speak.

I didn’t say a word, not even when the power came back on and we all gathered back in the living room.

I was mute for about twenty minutes. When Evan asked if I was okay, I would simply nod my head. I couldn’t look him in the eye without feeling like the worst person on Earth.

Even when that kiss had been out of pity and I felt nothing, I still felt like I failed him. And Evan did not deserve that at all. He had enough with everything he had been through. I’d always despised cheaters and that turned me into the biggest hypocrite in the planet. It was a good thing, he had gone to the kitchen to make some coffee.

My boyfriend loves coffee.

I was drowning in self-loathing when the front door was swung opened. I looked at the two tall guys standing in it. They were my school’s popular boys, the best football players in town. They were both wearing dark clothes which I found weird. They weren’t fan of that color, in fact, that was the first time I’d seen them in black.

“Surprise!” Jordan exclaimed, walking inside. His hair was slightly wet from the rain. Shane followed his friend, but said nothing which was also weird. Shane was not the shy type. I narrowed my eyes at them. Lau was the one to say what we were all thinking.

“You!” she aimed her finger at them, “You were pranking us, weren’t you?”

Jordan gave her an innocent smile, “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he glanced at Shane, “Right, man?”

“Not a clue,” Shane said, shrugging, “We just got here,”

“Seriously? And you’re both conveniently dressed in black?” Lau huffed, and folded her arms across her chest.

“We were in a black theme party,” Shane replied, keeping his eyes anywhere but me. I wanted to say something but my voice failed me.

Jason groaned, “You scared the hell out of us,”

“Us?” Nadia cocked an eyebrow, “More like you,”

Jason glared at her, “We were all scared, I was the only one to admit it,”

“There is a difference between admitting it and showing it.” Nash spoke, sitting on the couch.

Lau rolled her eyes, “Let’s get serious. Guys, were you behind the whole thing?”

“Do you really need to ask?” Nash intervened, looking bored, “They did it.”

“Again, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jordan said, reaching Lau to give her a peck but she took a step back. When he tried to come closer again she placed a hand on his chest.

“Kisses are suspended for you,” Lau informed. Jordan pouted.

“We didn’t do anything,” Shane stood up for his friend, “You have no proof,”

Nash got on his feet, shaking imaginary dust from his pants. He walked towards Shane confidently. We all watched him in pure silence.

“Nash, don’t,” Nadia reached for her brother but he was already facing Shane.

“You want proof? Alright,” Nash started, “Let’s ignoring the black clothes which do a perfect job to camouflage in the dark by the way,” Nash irradiated confidence, “Your hair is extremely wet which makes no sense if you just got here. Why? The walk from your car to the front door took about 5 seconds from you, perhaps less. The rain has dissipated and now it’s just drizzling. 5 seconds under a slight drizzle are not enough to get your hair this wet, nor your clothes. And that only means you’ve been out in the rain for a while,” he took a pause, “From the structure of this house, it is a bohemian house built in the eighties. These houses usually had their power boxes outside in the shed. Therefore, in the times you went to the shed and came back to the house, you got this wet.” By this point my mouth was hanging opened, “Besides, you have brown paint on your pants from the shed, barely visible to the eye, but I am an observant person. If I check your pockets, there is probably a screwdriver which you used to open the power box but forgot to get rid of because you were sure you wouldn’t get caught.”  

And that's how you make seven people speechless.

Nobody said a word, not even Shane who was looking like a deer caught in the headlights. Of course, Jason was the one to break the silence.

“Holy Shit! We’ve got Einstein son among us!”

Nash sighed, “That’s impossible. If I were somehow to be related to Einstein, I’d be his grand-son.”

“Nash,” Nadia reprehend him, gesturing to come to her. Nash obeyed and sat next to her sister. We all watched his every step like he was an alien among us.

“I am presumed innocent until proven guilty,” Shane raised his hand in a peace gesture.

“Empty your pockets then,” Lau retorted. Shane’s face grew considerably pale.

“He could have a screwdriver in case his car breaks up or something,” Jordan defended but it was too late. We all knew if we checked Shane’s pockets, there’d be a screwdriver there. 

“You bastards!” Lau threw cushion after cushion at them, “What were you thinking?! We were so close to calling the cops on you!”

“Babe, I can explain,” Jordan said, backing away, dodging each cushion.

“Don’t call me babe!” Lau growled at him. I spotted Jason watching the scene, pleased.

Evan came back from the kitchen, looking confused, “What’s going on?”

