my brothers
"I'll never forgive her for what she did to us. Getting us expelled. Humiliating us."
"How's the whole Jayden thing going?"
"You should've seen the look on Evvy's face! But one thing that didn't sit right with me was how she glared at me. That little shit thinks she can stand up to me?"
"I guess it's finally time."
"She's gonna be so excited to see you again."
my brothers
- e v a n n a -
"Ev, can we talk?" Taylor asked over the phone. "Hey... I wanted to reapologize. Last time it was a bad place and I couldn't say everything I wanted."
"Apologize for what?"
"The whole... bullying thing. I'm sorry. I was just worried about you and I haven't seen you in years so when I heard about what happened... It upset me because I didn't know you were going through that much."
"I understand why. Anyone would've been upset. A lot of people were upset when I forgave them too. I don't blame you," I said.
"You guys are completely okay now, right?"
"Yeah. They're my closest friends now."
"Okay. I see why you don't like it when people bring it up. You've already moved on and it makes you and the rest uncomfortable when they bring it back... I guess it's something all of you would want to forget."
"Thanks for understanding," I said gratefully. Talking to Taylor was a nice way to forget about everything that just happened downstairs. "I wish... Matthew was like you."
"You haven't talked to him?"
"No. I don't want to talk to him either. The whole 'the kiss was a mistake'— I don't want to think about it."
"Did anything happen when you went home? Did Jayden say anything?"
Resentment and hatred filled me again. "He's pissed at me because I don't like the fact that he's dating my middle school bully. Does he want me to be okay with it? What does he want from me?"
"Did it seem like he was dating her because he wanted to? Or any deeper reason?"
"He was getting defensive over it, I don't know. He... He grabbed my arm and..." I sighed. "I don't understand why he's mad at me. Even going as far as to hurt me physically because now I have a bruise on my arm."
"Does it still hurt? How hard did he grab you?"
"You know how he gets when he's angry. Of course it hurts..."
"This really isn't like him," Taylor muttered. "I'll try talking to him... I'll ask around too. I'll see if I can find anything. Do you want to try and figure it out with him first?"
"I don't know. I don't care. I'm mad at him and I don't want to talk to him. I don't want to think about him either. If he's going to date her he might as well just never talk to me."
"Okay... I'll talk to you later then. Bye, Ev."
I hung up, sighing as I leaned against my wall. I wanted to be able to go to school without drama, I wanted to be around my friends without fights occurring. I just wanted a break for once.
"Ev, do you wanna get something to eat?" Andrew came into my room, peeking his head around the door to look for me. Once his eyes met mine he entered fully, frowning. "Why're you sitting so sadly on the ground?"
I snorted and got up. "Did it look like that?"
"Are you hungry? I'm about to get something with Alex and Daniel. Join us."
I followed him down the stairs, but Jayden was in our path. Andrew walked past him like it was nothing, but when I walked past, the tension felt like electricity crackling. Neither of us said anything, neither of us met eye contact.
I was nothing but pissed at him.
When we reached outside, Andrew looked over his shoulder. "What was that?"
"What?" I asked, trailing behind him as he went to his car. Alex and Daniel were already in there.
"I'm pretty sure I didn't just imagine that tension between you two. Did you fight?"
He opened the car door for me and I sat inside, quickly putting in my seatbelt. "I mean..."
Andrew closed the door and went to the driver's seat, putting on his seatbelt. Daniel immediately took his AirPods our, turning to me. "What's happening?"
"Jayden and Evanna are acting weird, they completely ignored each other and when she went past him the atmosphere just dropped."
Alex, who was in the passenger seat, and Daniel both stared at me. "Really?"
"We fought," I admitted, sighing. "He's—"
"Hey, it's okay, siblings fight all the time," Alex cut in. "Andrew and I just fought two minutes ago about who's driving, Daniel and I just argued over if we should go to Chipotle or McDonald's—"
Andrew started driving, nodding in head in agreement. "Yeah, whatever it is, I'm sure you two can work it out. Besides, Jayden wouldn't do anything to actually hurt you."
"He did hurt me."
Andrew snapped his head back to me but quickly went back to looking at the road. "What? What'd he do?"
"He's grabbed my wrist so hard there's a bruise."
Daniel took my wrist, lifting the sleeves of my hoodie up. His eyes widened at the bruise that formed. "We gotta get that boy a stress toy or something, what the hell?"
"Did you do something to make him angry?" Alex asked, concern clear in his voice. "What happened?"
