Evermore - Troy Otto

eighteen

    Evelyn laid on her bed, her hands rested on her stomach and she was lost in her thoughts. Ethan had left a while ago to take on a shift, leaving her behind with slightly swollen lips and messy hair. As content as she was with her new partner, things didn't feel right. Her mind constantly circled back to the state of the world. Every time she kissed Ethan she couldn't help but think about the amount of people who weren't as lucky as her. All the people who lost loved ones. It never failed to make her nauseous, she couldn't imagine losing Ethan.

     Evelyn let her head drop to the side so she could face the window. She sighed. She hated this ranch, she hated the ranchers and the stupid looks they'd give her every time she walked by, but at least this place gave her a shot at living. Evelyn hated that she had to think in such a way. A young version of her would have never imagined that this place would become some sort of safe haven. She was still scared, even more so now after accidentally overhearing a small piece of a conversation between her parents the day prior.

"I'm asking you to be realistic, Michelle," her father's voice startled Evelyn from her spot in the downstairs hallway. She frowned. Her father always sounded so angry nowadays. She missed when he'd joke around with her and her siblings, a smile never leaving his face. Now it felt like his scowl was permanent.

"Watch your tone and watch your volume," Michelle scolded her husband. Evelyn felt bad for her mother too. "The kids don't need to hear any of this."

"Our kids are all grown. Besides, it's be nice for them to hear a bit of the truth for once," Evelyn could hear Scott move to the kitchen open a cabinet. He knocked around a couple glasses for a bit until he found what he was looking for.

"Put that down," Michelle spoke in a demanding tone Evelyn had never heard from her before, the young woman almost flinched. "This is a road I will not let you take, Scott. I don't care how sad and guilty you become, you will not be like Jeremiah," the venom in her mother's voice made her take off as quickly and quietly as possible. Maybe this made her weak, maybe this made her a little bit of a coward, maybe running away from her problems wasn't the answer, but Evelyn was still holding onto what little hope she had that her family would return back to normal. She quietly slipped out the back door, her parents' voices fading away completely.

However, their conversation continued.

Scott let out a heavy sigh and placed his empty glass down. Deep down in his stubborn body, he knew his wife was only looking out for him and their children, their family.

"What on Earth has got you acting this? You're turning to alcohol now?" Michelle let out a humorless chuckle in disbelief. She could barely look at her husband as she spoke. "Don't think I haven't noticed. Don't think the kids haven't noticed. Stop avoiding the damn question and tell me why you're changing."

     "Michelle, drop it."

     "No! This family is hanging by a thread because of you! You're always out either doing god knows what or spending time with Katie or Carson. Evelyn is begging for your attention and she doesn't even realize it."

     "..."

     The lack of a response from her husband made Michelle's blood boil in ways she was unable to describe. "You made a promise—to your friend."

     "Not this again," Scott nearly growled, his left hand coming up to rub at the dent between his eyebrows. "I raised Evelyn, did I not? I loved her, I defended her, I put a roof over her head, and put food on the table every single goddamn day!" The way his voice increased with every word almost made Michelle want to give up the fight and back down, but she couldn't, for Evelyn. "I'd say I made pretty good on my promise."

"When you spoke to Evelyn, I thought things would change. I really thought things would get better. That night you told me you were gonna keep your promise to him. Why would you lie to me?" Michelle's voice broke, but she refused to cry. This was it, she'd had enough. She was going to get answers from her husband. She was going to get her family back on track. "At this rate, you'll become just as bad as the men you've always criticized!"

     Scott's frown deepened at the sudden change in his wife's tone. The fact that she would go there left a very bad taste in his mouth, and it took every ounce of self-control he possessed to not lash out at her. "I am not a killer. I never have been and I never will be."

     "But you tolerated it!" Michelle was quick and precise with her response. "You swept it under the rug and you ignored it enough to move our family here, even though you knew one of us would never be accepted. You put your daughter in the face of so much danger and pain that her only solution was to lock herself up in her room," Scott internally winced. His faults were being thrown right back in his face,  but this was not the first time he'd thought about this. He'd been guilty for years, but now he was simply over it. He was tired of fighting for a lost cause. "Now, when she needs your support most, it's like you pretend she doesn't even exist!"

     "Michelle, we are done speaking about this," he responded in a cold, low voice. At this point he was seething, feeling just as angry as his wife.

     Evelyn frowned, wondering what her parents could possibly be arguing so much about. There was obviously a shift in their family's dynamics that Evelyn was not present for a long time ago, and she wondered if there was a way to fix it. She huffed and sat up just enough to lean back on her elbows. She wanted to speak to her father, but she figured he was out showing one of her siblings how to do something they weren't very interested in, like he always was, so she instead decided to find Jake and take up on his lessons. It wasn't like anyone else was going to teach her anyway. She pulled her previously discarded shirt back over head and stood up.

     Before she knew it, Evelyn found herself standing in front of Jake's front door. She was a bit nervous to knock and just ask him to make time for her, but he was the one that suggested it after all. She eventually raised her hand and knocked three times. She didn't expect him to answer so quick, but almost immediately after she knocked she heard his footsteps approaching.

"Hey, Evelyn," Jake seemed surprised, but made it a point to remain polite with her after he opened the door. "What brings you here?"

     Evelyn sighed. "I need to learn how to defend myself. You told me to find you if I ever need lessons. We've got a few more hours of daylight left," she shrugged.

     "Yeah, for sure," Jake's easygoing grin lifted a weight Evelyn was not aware of from her shoulders.

a/n
here's a shortish one because
i wanted to get something done
before i go on vacation :) but it's
mostly another argument so :(
but yeah hope you guys enjoyed
this! sorry it's taken me soo long
to update, i'll try my absolute best
to get back into the rhythm when i
return. also sorry for lack of troy lol
there'll be more of him soon hopefully.
sorry for any mistakes it's late! oh
yeah also sdcc is like today hopefully
we get some news...
wc: 1331
07.21.23