That's Nathan Wilson above. ^^^
I just wanted to mention that this story consists of many flashbacks and they're usually written in italics.
Chapter One
"You're still coming to the party with us, right?"
I smile at my two best friends Chloe and Aubrey, "Of course, I'll meet you guys there."
I walk into my dorm room, putting my bag on my bed. My roommate, Maya, looks up from her laptop and rolls her eyes at me. She never liked me, from the start. I walk into the bathroom and stare at my reflection, running my fingers through my hair sighing.
I hear vibration coming from the counter, as I pick up the phone I get a strange feeling in my stomach as I see the caller ID: "Mom" I swipe the screen and put the phone against my ear, "Hey mom, how are you?"
"Not so good."
"What's going on?"
"I have bad news, sweetheart," I hear my mother's voice crack as she says those 5 words. 5 simple words that when are put together, are the most nerve-wrecking sentence.
I can feel my nerves increasing as I clear my throat preparing for the worst, "What's going on, mom?"
"Evelyn, it's your father," as she takes a pause, I start to think of all of the worst scenarios that could possibly come out of her mouth next. Thinking about those possibilities makes my heart drop to my stomach, "Cancer's back. And this time, it's going to be harder to win the battle."
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I start pulling up my pants up while getting jostled around. I finally get them on as I blow my messy wavy hair out of my face. I booked a train once I got the terrifying phone call from my mother.
This Christmas, I'm spending it with my family after not seeing them for almost 2 years. This might be my father's last Christmas. As scary as it is, it's a possibility. Me being a perfectionist, I will do anything to get back home for Christmas. Not making it home on time, it wouldn't just hurt me but my family as well. I put my messy hair into a French braid and sigh as I look at my reflection.
I keep hearing my father's voice in my head, "Don't cry Evie, just have a little hope."
I close my eyes as I start whispering, "Just have a little hope."
As I walk over to a booth to relax in, I hear chattering from every direction.
"Look at what the young teenagers are wearing nowadays, this generation-"
Well, you raised us..
"I'm going to see my boyfriend for our 4 year anniversary. He lives in Alabama."
Seems complicated.. 2,028 miles away from each other.
I sit in the booth and one of the waiters brings me hot chocolate. I thank him with a smile before he walks away. As he walks away, I sigh while looking out the window. I start to watch Utah's moving snow-covered trees and mountains. I start to think to when my father was first diagnosed with cancer. I was 13 at the time.
I'm driving around with one of my sisters Phoebe; who's 17.
"Phoebs, can you take Chloe and I to the mall?"
She smirks as she closes her car door, "For your little date with Nathan?"
I blush as I push her playfully, "Shut up." As she laughs, I hug her arm. "Come on, pleaase."
She looks down at me, "Will you do my chores for this week?"
I sigh. Is this date that important? "Yes." Answering my question and hers.
"Alright, ask mom for money and I'll take you"
I smile while jumping excitedly, "Thank you, thank you!"
She laughs as she unlocks the door. Her laughing and my happy jumping ends once we see our other siblings and parents with a sad look on their faces.
Phoebe locks the door behind us, "What's going on?"
My mother clears her throat, I know she's trying to be strong for us but I can see in her eyes that she's hurting, "Sit down guys"
I sit next to my older brother Evan who's 15, i look at my mom, "You guys are really scaring me. Tell me what's going on." Evan holds my hand with support .
My mother holds on to my father's hand. My father takes a shaky breathe before saying, "I've been diagnosed with leukemia and they don't know how much time I have left."
I remember how torn the family was. The older kids had to be tough for my brother, Joshua, the twins, Lily and Amelia, and I since we were really young to know exactly how to feel about the whole situation.
I was only 13, but it impacted me so much. Instead of staying together, our family separated trying to cope with it on our own. That wasn't the most logical decision but we know that now though.
I start to feel my eyes water as I think about my dark past. To make myself feel better, I start to think about the time we found out my father would be okay. It took 3 years of hurt to finally find out that my father had beaten the cancer.
I'm 16. I hold my father's hand. Everyone's too scared to say anything or make any sudden movements.
We hear a loud noise of something falling. We all turn to look at Noah who's the eldest, he's 21. He starts to pick up the doctor's equipment from the floor, "Sorry," he stands up and wipes his hands on his jeans, "I just ruined that serious, silent moment we had there."
We can't help but smile. Only Noah would be able to do something stupid to make us forget about what's going on. The doctor walks into the room, closing the door behind him.
I look up, "How's my father doing?"
The doctor smiles at us, "Glad you asked, the cancer's gone." We're filled with happiness as we hear the news. "Your father beat the cancer." My father gives my hand a squeeze while my mother hugs him and kisses him repeatedly. My siblings and I are filled with such relief, we hug each other.
I couldn't help but smile at that memory. That gives me hope, if my father can beat cancer the first time, then he could do it again. I take a sip of my hot chocolate and sigh.
"You can't keep us on this damn train! We need to get home for Christmas!"
His voice makes chills run all over my body and heart drop to the floor. Oh my God, it can't be him. I take a deep breathe. Okay, Evelyn. You won't know for sure until you see who it is.
I nervously turn my head to the direction where the complaining, British voice was. So many thoughts run through my mind when I notice my instincts are correct and it's actually Nathan freaking Wilson . I didn't think I would ever see him again. He still looks attractive but now his arms are covered with tattoos. He's attractive but in a dangerous way. I can't take my eyes off him, I haven't seen him since our Senior Year in High School.
He's arguing with the train conductor, who keeps looking at him as if he's physically hurting him, which I completely understand. "I understand, sir. We're doing our best to get you guys to where you need to be."
I didn't realize I was still staring at him, until he turns his head towards me and we make eye-contact. I look down at my lap, blushing in embarrassment. He caught me checking him out and I'm hoping he doesn't remember me and won't come over to me. But that's wishful thinking, of course he would remember me. I'm so embarrassing for my own good.
I wait at least 2 minutes until I feel like he wasn't looking at me anymore. The moment I feel safe enough , I look up. I jump as I see him staring at me while sitting in front of me. I hold my hand to my heart, "W-What are you doing?"
He smirks and grabs my hot chocolate before drinking some, "Well, I think I should be asking you the question, love. Why were you staring at me like that?"
I roll my eyes and I hope he can't see the small blush on my cheeks. "I wasn't staring at you, I was just looking in your direction because your loud, obnoxious remarks caught my attention."
He puts the cup down, looking at me as if he doesn't believe a word I said. "Uh huh."
"Nathan, really what are you doing here?"
He smirks as he passes my cup towards me, "I just missed you so much, darling." His British accent is much more thicker than I remember.
I roll my eyes, "Don't call me that."
He leans closer to the table and smirks, "I remember you used to love when I called you that."
I stare at him, trying not to think about the past. "So why were you making a scene? Not that I'm surprised."
"They said they're having technical difficulties and they're stopping the train for a day or two." He smiles teasingly at her, "And we'll be together for most of it darling, now that I know you're here."
I look up at him, this can't be happening. I need to get home before anything horrible happens to my father. As I look up at Nathan I realize that I really don't want to spend two days trapped on the same train as him.
It's already bringing up memories that I've been trying so hard to forget. Every time I look at him, the past starts coming back to me. I just can't handle this right now.
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This chapter's really short but it's just the beginning, it'll start getting longer soon.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, if you did vote & comment :)
Next Chapter : Evelyn and Nathan talk as they have an adventure through the woods / Nathan moves into the Walker's house.