I̶n̶f̶a̶t̶u̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n

Chapter 12--Evan

        I love the sky. I love the way the clouds cover me like an all-knowing blanket, protecting me. My favorite time to be under it is right at the heart of sunset when the sun gives everything this orange-ish, ethereal glow and it makes the trees and everything else come alive. It makes everything look real.

I lay on my back in the park and feel the cool breeze shift my white t-shirt across my abdomen and back again. Gnats pranced tauntingly above my face but I didn't make a move to slap them away. Sitting up, I looked around me. There was no one else here. Good. I like being alone. It allowed me to get into my head-- clear it and think things through-- without anyone bothering me.

The events of the day played in my head as I took in the majestic glow of the treeline. I went to school and things were normal. Nothing too tantalizing happened. I came home and dad was sober-- for once. He was actually kind of nice to me, sort of. It had been a good day, I decided. Nodding as if to confirm this, I heaved myself from the damp ground, an impression in the grass marking that I'd been there.

Reaching my car, I noticed someone new had parked in the short time since I'd first looked. It took me a minute to figure it out, but I recognized the other vehicle. She and another dude got out-- Vince-- and they laughed. He leaned in to kiss her and she folded her body into his. The sight made me sick, though I wasn't completely sure why.

In one quick moment, he grabbed her ass and pressed her body against her car. Things were getting heated and I felt like I was invading something really private. As I was turning to get into my car, I took one last glance at them. Vince started to lift her shirt and that was when Chanse lost it. She started yelling at him and waving her arms, slapping them on her thighs in her rage.

"--said you'd changed. You lied to me. How could you do this--"

She ran her fingers through her hair and I saw her body move with her breaths. She held her hand out like she was stopping a lane of traffic and Vince stopped mid-sentence.

"--should never have gotten back together with you. We're done."

Intrigue tugged at the corners of my brain. Now I really felt like I was intruding. Getting into my car, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. I had heard they had gotten back together, I just didn't believe it. Well, I guess I didn't want to believe it. How could she get back together with an asshole like him? It clearly didn't last, anyway.

At the sound of my car door, Chanse's head snapped in my direction. Shit. I froze like a deer in headlights and her face turned to stone. Looking from me to Vince-- who was stalking away at the point-- and back to me again. She appeared to be on the verge of tears.

I sighed audibly, climbed back out, and crossed the distance to her. A look of pain flicked across her face before she started punching me in the gut. It was kind of like a kitten pawing the belly of a dragon. My body barely flinched from the blows, my core rock solid. She stood there pummeling me for moons before breaking down in tears.

"Why did it have to be him?" she managed between sobs. "I should have never believed in him. I should never have believed he could truly love me. No one cares about me."

I grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her back until she was forced to look me straight in the eye-- well, chin if we were being honest. "That's not true, I won't let you talk like that. There are people who care about you."

"Really?" She sounded heartbroken and defeated. Utterly defeated. "Like who? Name one person who cares about me."

My response was almost immediate, but I wasn't sure why I'd said it.