precious- timothée chalamet

chapter thirty-five

THE NEXT DAY, EVE WOKE UP WITH Vanessa laying in her bed beside her, their fingers still intertwined from the night before. She sat up and scrubbed her face, trying to wake herself up while also not bothering Vanessa, who groaned and rolled over in the warm spot Eve just laid. She checked her phone, not surprising her to see her locked screen filled with notifications from every app. The girl also noticed that she got a few texts from Timmy, reading them all aloud slowly.

Timmy:
someone posted photos of you
last night on twitter, one of the
stupid websites made a post
about it and think you were
trying to cheat on me wtf
6:27 p.m.
i'm so sorry eve i'm gonna
message my management
about what happened, they'll
find a way to take it down
i promise
6:28 p.m.
they said they'll be able to
get it down by tonight, don't
listen to what people say
online though. it'll all be okay
and i'll be back home tomorrow
6:53 p.m.

Eve
thank you for everything
timmy i love you so much💓
and i'll be alright they don't
really get to me much lol unless
somehow brandon starts speaking
up then i'll be fucking pissed
8:20 a.m.

Eve had to check all the rest of her notifications, stifling a laugh as she read some of the articles people sent her links to, as well as finding the tweets Timmy had told her about, seeing a blurry photo of Eve being held into Brandon's side, then the second photo showed her slapping him. The caption was: Eve Granger slapping secret boyfriend? What do you think was happening in this photo? She tried not to go through the comments, but she ended up scrolling and reading them- most of them supporting her and saying that it did not seem like a consensual situation. "Thank you!" She muttered to herself, shaking her head at some of these people's stupidity. Even if the photo was grainy, one could see the look of clear terror in Eve's eyes in the first photo, locked into place by Brandon's strong hold. Surprisingly, after reading through some posts relating to those photos and one grainy video capturing her smack and stomping on his shoes, people supported her- more than she had thought. People's replies made her feel much safer.

She put her phone down after fifteen minutes of scrolling, deciding to make a small breakfast and get ready for the day. Before she knew she was going out the night she came home from California, she made plans to meet up with her mom for lunch and to join her on her weekly errands, but now it was finally hitting her how exhausted she truly was. Eve made a smoothie instead of putting in effort to make a real breakfast, then chose her outfit for the day. She had reveled in the warm spring air and sunshine of California, not mentally preparing herself for the not as warm and sunny spring she returned to in New York City, so she had to go for a thick sweater (one of Timmy's) and some distressed jeans, then pulled out her vest for good measure.

Having the morning to herself was more needed than she realized, sipping her smoothie in comfort as she thought about seeing her mother and recapping everything they did in California. Eve hadn't seen her mom in a bit, she had been so busy with Timmy and pulled into his chaotic world she didn't realize she hadn't seen her mom as often as she used to. After her realization, they had made a pact to get lunch once a month and have a girl's night once a month. Coming home from a messy night with her old college friends made her excited to see her relaxed and stable mom more than ever.

Eve hopped in the shower, rinsing away all the negativity and scrubbing the spots Brandon had touched her until the skin felt raw and red. She didn't care though, it made her feel better. I'm never seeing those fuckers again. She thought to herself as she lathered her hair in shampoo. I don't care enough about that half assed friendship to worry anymore. After their friend group had graduated college, they had all promised to stay in touch and see each other constantly- Eve and Vanessa were the only ones to stay consistent because they lived together- the rest of them faded out of their lives until someone would revive the old group chat for a few minutes every four months and then it'd die again. She had gotten so used to that behavior that when she saw them in person, she didn't expect it to feel so strange compared to their college days. I wish I said no to Vanessa, I just wanted to rest. Eve thought and combed through the conditioner. I'll never have to see Collin and Brandon again, that enabler fuck and cunt, good riddance.