CHAPTER FOURTEEN
'Cause I got issues
But you got 'em too
So give 'em all to me
And I'll give mine to you
Bask in the glory
Of all our problems
'Cause we got the kind of love
It takes to solve 'em
Yeah, I got issues
And one of them is how bad I need you
×××××
"I remember the day like it was yesterday. Our five year old Zachary had pooped all over his mother's picnic basket! Now you all know that my sister-" I snatched the mic from Zachary's Uncle Davis, glancing at a worried, yet slightly amused Emily and an embarrassed Zachary. I offered them a reassuring smile before turning to the rest of the guests.
"I'm so sorry, everyone. Uncle Davis has had a lot to drink, please excuse him." No wedding event could ever be complete without a drunk uncle making a scene. Thankfully, I had tackled similar situations before.
"But everyone wants to know what happened next!" he whined as I tried to get him off the stage. He was a short, heavy man with greasy hair which he kept shoving all over my face. He could barely stand properly and I could barely steady him. My lack of enthusiasm didn't help either.
"I got this." Evan grabbed Uncle Davis' arm just as he was about to lose balance. "Let's get him in a cab before he passes out."
"It's alright, Evan." I said, avoiding eye contact. "I'll handle it, you go."
There was still a lot of tension between us and this night had just refused to come to an end. Uncle Davis had one arm around Evan's shoulder and another around mine and as annoyed as I was by his existence, I was thankful for the distance he had put between us.
"He is family, I got to make sure he gets to the hotel safely." Evan shrugged.
I glared at him from above Uncle Davis' head. "What does that mean? I can't make sure he gets back to the hotel safely? Are you saying I'm bad at my work?"
I knew that was not what he meant, but I just felt like arguing with him. Throughout the night he had been doing and saying things that were completely messing with my head and making me go crazy. The most annoying part of it all was that he wasn't fazed by any of it at all while I was left confused and frustrated. I just wanted to get on his nerves too.
"You know that's not what I meant." he sighed.
"Who knows when you mean things and when you don't." I snapped.
"Can y'all stop screaming in my ears?" Uncle Davis complained. "I can't go back and complete my speech if y'all give me a hearing impairment, can I?"
"Better you than the rest of us." I mumbled under my breath.
Evan looked at me wryly and I rolled my eyes. Honestly, the whole thing would've probably looked comical from a distance if Uncle Davis wasn't practically bruising my shoulders and my hands weren't itching to hurt him and Evan both.
I checked my phone. "It's showing two minutes until the cab arrives."
One twenty fucking seconds.
"I'm not going in no cab!" Uncle Davis pushed off from us, almost falling down. "I have a speech to complete y'all! Little Zachary will be disappointed if I leave!"
Evan tried to steady him as I grunted in annoyance.
"You can complete your speech tomorrow. For now, please just go back to the hotel and get some sleep. That's what little Zachary wants." I tried to knock some sense into him.
"Really? Y'all would take me back, right? I don't want to go alone." he suddenly looked like he was about to cry as his eyes got misty and his face dipped down. I almost asked him what kind of drug he was on. Almost.
"The hotel is just ten minutes. It's better if we just take him there ourselves and come back quickly." Evan turned towards me, motioning towards the car he had rented for the week across from us.
Uncle Davis had let go of us and was already swaying and tumbling towards the car. If he falls down and breaks a limb, it's all on Evan.
"Why are you asking me? You're perfectly capable of making sane decisions for the both of us, right?" I replied sarcastically.
Evan sighed. "I don't know what your issue is, but can we just talk about it later?"
"What issue? There is no issue. Why would I have an issu-" I gasped as Evan grabbed my wrist and pulled me to him.
"Flora, you look adorable when you get annoyed and start ranting, but for now, I need you to stop talking and get inside my car."
++++
Uncle Davis had conveniently passed out in the backseat while Evan drove us back to the hotel. He was easily snoring through the tension in the air and for a moment, just for a moment, I just wanted to be him.
"Are you just going to stay silent the entire ride?" Evan sighed, glancing at me.
"That's what you wanted me to do, right?" I hissed.
"Since when have you started listening to anything I say?"
I huff out a breath of air in annoyance and stare out of the window, chosing to ignore him.
"Are you still upset about the kiss?"
No reply.
"Or is it because of what I said earlier."
I glared at him, then went back to staring outside the window.
He sighed. "Both it is."
"Alright, listen up." I snapped, turning towards him. "I don't know what games you're playing, but just stop. Stop acting all cool and casual as if what you said and did wasn't a big deal in the slightest. Stop trying to mess with my goddamn head!"
"I'm messing with your head?" Evan asked in disbelief. "Believe me, it's the other way around! You fight with me, ask me to believe you after everything, then fight with me some more, then you show up drunk in my hotel room and kiss me!"
"Hey, you kissed me back, alright?" I snarled. The car came to a sudden halt and Evan turned to me angrily.
"I kissed you because I was in love with you once! Not because I still believe you. You broke our trust, remember?"
"And you only shattered it further." my eyes held more fire in them than tears.
I looked away and sighed in frustration. This conversation was going nowhere. Evan didn't believe what I told him about the night he proposed to me and there was nothing more I could do about it. Honestly, I knew I couldn't blame him for it. But wouldn't it be so much easier if I could?
"You know what, just forget it. Just drive." I mumbled.
It became uncomfortably silent again, neither of knowing what to say. The car came to a stop outside the hotel.
I was about to open the door, when I heard the locks click. I turned to Evan. He was looking at me hesitantly, almost like he was unsure about what he was about to say.
"What are we even doing, Flora?" he whispered, his eyes boring into mine.
I gulped, looking down at my hands. "You tell me."
"Even if I still believe you, how can I trust someone I know nothing about?"
It was true. Although I had shown Evan sides of me that no one else was aware about, I had still not been completely vulnerable with him. I had shown him Scarlett Stone, but he deserved the truth about who Flora Edwards was. I had let him in like I've never let anyone else in, but I still hid the darkest parts of me in the fear that my lies would come out and destroy us.
They came out and destroyed us anyway.
I wanted to tell him more. I wanted to pour my heart out to him. But it was all happening too quickly and I didn't know what to say. I was afraid. Absolutely terrified.
"You're right. You can't." I forced out.
And just like that, he unlocked the door and we both stepped out, disappointed.
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