All I want to hear you say

1 - prologue

Evie...

"I'm sorry I didn't call you as soon we arrived mother." I huff into the phone, and begin picking up boxes of my belongings.
"I was worried sick about you, it was a long drive. I told you I'd come with you, to help steady the nerves"- I cut her off and I smile to myself.
"Mother you need to understand that I'm not a baby anymore, you've driven me here 25 times. And made me memorise everything around us so that I wouldn't get lost. I don't have any nerves, I'm fine" I lie. "I have Ryan here with me, all is good now please, I'll text you later when I'm done unpacking" She sighs tells me she loves me and hangs up the phone.

"Come on Evie, stop wasting time we have a home to decorate." He laughs, and throws one of my many pillows at me. I pick it up and throw it back at him.

I grab some of my boxes and head inside.
I step into our apartment, luckily it's on the ground floor of a huge complex and I smile, thanking the lord that I don't have to walk up 5 flights of stairs to get to my bed.
The magnolia walls make me feel uneasy. I've never liked magnolia on walls, it looks like a smokers home. And makes me want to scrub every inch of the walls even though it's been freshly painted. My mind can't seem to shake the feeling that it's dirty.
I head into the living room, that's open plan with the kitchen. But instead of it being magnolia the walls are painted white, and there are grey tiles surround the kitchen area. I smile as the uneasy feeling of the wall begins to fade.

"Dibs on the bigger room" Ryan shouts running past me to where 3 doors sit on the opposite side of the room. I laugh at him, and enter the room he doesn't enter.

The rooms is big, but feels cosy. The walls are sage green, the floor is wooden laminate and there's a double bed sat in the middle of the room under a huge window. I smile at how bright and clean the room feels.
"Home" I say, as I lay on the bed.

—3 hours later—

I've managed to unpack around 3 boxes of my stuff because I keep getting distracted by a nervous feeling. My anxiety has been quite bad all day, I keep trying to blame it on the most random things when in reality it's because for the first time in my life I've stepped out of my comfort zone and I've moved away from my mum, my home and my family.

I've managed to make my bed and fold some clothes into a wardrobe and drawers that I had to bring with me because the landlady said they completely forgot them and they wouldn't have arrived until months later we moved in. It wasn't a huge hassle to bring them as they were easy to fit in the moving van and take out again.

I pick up another box and take it into the room, and Ryan shouts my name causing me drop it on the floor. He comes running in my room, and I look at him. Panic in his eyes.
"Are you okay? What happened" he asks. Then looks at the mess on the floor, glass everywhere and he panics again.

"I... Ryan... please tell me that's not..." I stare in shock at the box, and tiny crystal shards spread across my floor.
Ryan scrambles to the floor to pick up the box, he opens it and all my questions are answered.
"I'm so sorry Evie... I didn't think you were... fuck." He picks up the contents of the box, and in his hands sits my grandmothers crystal vase that's been passed through generations of the women in my family. The stories of all the women in my life, gone in one accidental moment.
I don't say anything, I just let a single tear escape my eye and I take it from him. Well what's let of it. And I place it back in the box.
"I'll go get the sweeping brush" he whispers and heads out of the room.

I just nod, and sit on the bed. I shouldn't be so upset by this but I think because of all the new things surrounding me, and the changes happening in my life. It just sent me over the edge. And now I'm sat in shock unable to speak.
Ryan enters the room with the brush, and begins cleaning up the mess. My mess. I should be helping but I'm just so shocked.
I hope this isn't some kind of warning, to my new beginnings.

A few more hours pass, and I've managed to get over the shock. Now me and Ryan are sat on the sofa watching Hairspray, a musical that Ryan swears he hates but he feels guilty about the earlier incidents and is torturing himself by listening to a bunch of people singing.

I told him he shouldn't feel guilty, I was the one holding the box and I was the one who dropped it but he kept taking the blame so I decided to shut him up and have a break from unpacking and watch a movie with him, like we always do when we're together.

I zone out and think of memories of me and him. We've been friends since we started high school, we were both very much alike, back then. Nerdy, always cared about school. But as we grew older Ryan fell out of love with education but always stuck with it. He never failed any exams or tests even without revising or attending any classes, I envy this about him because he is so smart even without being taught it. He just seems to know everything about everything.

"I'm sorry" he says, knocking me out of my thoughts.
"What?"
"I'm sorry... for breaking your..." I throw a pillow at him to shut him up.
"Stop apologising it's okay. I mean it, Ryan." I scowl and point my finger at him, which just earns me a laugh.

He reaches his arms out, signalling for a hug and I climb into him. Holding him tightly and he holds me even tighter.

"Come on, we've got classes tomorrow" he says, releasing me and I sigh. The thought of my first class tomorrow makes me want to to be sick.

"Bed time missy" he says pointing to me and then to my bedroom.

"Yes dad" I say grabbing my pillows and head into my room.
As soon as I lay down, I feel my self drift into a deep sleep.

—

I wake up, the light blaring through the window. And I wince. I should've put them damn curtains up when I had the chance. I grab my phone from under my pillow and check the time. 6:44am.
I wake up just in time for my alarm, to go off which makes me feel so much better as I don't have to listen to that awful iPhone ringtone. I cringe just thinking about it.

I walk towards the bathroom and start the shower. Which earns me a shout from Ryan. "Evie, it's not even 7am! Go back to bed" I just laugh. And climb in marking sure to grab the essentials from my skin care basket.

After a nice hot shower I decide on what to wear. I just go with a black pencil skirt and a white blouse, and some heels. I don't really like to dress like this but my mother insisted since I'm studying to become a lawyer. I would've preferred to wear leggings and an oversized jumper but she's right, 'to be the part you've also got to look the part' I imagine her saying, and I smile to my self.

I look in the mirror at my hair and then I realise, that I've left my hair straighteners at home- well my mums home. Looks like I'll have to deal with my curls today. I grab my mousse from the my dresser and begin to try tame the wild locks.

By the time I'm ready it's 9:30. My class isn't due to start until 11am so my plan is to just walk around and get used to this new unfamiliar place.

I knock on Ryan's door and enter, seeing that he's asleep I send him a text to read for when he wakes up. It just says 'out exploring, see you later?'
He isn't due to start lessons till next week so I'm sure he'll spend this week just sleeping and eating.

I walk through the city centre, and grab a coffee. My brown hair flying in my face as the wind picks up every so often. It's so cosy, I was expecting it to be scary and intimidating but the more I explore the more homely it feels.

The nerves fade away, and I'm not full with excitement and happiness.
I'm going to love it here. I just know it.