The Sky is Blue

Chapter 18

Evelyn

Alana remembered. I know because no girl wants to share her best friend on her birthday unless she'd avoiding being alone with them because they said something they can't take back. Which means, I need to get Alana alone and ask her about what she said. And more importantly, ask her if she meant it.

    "Another hole in one for the birthday girl" I say, looking only at my best friend. But looking at her, only now do I wonder what I truly want her to answer. I know for sure I don't want anything to change. And I guess if I thought deeply enough about it, I only stayed with Jackson because he was safe. A constant. Something I knew wouldn't surprise me and change. Alana was different. Dependable. The comfort I couldn't live without. So maybe if she didn't want to bring it up, then I'd leave it as buried as she's trying to make it.

    But then she meets eyes with me, and my heart skips a in a way it never has before. in a way that made me think maybe we already had changed. I smile, a moment before I see a man in a suit behind her. She follows my frown, see the man in the suit.

    He stood in a perfect crisp suit. So untouched, it looked like he'd just come from buying it. he didn't look nervous, he seemed, instead, very sure of himself. Like he'd done whatever he was about to do a million times.

    "Hope Buckley?" he says in a surprisingly deep voice.

    "That's me" Hope says, walking around Grey to get to the man in a suit.

    "You've been served a subpoena and requested to testify in court for the defendant, Brent Aleman" She says, handing er a folder of papers, about to walk away when I call out to him.

    "Excuse me, i'm sorry, but he's in court already?"
     "I'm sorry, you are?"

    "Evelyn Aleman" I state, always hating that i had  that as a reminder that I came from a monster.

    "Oh, well, he's a bit of a big deal in the community. That usually tends to give people a speedy trial" He says, forcing a smile before he turns. he was away just as quickly as he'd shown up, and I take the time to think about what this meant.

    "My father's lawyer called you to the stand because he knows we never told any of you" I put together, and they all three turn to me. Setting my hands on my hips, I close my eyes thinking.

    "Ev" Alana begins but I stay the way I am. My father wasn't stupid. Abusive, cruel, sure, but not stupid. He knew exactly what and who he needed to talk to and bring up just to make him seem however he needed to.

    "Evelyn" Alana says again.

    "Give me a second" I say, scrunching my eyebrows, but not opening my eyes. I just needed a second to think. My sister was already paying for our father's sins. But if I knew him at all, he'd either get out of it, or he'd pull us all down with him. And as was as I am at my mother, she doesn't deserve to be pulled down with-

    I feel hands on my hands, pulling them off of my hips. I open my eyes, long enough to see Alana pull me into one of her all encompassing hugs. I never thought about it until now, but maybe I was so calm when she touched me because I liked her back. it isn't like she'd be my first girl crush, or even girlfriend. But she was Alana. And we were Alana and Evelyn. I'm not sure I'm ready for everything to change. I'm not sure I'm ready for us to be Alana and Evelyn.

    I close my eyes, breathing in her perfect coconut shampoo I used to hate. Squeezing my eyes shut, I'm glad she's here to hold me together, because I'm not sure I'm doing a good job at that myself.

    "It's ok" She says softly. And slowly and slower I begin to believe her. I breathe a deep breath, and pull away. Barely glancing at Hope and Grey to see them looking at me like I had a sad infected third eye, I look to Alana.

    "I should- uh- get back to the hospital"

    "Can I come?" Alana asks, and I look into her eyes.

    "You should be having fun today, not sitting in a hospital room"

    "It's my birthday, do you really think I will have fun spending it without my best friend?"

    "How about we stop at the boardgames store in the mall and we'll all go back to the hospital

    "Hope and I will meet you there, you guys go on" Grey says and Alana seems to make a face, but I grab her arm.

    "Come on, we'll put on Taylor Swift on the way" I suggest and she nods.

    "Alana?" I ask from the driver's seat, because Alana wasn't old enough to drive yet.

    "Yeah?" She answers, looking at me and I think for a moment. Did I want to call her attention to what she'd said to me the other night? Did I want to possibly change everything Or do I want to act like us for just a little longer?

    "Do you think my dad will get away with it?" I ask, and glance her direction. She sighs, and looks out the window for a moment

    "Gosh, I don't know, babes. I've seen him talk himself out of some crazy situations." She says, then looks to me. "But if you get called to the stand and you talk about everything you could've possibly heard or seen, and you're completely honest, I don't see how he could talk himself out of it" She says, and I look back to the road as I drive past the green light.

    "He already got himself half out of jail time"

    "Why do you say that?"

    "Because he made it so Brooklyn can't give a testimony"