Stay (Completed)

Chapter 31- Goodbye, Maybe?

I stood there completely taken aback. My mom had always been supportive of my relationships, especially with Evan. Now she seems like she doesn’t want me to be with him at all. The funny part was Evan knew more about what happened with Sean more than anyone else did; and I told her that. “Mom, Evan has nothing to do with Sean. Evan helped me more than anyone else could because I trusted him. I trusted him to hear me out and help me get over what happened. Evan is exactly who I need. We need each other in more ways than you can see and if you even think for one second that I am using him…well that just shows how much you don’t know me,” I said, standing my ground even though my eyes were watering and my lip was shaking; I had to be strong.

“Ok, alright. But Maria, you and Evan need to realize that you live miles apart. The fact is that he has to go home at the end of the summer. I don’t want you to go through what you did after losing Sean again after losing Evan—“

“Mom I’m not going to lose Evan. Never. It’s not going to happen. And I wasn’t upset about losing Sean, I was upset about why he lost me. I was upset about why I had to leave him,” I admitted, tears falling now as images of that horrible night ran through my head once more.

“Why did he lose you Maria? What did he do? You never told us and all we wanted to do was help you!” my mom said, her own tears falling as the frustration of me never letting on what happened getting to her. I knew it killed her not being able to understand what had hurt me all those months ago, but I wasn’t about to let her know now.

“I can’t tell you mom. I just can’t tell you,” I told her and I turned to go past her and out the door.

“Maria, wait! I don’t want this to end in a fight like this…I just don’t want you to get hurt, not again,” she said, the last part barely above a whisper.

“Well right now, you are hurting me more than anyone else,” and with that I ran out the door, needing to clear my head and knowing a run would do just that.

~~~~~~~~

Evan’s POV:

Ashley walked down to the beach and took a seat in the sand. I followed suit and stared out at the ocean as I waiter for her to say whatever she had to. If there was one thing I remembered about Ash, it was that when she said she needed to talk, you listened and you didn’t interrupt her.

“I never told you why I ended things the way I did, or why I wasn’t there for you that night,” she said, in a soft voice that half melted into the sound of the tide crashing to shore. “That night, my parents were fed up with me always spending time with you. They thought I needed a normal life with someone who wasn’t so sad all the time ya know?” she asked, but she wasn’t expecting me to respond.

I thought about what she said and I realized I truly had been the lousiest boyfriend ever in the months before my mom died. I hardly did anything but go to school and come home. Occasionally I would see my mom if she was in the hospital, but I dreaded walking out the doors and seeing people who would just look at me like I was a lost puppy out in the rain that they couldn’t help.

“My parents took my phone and locked me in my room and,” she paused, biting her lip and turning to face me, “and I felt free. Evan in that one night I felt like I didn’t have to worry about you. I felt like I could be a normal teenager and read gossip magazines and dance around my room to cheesy pop songs. Evan,” she took a shaky breath before saying, “I felt like I didn’t need you anymore. But. I. Was. Wrong.”

“Ash, you don’t need me,” I tried to tell her but she just shook her head defiantly.

“Evan I gave you that therapist’s information because I wanted to help you. I thought that I would help you by letting you go. Letting you focus on your family. Letting you spend time with them and be happy. I thought we could get back together after everything settled down” she reasoned, placing a manicured hand on my thigh.