forbidden-lrh

64- Art Show

The next day was awkward. And so was the next. Soon it was the next Friday, the day of Evelyn's art show and she had managed to avoid Calum, Luke, and Michael all in one fell swoop.

Art show.

She took a breath, pacing back and forth in her room. A black satin dress adorned her body, her hair pulled back and delicately placed in a clip. It framed her face nicely, her jaw appearing more sharp with the way her hair was held.

Evelyn applied rouge lipstick, a glossy finish sparkling on her lips.

And despite herself, her hand shook slightly at the whole ordeal.

Evelyn rarely was one to be nervous during things like this. And even so, feeling nervous before a performance is natural and part of the body's way of helping do the best possible.

The "stress hormones" that your body produces at times like these can actually help you focus.

But when worry and stress about performing get to be too much, these hormones give people that "red alert" feeling.

Evelyn's hands were shaking constantly, like she couldn't hold her own at the moment. And it was quite clear that the stress was not at the right level.

The one that causes you to feel cold or sweaty, get butterflies in your stomach, or feel like you can't think straight.

Evelyn nervously bit her fingernail.

This stress doesn't feel like it's helping right now.

She heard a knock on the door. Turning her head, Evelyn looked over to see Michael standing in the doorway.

She was surprised to see him dressed in a suit, a sleek black one with a red tie. The dye in his hair was faded, like he added some sort of toner to cool the color down. She was even more surprised to see his eyebrow piercing taken out, probably some attempt at looking more proper for the event.

"What," Evelyn looked over her brother in confusion, raising her eyebrows and parting her lips, "What are you doing here?"

He scratched the back of his neck, "I was just wondering if I... I wanted to take you to your art show? If that's okay."

Evelyn glanced over his face, peering deeper into his face. There was tension between them for so long that she forgot even how to be normal with him.

"Look," Michael stepped in, "I know I haven't been the best brother. I know."

He leaned closer to the girl, "But I want a chance to be okay again. And I'm so sorry for everything I put you through."

She stared at him as he timidly asked, "Could you ever forgive me?"

Forgiveness is a letting go of all negative emotions and memories, it is moving on with whatever positives remain. If nothing remains, then the relationship was all negative - abusive, even if invisibly so.

The guilt of failure, the weight of accusing tongues, took Evelyn into a living nightmare - and her mind conjured them as grotesque bodies under the ice.

Yet when she learned what forgiveness is, there was nothing but water under her ice, everything was crystal clear. She had loved him, even if he had a fault moment of not loving her.