DECEPTION; Bradley Simpson

15.

After an hour and a half of driving, I finally pull up at my mother's driveway. I climb out of my car and enter the house, using my keys that I always carry in my purse.

"I'm here," I shout. I hear some voices coming from the living room, so I follow them. When I enter, Sasha, Tim and mom are sitting on the couch, talking about Sasha's job.

"Evelyn, hey!" my brother's girlfriend is the first to notice me. She jumps to her feet and hurries towards me, pulling me into a tight hug.

"Hey, Sasha. How are you?" I smile, hugging her back.

"I'm really good. How's college?" she asks as we make our way to the couch and I join my mother and Tim.

"Really good," I nod. "So, what do you need to tell us?"

"Sasha is pregnant," Tim blurts out. Mom's and my jaw is practically on the floor. I am the first to snap out of the shocked state and I hurry to hug the both of them.

"Oh my God, I'm so happy for you two!" I squeal, squeezing them.

"Hey, be gentle with Sasha," Tim teases and I smack his arm. Mom hugs them and congratulates. Tears are streaming down her face as she finally realises she's going to be a grandmother.

We all sit back down and start talking about what baby names the couple have been thinking about.

"If it's a girl, I want to name her Elizabeth," Tim says. The mention of our grandmother causes me to smile, but not in a sad way like I used to.

"And if it's a boy, he's going to be named Chandler," Sasha smiles sweetly at my brother and leans into him.

"Is there a boy in your life, Eve?" the pregnant woman asks.

"Uhm..." I hesitate. Should I tell them about Brad? Is it too soon? "Yeah, I guess."

"Really? Who?" my mother turns her head towards me and I feel my cheeks heating up. Tim stays in silence as I tell them about Brad being a... more than a friend. I don't mention what we were doing last night and the one before that because I know my mom and she would start screaming at me, maybe kicking me out of the house. She still sees me as the innocent, 13-year-old girl I once was, but that's not me anymore. I grew up.

"You said his last name is Simpson?" Timothy finally speaks up with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. Why?" I furrow my eyebrows in question.

"Nothing, forget it," he shakes his head and kisses the top of Sasha's head.

I leave before dinner and drive back to campus. I can't believe Sasha is pregnant, I'm so happy for my brother and her. They've been best friends since I was born, and they started dating in college. Since then, they've been inseparable.

"Oh, hey. Where have you been all day?" Maggie asks as I enter our room.

"I went home to my mother's," I sit down on my bed.

"Why? Did something happen?" she furrows her eyebrows.

"No. Well, yes. My brother's girlfriend is pregnant and they wanted to tell us there," I can't contain my smile.

"Congratulations to them!" Maggie cheers.

"Thank you. How was your day?" I ask, changing the subject from me to her.

"Well, it was like every Saturday. I woke up at Brad's house, helped him and the boys clean up, then got back here. Nothing interesting," she shrugs. "How was your night?" the smirk on her face makes me blush.

"It was... good," I say and lay back. Thankfully, Maggie isn't pushing it further, I don't want to tell her what happened last night with Brad.

"We're going to dinner again tonight," the dark haired girl interrupts the silence between us.

"Okay," I nod and decide to study a bit more, so I'll be prepared for Monday.

-

"Come on girls," James grins at us as we make our way to his car. Maggie and I sit in the backseat and greet Kirstie. James leaves the parking lot and drives towards the diner. All three of them are telling me what happened at the party and I find myself laughing at some stories, especially the ones where James was drunk and did something stupid.

When James finally parks the car, we all climb out and enter the small diner. Brad, Ashley, Connor, Lucy and Tris are already sitting in a booth, waiting for us. Brad is sitting next to Ashley again. What? Why? I thought he'd sit next to me, like yesterday.

I try my best to ignore those two and take a seat next to Tristan and Kirstie. We order the same as always and everyone starts talking. My eyes dart to Brad from time to time, but he never looks at me. Did I do something to piss him off? I don't understand his behavior right now.

"Do you want some of my burger? I can't eat the whole thing," Tristan looks at me.

"Uhm, yeah. Thanks," I smile up at him and take the half of his burger. When I look back to Brad, I see him glare at Tristan. As our eyes meet, he quickly looks away and whispers something into Ashley's ear, making the girl giggle. He slowly puts his hand on her thighs under the table. My jealousy starts growing as I see him caress her thighs.

"This tasts really good," I look at Tris after taking a bite.

"Mhm, I know," he nods with a smile. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," I nod, stuffing some fries in my mouth.

"Is there something going on between you and Brad?" he asks quietly. I almost choke on the fries, but I manage to swallow them without dying.

I look over at Brad, then back at Tris, "no, there's nothing going on between us."

"Oh, good then. I wanted to ask you out Tuesday night, maybe? You know, we could go to dinner or something," he shrugs coolly.

"I'd love that," I nod with a small smile. He reciprocates and we both continue eating. My eyes meet with Brad's again, he's glaring.

-

After dinner is over, everyone pays for their own meal and we go outside to the cars.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Brad asks. I nod and we walk a few feet away from the others, so they can't hear us.

"Yes?" I cross my arms in front of me.

"What was that about?" he raises his voice, pointing towards the diner.

"What? Tris asked me out and I said yes," I shrug like it's nothing.

"Why?"

"Because I can do whatever I want. Plus, you were flirting with Ashley in front of me."

"That's none of your business," Brad says harshly.

"Oh, yeah? You were making out with me yesterday, I really thought that..." I stop myself before I could say something wrong.

"You thought what? That I would date you after that?" he lets out a mocking laugh. "You're wrong, Evelyn. I don't date. Especially not someone like you," the smirk on his face twists the knife in my chest he already put there with his words.