“You missed the show,” Helen said, running her fingers through her hair and then proceeded to update her brother. I glanced at Evan every time in a while but each time his eyes fell on me, I avtered my gaze.

“Is coffee ready?” I mumbled. Evan nodded, “I’ll go get cups for everyone,” I said in attempt to escape. However, when I walked past him, he grabbed my arm.

“Do you want me to go with you?” I shook my head no and ventured inside the kitchen.

I can’t keep escaping.

I thought, closing my eyes. I rested my back against the wall.

“You can’t keep escaping,” I opened my eyes, looking at the source of that familiar voice. Lau was leaning against the kitchen counter, her arms folded across her chest. Her plucked eyebrows were almost meeting each other as she frowned at me. My best friend looked really inquisitive at the moment, “You’ve been mute since you came back from upstairs. Something happened and I’m not going anywhere until you tell me,” it didn’t surprise me that she noticed. She was my best friend after all.

I let out a long breath, “I screwed up,”

Her face softened, “What happened?”

I rubbed my hands over my face, and told her the whole story.

“You what?!” Lau screamed, almost spitting on my face.

“Shhh!” I glanced at the kitchen door waiting for anyone to come and see what was going on.

“That doesn’t sound like you, Jules.” Lau said in disbelief.

“I know. I don’t know what came over me,” I admitted, lowering my gaze.

“It’s alright. We all make mistakes,”

We stayed in silence for a moment and then I saw something change in Lau’s expression. It was like something had clicked inside her head.

“You knew who he was,” she declared, lifting her chin proudly as if she had solved the biggest mystery in the planet, “You knew it was Shane, and you confirmed it when he crossed that front door,”

I nodded.

“That’s why you kissed him back. The Jules I know wouldn’t kiss an intruder out of the blue. However, she would definitely kiss someone she knows out of pity. Especially, if that someone begs for it,” I smiled sadly at her. She knew me too well.

“It’s still wrong,”

“I know and I feel kind of responsible for it,” Lau sighed, rubbing her temples.

“What are you talking about?”

“I told you he was drinking and partying a lot lately, that his family was worried about him. Maybe, that fueled your pity for him,”

“I don’t want to pity him. I feel terrible for it. I ended up hurting two people with this,”

“Jules…”

“I really didn’t mean to hurt Evan. But at that moment, I didn’t want to hurt Shane by rejecting him again. When he said ‘please’ he sounded so vulnerable. He didn’t sound like the cocky jerk I knew. He sounded human, Gosh, I don’t even know what I’m saying,”

“I understand you, girl, don’t worry,” Lau came closer and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, “Everything will be fine,” she rested the side of her head against mine.

“What am I supposed to do now?”

“Right now? You’re supposed to get cups of coffee for everyone in the living room,” Lau joked, letting me go. I gave her a playful glare.

“Help me out then,” I headed to the cabinets to get the cups out.

“But speaking seriously, you know what you have to do, don’t you?” she asked behind me.

“Yes,”

“Alright,” I heard her opening the fridge and give out a groan, “You ran out of bananas?”

I rolled my eyes.

Only Lau could worry about bananas at a time like this, only Lau.

I waved my hand at the cars as they disappeared in the road. I’d come outside to say my goodbyes to everyone, expect Evan who was still in my living room, finishing his third cup of coffee. I was hugging myself in the front porch while cold wind was brushing past me.

We’re alone.

Conveniently, Lau ha convinced everyone it was time to leave after we’d handed the cups of coffee. I knew she wanted Evan and me to be alone so I could talk to him. Nevertheless, my courage dropped considerably while I watched the cars’ red lights disappeared in the darkness.

It’s time.

I can handle this.

I tried to encourage myself but it wasn’t really working. I could lose the guy I loved over a kiss I didn’t even enjoy.

I was so stupid.

I went back inside the house, still hugging myself. Evan was in the main couch, he placed his cup on the table when he spotted me.

“Hey,” he smiled at me, the cute dimples of his cheeks showing up.  My heart tightened in my chest.

I forced a smile, “Hey,”

I couldn’t explain how hard that was for me. How could I speak knowing I’d be hurting him? He, out of people I knew, was the last person I wanted to hurt. Evan had a rough past, he had scars that would be with him forever, and I wasn’t talking about the scars on his back, I mean, the scars in his soul.  I dropped my hands and intertwined them in front of me nervously.

How could I do this to him?

