‘Wake up, little one.’ I hear Harry’s voice bringing me out of my amazing sleep. I never knew what a good sleeping couch I had. Harry mentioned it a couple of times, but this night was the first night I actually could witness it myself. ‘Rise and shine. The kids are waiting.’ I hear him chuckle.
‘That sounds weird.’ I croak out, peeking through one eye, but quickly closing it again because of the light of the room. ‘Like you and I would have…’ I pause right away and I hear him go silent just like me.
‘No.’ We both say at the same time, making me giggle while stretching myself.
‘I’ll bring you to your work.’ Harry continues while I see him making some tea for the both of us. It makes me realize that someday a girl will be so incredibly lucky to have him. I actually should fall for him. He was the nice, funny, way less complicated boy, who would be the best husband and best father you could imagine. But somehow faith decided differently with us. Because Harry was like a brotherly best friend and I could never see him any other way. Instead I decide to like a complicated, dark and mysterious but ever so interesting boy who I barely know. Typical…
‘Did you hear me, Evelyn?’ I suddenly catch Harry’s voice bringing me out of my thoughts.
‘W-What? Sorry.’
‘I’m going to bring you to work and pick you up again. We’re going to Liam’s and have a good time tonight.’ It looks like he decided this all for me already.
‘Harry… I don’t know, I-’
‘I do know. You cannot decline my offer. We’re going out of this dark hole tonight and you are not able to turn me down here.’ He sends me a really sad pout, one of those incredibly influencing ones, making me doubt every choice I made in life.
And suddenly, without me fully realizing it. I nod and say ‘Alright.’. That’s how easy he can wrap me around his finger. I’m not proud of it, but he is… without a doubt.
---
Harry POV
‘Sooo… Your day?’ I ask, when Evelyn steps into my car after school’s over. And it’s when I see her bright eyes and contagious smile, that I realize I need to reformulate my words for sure. ‘Okay no… on a scale from one being great and ten being fabulous… What’s the score of your day?’
I can see her smile only growing bigger and bigger and it makes me realize it was such a long time ago I saw her smile like this. It’s a shame… Because this smile suites her. ‘Eleven. Definitely.’ She tells me, instantly making me curious.
‘Tell me all about it!’ I push her to go on, while I step on the gas, driving my car back on the road.
‘I told you about Jasper, didn’t I?’ She starts. And I need to give my brain a moment to search Jasper and the situation around him. But then I remember. The boy with the horrible mother.
‘Yes. Did he get replaced to another class?’
‘No! That’s the thing!’ She squeals, throwing her arms in the air out of happiness. ‘Jasper doesn't want to change classes. He wants to stay in my class.’
‘And he can decide that?’ To be honest… I don’t understand a lot about education. It’s a bit out of my league. I love hearing her talk about it though. Because I know she adores doing this so much.
‘The only person holding him back was his mom. Even his father didn’t care for a change, nor the principals. His mother is standing on her own and they decided to give him the class and the teacher he prefers.’ I hear something in her voice that makes me realize she’s proud of herself. And that’s something so rare when it comes to Evelyn. She’s never proud of herself. She’s never secure about something she does. She is way too insecure and unsure of herself. It’s the only thing I don’t like about her. It’s the only thing I wish to be different.
And being able to hear her proudly speak about how a child chose her above all the other teachers. How a child stood up against his mother to stay in Evelyn’s class, was so incredibly satisfying that I wasn’t even able to put it in words.
‘God I love my job!’ She exclaims ecstatically. ‘I love my job. I love you. I love everyone.’
I laugh because of her silly excitement, but I love her this way. I even adore her this way. Actually… Evelyn is the kind of girl a lot of men only dream of. And if I didn’t see her as a sister, I surely would have fallen in love with her. The guy who’s able to win her heart, is a very lucky guy. And I swear I thought Zayn was that guy. I’m actually positive Zayn still is that guy. But somewhere along the way something happened, and I’m not able to figure out what. The only thing I know for sure is that her interest is not over yet. And somehow I don’t think Zayn’s is either.
It takes us twenty minutes before we get to Liam’s café. Even though it’s only half past four in the afternoon, the café is already pretty packed. But our little spot near the bar is still untouched.
