Oh my god, Im a fool. Keep on coming back to you. Im so stupid for you.
Kendrick and I had been sitting at the diner for some time. We were actually going out with Cameron but unfortunately he had something come in between. Kendrick didn't seem to mind though. Neither did I, even though I really had wanted to spend some time with Cameron too.
We were just talking about everything going on when he suddenly stopped talking. I noticed he was glancing behind me, his expression changed from surprised to one I couldn't really place.
He didn't say anything yet I knew something was up.
"What's up?" I asked, confused as why his behavior suddenly had changed.
"Ryder's here with a girl."
What? I turned around to see Ryder and Lucinda walking in the opposite direction.
"Oh." Shrugging I ate a fry.
Kendrick looked at me, his eyes trained on my face.
Murmuring a 'what' I looked up at him. He replied with a "You don't seem to care?"
I swallowed, my nose prickled. "Why should I? Its not like Ryder wants anything to do with a slut like me anyways."
"Everly. Stop that." Kendrick called out, indignantly. His eyes darkened as they met mine. "Are you crazy? I want you to stop believing everything he says. Its not true."
The deep sigh I let out turned into a sob, as a lonely tear slid down my cheek. "Im just so tired of it. Tired of letting my life revolve around him. Its the same cycle every damn time. He hurts me, pushes me away, gets closer and apologizes. The stupid kid I am, I constantly accept his apologizes so I let him in, let him get closer only to have him step on my heart again."
Trying to contain my sobbing I leaned my head against the headrest of the booth. "And I know he'll hurt me. Thats the fucked up thing." I closed my eyes, letting the tears roll down freely. "I know the triggers he'll pull, I know the words he's gonna say. But I still want to have hope he's becoming better, that he'll change for me."
I felt Kendrick sliding into my side of the booth. Opening my eyes I sent him a sad smile. As he sat closer to me he put an arm around me, I leaned into him, allowing me to be surrounded by his scent. In some way it smelled comforting.
"After the day I had turned him down, he had turned everyone against me. While he knew I had trust issues from things that had happened in our childhood, he then still chose to go with my only friend, Zarah." I angrily wiped my tears away before I continued. "Actually he had been taking away every chance I ever had with befriending people, long 'fore I even knew what he was doing. I never realized hed been that selfish."
Letting out a sigh I shakily grabbed his hand. Trying to keep myself sane.
"He knew exactly what he was doing. He made sure I only had him as a constant factor in my life. I believed everything he said back then, that's why its so hard to not let his words get to my head anymore. He's changed, he clearly isn't that boy I used to know anymore. Not after the bet."
Kendrick squeezed my hand, letting me know he was there for me. Listening to me.
"Cameron told me about the bet. If it was for Ryder I wouldnt have known. I still cant believe they've done that to me. And the way they used Zarah to work their bet, I think that's disgusting."
"Because he had worked so against me, I didn't even know what to do when I started getting weird messages. At first I thought they were just some stupid prankster, turns out it was Zarahs dad. He'd been having someone stalking me and messaging me. Gradually the texts got weirder, more hinting towards Zarah if I look back on them. I didn't know who to turn to, and right when I finally had mustered up the courage to go ask Ryder for help.."
I bit my lip harsly. "..I was too late. That made me believe for the longest time that I, in fact, had fault in her death. That I was selfish to mourn for her."
Finally finished with my story I looked at Kendrick, unsure of how he'd react. He was staring at the table, shifting his jaw a little.
"Kendrick?" I asked softly, causing him to snap his head towards me. I couldnt really place the emotion on his face, as his eyes seemed to be a little watery. The area around his nose seemed a bit condensed too, confusing me on what would've caused that.
As he softly grabbed the side of my face, he finally met my eyes, showing me the raw emotion laying within them. His voice sounded hoarse when he finally spoke, "Thank you for telling me this, I will not betray your trust, Ev."
Grateful for his reaction I smiled up at him. Leaning into his hand, holding my cheek.
For a brief moment his eyes lingered on my lips, before he quickly pressed a kiss onto my temple. "I'll be here for you, any time."
We got out of each others touch and sat for a bit in silence. Eating the rest of the food which now had turned cold.
"Maybe we can invite Ryder and Lucinda over here?" I spoke up, "They're probably on their way back from Jason. And I think mostly Lucinda could use a distraction."
Kendrick wore a surprised look on his face, "Oh so that's Jasons girlfriend?"
I nodded, "She's the best person ever for him, can't believe they got into a fight though. They're both super laid back people."
"If I invite them over, would you want to talk with Ryder about today? It's not okay how he treated you. I mean only if you want but I could tell him that." Kendrick asked, sounding a bit unsure.
I sighed. Maybe he had a point there. I really should tell him all about how I feel. It's not about only his feelings anymore.
"So.." Kendrick dragged on, "Should I invite them? I mean only if you're ready."
I slowly nodded, "Yeah, I think thats a good idea"
——*•^*——
A/N: OKAY so this is part one of Everly 14, part two is coming as soon as possible!!!
They're both quite long chapters so I decided to make them separately.
Please vote if you liked this chapter and feel free to leave a comment!!!