"He's dating Cathryn."
The three simultaneously spoke, both confusion, shock, and disbelief in their voice. For a good ten seconds, they were just talking over each other loudly.
"Wait, isn't that— that one girl during your middle school?" Daniel's eyebrows furrowed.
"I remember her coming over to our house a lot. She wouldn't take her hands off of Jayden until we had to tell her to stop," Alex thought back. "He's dating her?"
"Like date— like actually?" Andrew asked.
"Yeah," I said, annoyed. "He walked in with her and went all 'she's my girlfriend, leave her alone and was protecting her and everything."
"And... And I talked to him, but he got mad at me for being upset with him. That doesn't even make sense. I never did anything. But he's getting mad and—"
Tears of frustration pooled in my eyes. I refused to let them spill. I've never been so mad my entire life. Tears of... frustration...
I genuinely could not tell if I was genuinely angry at him for doing that, or if what I'm feeling is just my heart being shattered into pieces and feeling hurt that he chose someone else over me.
"Forget it, let's just go."
The boys shared a glance with each other that I pretend not to see. As we drove to get some food, they started a conversation about the football game to fill the awkward silence. It wasn't long before Andrew parked, all of us getting out of the car as we headed inside the shopping center.
"I'm getting McDonald's, if you want something else let's split," Alex said, taking out his wallet. He pulled out his car and tossed the wallet to me. "Don't lose it."
I stared down at the stacks of hundred dollar bills in his wallet he carried around carelessly. "You're trusting me?"
"I normally wouldn't," he admitted. "But go get something to eat. All of us meet back here, cool?"
"Bet," Daniel said, taking off immediately to the nearest Chipotle. Alex rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath as he walked off too.
Andrew turned to me, putting his hand on my shoulder. "You'll be okay, right?"
I shrugged. "You don't need to worry about me like that. It's okay."
Andrew pulled me closer and started messing up my hair. "You're all grown up. I trust you can defend yourself, right? If Jayden ever touches you again, you gotta—" he took a fighting stance, throwing a jab at the air. "— yeah?"
I couldn't help but laugh. "If you insist."
He smiled softly. "Well, go buy something to eat and after I'll teach you how to throw a proper punch. I'm gonna catch up with Alex."
"Okay then," I smiled back. "I'll see you soon!"
We both headed off in opposite directions. Even though I was going through all of this drama again, talking with my brothers made me happy. I realized how far all of our relationships have gotten. They became people I trusted and I felt safe around them.
So I don't know what's happening with Jayden.
This isn't like him.
I was shaken out of my thoughts when my phone vibrated in my pocket. I pulled it out and froze, staring at the number I didn't think I'd ever see again.
unknown number: keep walking and go to the third floor of the food court. the parking garage. i have a present :)
Although it said it was an unknown number, the numbers listed on the contacts were all too familiar. It was the number I've tried blocking over and over again for years— since middle school.
I don't know how she got my phone number, even after I changed my phone.
Should I go or not?
I should just ignore her. Besides, I was hungry.
Let's get some food first and I'll explain what's happening to the guys and maybe they can help figure out what to do—
— is what I told myself. But somehow I found myself opening the doors to the top floor parking garage.
Immediately, I spotted Cathryn in the corner, a lit cigarette between her fingers as she waved at me, gesturing at me to come over.
Holding back all of the emotions I was feeling, I walked up to her, hiding the uneasiness I was feeling. "Since when do you smoke?"
She maintained the smile on her face but her voice was icy cold when she replied, "Don't talk to me like you're my friend."
"I'm not. I'm just wondering how much dumber you can get."
Cathryn bursted into laughter that was mixed with disbelief and annoyance. "God, Evanna. You are all grown up, aren't you? I remember when you couldn't even look at me in the eyes. So since when did you start talking back to me like that?"
I wasn't going to hide the fact that I was ashamed of my old self. There was no reason for me to let myself get walked all over and bullied like that. "Don't lie to yourself. I've always stood up to you someway."
I saw it coming, but I was too slow and stunned to react as she landed a hard kick to my stomach that pushed me onto the ground, a sharp pain exploding in the back of my head. The pain bounced back and forth from my stomach to my head that felt like it was being cracked open. I didn't realize I was that close to the concrete wall until then.
"No, it was always like this. You were always below me. You tried to fight back but in the end I always won."
"Yes, getting expelled was a great victory of yours," I gritted, ignoring the pain. I wanted to get off the ground and stand up. I wanted to show her that I wasn't below her.