From the moment we enter, Evelyn immediately searches for Sophia. It’s been a long time since the two girls saw each other. I know she loves hanging out with Sophia, and for her to have that girly talk from time to time, really is necessary. And in times like that, I have Liam.
My brother from another mother.
‘Mr. Styles.’ I hear a familiar voice call my name when I reach the bar.
‘Mr. Payne.’ I smirk while leaning in to give him a manly pat on the back.
‘Is Evelyn with you?’
‘She is. She’s with Sophia.’
‘You got her outta there?’ He asks with a worried look, talking about her apartment she’s been hiding in lately. I told him about Evelyn’s weird behaviour of the last couple of days.
‘I did.’ I proudly say while searching for Evelyn in the crowd. Sophia is giving her an apron. Evelyn never really minds helping when it’s a bit too busy. She takes orders together with Sophia until it’s a bit more manageable to do alone. ‘It was easier than expected though.’ I continue. ‘She was a bit resistant at first, but I just didn’t leave her a choice. That’s the only way how things work with that little dork.’
Liam nods with a smile. ‘You’re a good friend, Harry.’
‘Of course I am.’ I praise myself.
‘What reminds me…’ Liam continues while tapping a beer for a costumer. ‘I bet you'll be a good godfather as well. You don’t like the idea of becoming one soon, by any chance?’
I’m actually still looking at Evelyn when I hear him say the words. It’s when I move my glance to Liam that I realize he’s actually being serious here.
‘Godfather?’
He nods.
My jaw drops. ‘You and Soph?’
He nods again, his smile growing bigger. ‘It’s earlier than we expected, but it doesn’t matter. We’re so happy.’
It’s only then my minds gets a grip on the idea. ‘You’re going to be a father?’
Now Liam starts fully laughing. ‘Yes, Harry! I’m going to be a father. Soph is going to be a mother. You are going to be a godfather, and Evelyn… Well… I’m sure she won’t turn Sophia’s offer down so I think I can call her the godmother already.”
And then it fully sinks in. ‘I’m going to be a godfather! You’re going to be a dad for God’s sake!’ I laugh while getting of my chair and heading behind the bar to give him a proper hug. ‘Congrats man. I’m so happy for the both of you.’
‘Looks like Evelyn likes the idea as well.’ I hear him say. And when I let go of him, I catch Evelyn and Sophia hugging each other so tightly and both squealing and laughing like there is nothing to worry about on earth. I love how happy they look. I love how this night is going. And I’m sure it will only get better from now on.
And that’s pretty much how the night goes. Evelyn helps Sophia till nine o’clock. The atmosphere in the café is amazing. Liam puts the music louder and everyone just seems so ready for the weekend to begin. After nine o’clock, people slowly start to leave and I’m drunk enough to place myself in front of the piano and play all the songs I learned to play over the years. Evelyn is singing along, not that she’s the best singer, but I still like her voice. It just means she’s letting herself go. And I love it when that happens.
It’s twelve o’clock when we’re the only people left in the café. Liam is cleaning up the bar. I’m still sitting on the piano chair and both Sophia and Evelyn are cleaning tables while singing along with an Avril Lavigne song on the radio.
But suddenly the whole happy mood changes when I catch four men enter the café and just by the sight of them I know these men are not up to something good. They are all dressed in black, and the masks betray their intentions. That’s even before I notice the guns, held by two of them.
‘Hands up where I can see them!’ The tallest one shouts. And I instantly glance over at Evelyn, who’s standing way too far for me to reach. She’s the one closest to the four intruders and stops singing from the moment she notices them. Then I look at Liam, seeing the same worried expression about Sophia, who’s cleaning the last table on the other end of the room.
We couldn't be further apart right now and I absolutely hate it.
‘IN THE AIR I SAID.’ The man repeats even louder, making me realize Evelyn is the only one who didn’t put her hands up. It’s when he yells it again that she finally listens and obeys. It’s like she was too caught up in something to realize what the dude was even saying. She’s staring at one of them. One of the men with the gun. And it’s when I catch his eyes, that I realize something is so incredibly wrong here.
Because he most definitely knows her. And she most definitely knows him. And somehow I’m sure that he’s not the one who’s going to pull that trigger.
But then I hear a gun shot.
And everything goes even more silent than it was before.
NOTE: oh oooh....