“What’s wrong?” he asked, rising to his feet. I stared at him, enchanted. The deep pool of his dark eyes stared right back at me. His black hair was falling down his forehead and ears. His red lips were pressed in a tight line as he waited for me to say something.

Everything about him screamed mystery but that sort of mystery that pulls you in and doesn’t let go of you until you’re so deep in it you don’t remember your way out. 

He was my dark poet, forever handsome. 

What if he breaks up with me?

What if he cannot forgive me?

What would I do?

I swallowed, “There’s something I need to tell you,” Evan didn’t seem surprised.

“I know. You’ve been acting weird since we went upstairs,” he took a step forwards. I raised my hand.

“No, stay there,” I demanded, my heart constricting in my chest, “I don’t know if I’ll be able to say it if I have you close,” I tried taking a deep breath but the lump in throat refrained me for doing so.

Evan’s frown grew bigger, “Jules-”

“Just listen to me, alright? Promise me you will listen to everything I have to say,” he tilted his head to the side, scrutinizing my face, “You promise?”

“I give you my word,” he grew serious when he said it.

“When we went upstairs and I was alone in the hallway. Someone dragged me to the cleaning stuff closet,”

Evan’s eyes widened, “What? What do you me-“

“Please, don’t interrupt me,” I pleaded, fighting to keep it together, “That person kissed me and at first I didn’t respond to him but then I kissed him back,” Evan’s face fell so hardly, I felt tears coming to my eyes, “I didn’t feel anything, I swear, it was just out of pity,” desperation was evident in my voice.

Evan’s shoulders hang as if he had given up on something, “It was Shane, wasn’t it?” I could see the vein popping up his neck while he was clenching his fists at his sides. His chest was rising and falling quickly.

“Yes, but I-“

“Fuck!” he kicked the couch over and over again.

“Evan…” he rubbed his face with both hands angrily. My sight was blurred with tears in matter of seconds. He looked torn and hurt. I couldn’t stand it, “I didn’t mean to hurt you,”

What should I say?

Evan looked at me. The rage and disappointment in his eyes took my breath away. Tears escaped my eyes, rolling down my cheeks freely.

He averted his gaze, “I need to get out of here,” he said, walking past me towards the front door.

Panic rose in me as I chased after him.

“Evan, wait,” I begged, walking outside. It was still drizzling a little. Evan walked towards his car, kicking the ground a few times, “You can’t drive like this,” I hurried to catch up with him. He was in no condition for driving, “Please, wait,” I grabbed his arm but he slapped my hand away, turning to me.

“Back off, Jules,” he loomed over me. His tone was ice cold.

“Just…” my voice broke, “calm down and then you can drive home, please,” it was killing me to see him like that.

“Is that pity in your eyes?” he asked, holding my chin roughly, “Does that mean I’ll get a kiss from you?” he was lashing out and I couldn’t blame him. I swallowed my hurt, slapping his hand away. But he wrapped one arm around my waist, pulling me to him.

I pushed his chest, “No, Evan,”

“Look at me,” he held my chin again forcing me to lift my face to him. His rage filled eyes gazed at my lips. His thumb caressed my lower lip, “The thought of him kissing you makes my blood boil,” he released me.  

“Evan, I-“

“I knew this was going too well for me. I knew I didn’t deserve to have you, to be happy but I still clung to that hope. Everything good in my life has to get fucked up one way or the other,” he ran his fingers through his messy hair.

“No, don’t say that,” his words made my heart ache, “It was a mistake, Evan, no-“  I tried to stop him from opening his car door. He pushed me away.

“Jules, you need to back off. I need to be alone,”

“Please, insult me, yell at me but don’t drive like this,” he opened his car’s door and I pulled it closed again. He groaned, shoving me against it, caging me. His heavy breath was blowing against my tear-stained face. I could hear how he was clenching his teeth in anger as if refraining himself for doing something he would regret.

“I need to leave. Back the hell off.” he spit out, pushing me aside roughly. He got inside his car, locked the doors and turned the engine on.

“No, no, no,” I knocked on his window repeatedly, “Evan, wait!”

He drove off, leaving me alone in the road.

Sobs blurted out of me in a rush. I fell on my knees, holding my head in desperation.

I can’t lose you, Evan, please!

I cried like I’d never cried before in my life. Flashes of his pained expression would hunt me until the end of time.

I hurt the person I loved and it was shattering my heart.

✪✪✪ Growing up ✪✪✪

Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top