But I couldn't.
"Maybe I hit a nerve by getting close with Jayden?" Cathryn spoke, walking closer to me with a pitiful look on her face. "How does it feel to know your closest friend chose me over you?"
That just confirmed the fact that there was something deeper happening between Cathryn and Jayden.
"It's not the first time you've been betrayed like that, is it?" She smiled, looking down at me. "I still haven't even given you your gift yet."
Multiple footsteps approached us. When I turned my throbbing head, I saw three people making their way next to Cathryn. Bitterness filled me.
"Great, more people that disgust me," I wasn't aware my voice could be this cold. I forced myself to get up. "No one asked for a fucking reunion, Cathryn."
Summer, Natalie, and Claire stood in front of me.
But they were all avoiding my eyes.
"The list of people who keep backstabbing you are just getting longer and longer," Cathryn said, blowing smoke in my face. "I'm going to turn everyone against you. If it was that easy turning Jayden to my side, imagine how much easier the rest of your friends will be."
All the resentment and hatred and betrayal I felt by the people I thought were the closest to me rose up again. Claire, Summer and Natalie. They were there when I was at my lowest. I trusted them. They were my friends.
"All of you guys are pathetic." I found myself saying. "And Cathryn, if you think you can turn my friends against me, go ahead. I'd love to see you try. I don't think you got the hint at the library before."
"Get over yourself, Cathryn. It's getting boring now."
She threw her cigarette on the floor.
Then she lunged at me.
She slammed my head into the wall again, and at that point, my vision started getting blurry. If my head wasn't hit first, maybe I could've done something more. Maybe I could've fought back a little more. I was too disoriented to do anything about the harsh blows that kept hitting me.
My head hurts...
The attacks finally stopped. I was on the ground, arms over my face. There was nothing I wanted to do more than get up and fight back.
All of a sudden, I felt a hand reach into my jacket.
"That's a lot of fucking money," she snickered, looking inside Alex's wallet. "Your life must have been so nice, huh? Do you know how fucking annoying it was to be expelled?"
Cathryn soon went quiet, the only thing that left her mouth was a scoff of disbelief. "You're crazy. Let go of my fucking hand."
I gripped her wrist tightly, all of the pain disappearing in that moment. "Don't touch my brother's stuff."
I saw the shock in her eyes. Even after the numerous punches and kicks she was able to land, here I was, back up and standing my ground. Everything she has done to me came back. My life could have been different if I had never met her. I could've spent my middle school years differently if I didn't know her.
I tightened my grip on her wrist. "Give it back."
Her eyes widened. "You crazy bitch—"
She raised her other hand to hit me. That was when someone came up behind her and grabbed it, shoving her against the wall.
"Jesus fucking Christ, I just wanted to eat my damn Chipotle without getting bothered," Daniel growled in annoyance. He glared down at Cathryn who was on the ground, crying out in pain from hitting the wall so hard.
It was satisfying to see her on the ground. But it was pretty short lived because I felt my knees buckle under me as I collapsed into a pair of strong arms.
"You said you'd be okay," Andrew muttered, holding me in his arms.
"You see, that wallet you're holding in your hand right now? Yeah, that's mine," Alex spoke up, walking up to Cathryn who ended up retreating to the corner. "I remember giving that to Evanna but somehow it ended up in your hands."
"Protect that little bitch all you want," Cathryn spat.
Big mistake.
Alex snatched the wallet from her hands, opening it and tossing a couple hundred bills in her face. "If you wanted some money, you could've just asked."
He bent down to meet her eyes. "Keep the money. You're going to need it to cover your hospital fee after I—"
"Alex," Andrew cut in. Alex shot Cathryn a warning smile before getting up and walking over to me.
"You okay?" Alex's face changed from intimidating to concern in a split second. "Let's get you to the car."
"It's fine—" I tried to say, but he quickly swept me off my feet and started carrying me out of the parking garage.
Daniel immediately followed, taking a bite into his burrito as he glared at the other three that were standing there. "Don't be fucking stupid."
Before I was carried out of the parking lot, I could hear Andrew's last words to Cathryn.
"If I ever see you again, you're dead."
***
ive heard all of the jokes about how wattpad authors go through some of the most traumatic experiences so im not going to explain what happened so i don't fuel the joke LMAO
man i don't even know what to say except im sorry LOLLLL ive already written this apology too many times and i feel bad :((
but enjoy enjoy enjoy.
im okay too so don't worry!
i love you all sm <33