The Dream

Chapter 4

I woke suddenly at midnight.

Ting. Ting.

I stood up groggily and staggered over to the window. Evan was crouched there, perched outside my window like Spider-man. I slid my window up.

"What the hell, Evan? My mum is going to kill me if she finds out and she already disapproves of you!" I hissed.

Evan cracked a grin at me. "And that us why I am sitting outside your window instead of standing on the lawn and throwing rocks at your window when they could potentially break your window," he whispered back.

I grumbled under my breath but I stood back begrudgingly to let him in. He slipped inside, landing lightly on his feet and almost immediately landed his lips on mine. He sat down on my bed and looked around the room.

"So... why does your mum disapprove of me?" Evan looked slightly worried at I dropped my gaze and sighed.

"It's because you're a McCain. She doesn't like your family."

Evan frowned and leaned forwards on his hands. "I'm not like my family. There may have been rumours about me doing drugs, but that's not true. I think that's another reason why I got the cottage. My great-grandma could have given it to my mum and dad, but I think she was secretly hoping that I didn't grow up to be like them." He had a faint smile on his face. "And she was right. She knew that I would need a place to get away from my parents."

I sat down beside him and took his hand in mine.

"Is it really that bad?" I asked softly.

He dropped his head. "Sometimes. Occasionally they would come home drunk, but I always make sure my younger brother is upstairs by then. They get very... angry. And physical. I know they don't hit me on purpose, but sometimes I just wish they would make the effort to stay sober. And they smoke. When they start smoking, they won't stop until you can't see a thing. I leave when they do that. I take Charlie with me to the cottage."

I reached up and put my hand on his cheek to turn his face towards me. "Two more years, then you can leave. Your brother will know by then what to do."

"How do you know?"

"I have an older sister. My dad left a few years back and I didn't really understand. They always argued, my parents that is. Mae always knew when there would be an argument and she always got me upstairs so I wouldn't hear the worst of it. And then she left to go to university, and I had to deal with the fights myself. I grew up quickly during that time. I know its not as bad as what you have to deal with, but when you've always known a happy family, it's kind of a shock." I smiled. "So Charlie will learn how to deal with it, just be prepared not to have exactly the same brother if you ever come back to visit."

I frowned, hit by a sudden thought. "How the hell did you get up to the window?"

He chuckled "When you sneak out your own window most nights and back through in the morning, you become very good at climbing up houses."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I quickly turned my alarm off and sat up. No Evan. He must have left during the night. I yawned, rubbing my eyes with the heel of my hand. I walked downstairs, almost going through the same series of catastrophic events yesterday, so I still ended up hopping into the kitchen.

"Good morning Katherine," said a deliciously deep voice from the corner.

I jumped, my eyes widening in shock. "Evan?"