Evermore - Troy Otto

eight

Evelyn narrowed her eyes at the very person who ripped her heart out of her chest and stomped on it. With no remorse, either. She could feel the anger bubbling in her stomach, she wouldn't be surprised if steam began to blow out of her ears like a cartoon. She knew it'd be hard seeing Troy again, but not like this. He wiped the sweat off of the tip of his nose in a quick movement, looking down and shaking his head. Evelyn couldn't take her eyes off of him, waiting to see what he would do next. She carefully watched as he looked up again, smirking. That stupid smirk. She felt her level of her anger increase by a thousand and she fought the urge to push her siblings away, stomp over, and grant him the meanest punch he'd ever receive.

"Ev," Carson's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "Let's go home."

She huffed, turning her head to look at Ethan. He gave her a knowing look. "Yeah," she said reluctantly, not wanting to leave Ethan's side.

As if he had read her mind, Ethan responded. "Go, I'll find you later," all Evelyn could do was nod.

She tilted her chin up and pulled her shoulders back. She wasn't gonna let these people know how afraid she was of them, how they affected her, how she was going to live for the rest of her life because her parents chose to raise her around them. She needed to be strong. She wasn't going to let them have the advantage over her, like they did throughout all her adolescent years. She might have been a bit sheepish, but she was stronger than that. This is what she expected. She felt her younger sister interlock their arms. It was childish, and Evelyn didn't really need it, but it definitely made walking past the glaring ranchers much easier. She decided to take the first step, pulling Katie along with her.

Evelyn's eyes glanced around the crowd, taking in all of their judgmental, partially confused faces; some wondering how she had the nerve to come back, others wondering who she was and why she was invading their land. She found it ridiculous. Almost laughable. She would've let out a chuckle if she wasn't scared out of her mind, but she fought to keep her poker face, not wanting her facade to crack.

Walking toward the boy she hated, she bit her tongue— literally. Her brown eyes looked up at his light blue ones, and in them she found nothing but mischief. She gulped. These same eyes she once looked into and blushed. Now they made her want to storm over and slap him across his dumb face. The same dumb face she once kissed all over. Evelyn never knew she could have so many regrets.

She could tell he wanted to say something, but she only glared her eyes at him even more, making her best attempt at shutting him down. Once she passed the small crowd of people, she made a beeline for the house she once called home, pulling her sister behind her.

"So... where are mom and dad?" She interrogated her two siblings once she was sure they were all out of earshot.

"What do you mean?" Carson tilted his head. "They're home."

"Well I haven't heard from them in forever. They never once bothered calling while everything was shutting down. And they barely did before that. It's been months! What kind of parents do that?" Evelyn scowled. Instead of the anger fading away like she thought it would, it only turned on to a different set of people; her parents. The people supposed to love and protect her. The people who promised to do that when they adopted her.

Her two siblings took a while to answer, only adding fuel to the flame she felt was spreading all over her body. She wasn't typically an angry person, but right now, she was really angry. Their strides faltered. They knew something Evelyn didn't.

"I'm not really sure why they haven't, Ev..." A lie. Evelyn could read her sister like a book, and she knew good and well what that uncertain voice meant. Why was she lying?

"They've been getting into a lot of arguments since this whole thing started... maybe it just slipped their minds," Carson placed his hand on his sister's shoulder. He tried to ease her mind, but Evelyn felt herself get impossibly angrier.

"Slipped their minds?!" Evelyn exclaimed. "I'm their daughter! How could something like that just slip their minds?"

Katie let out a shaky sigh, not liking the feeling of lying to her already vulnerable sister. "I don't know, Ev, but I'm sure they'll both be over the moon when they see you."

Evelyn could feel the tears of frustration begin to form as her old house came closer into view. "Let's hope so," she muttered, wriggling her arm out of Katie's grip.

"You're not hearing me, Scott!" Michelle seethed, buried far too deep in her anger to hear the footsteps on her front porch.

"No, Michelle. You are not hearing me! I've told you a million times now-"

The siblings froze like deer in headlights. Katie and Carson both looked away, almost like they were waiting for this to happen. Evelyn had never felt more tense in her life.

Michelle sighed, her head turning to face the wall opposite her children. Scott took the same approach, his stress-written face pointing towards the ceiling.

Evelyn didn't realize her voice was so weak until Katie spoke up. "Guys," she demanded their attention sternly. Both their heads snapped toward the front door, expressions immediately softening when their eyes landed on their oldest daughter.

Michelle was the first to make a move, sobbing out the girl's name while going to embrace her. Evelyn welcomed it. She hadn't had one of her mother's bone-crushing hugs in forever, and after everything she'd just gone through, it was obvious that she desperately needed it. "You're okay," Michelle whispered into her daughter's hair.

"I'm okay," she affirmed with a soft voice after pulling away.

"Evelyn," her father's gruff voice almost brought tears to her eyes. This time, she let the tears win. Scott's shoulders deflated at the sight of his little girl crying. He missed her more than he would admit, more than he thought he would. He pulled her into a hug as well. It wasn't as tight and protective as her mother's, but it was enough for Evelyn to feel safe again— maybe even feel loved again. She pressed her face into her father's shoulder, letting out a sigh that quickly turned into a sob.

"Now we're all together again," Michelle voiced with an unreadable tone. Evelyn couldn't help but feel like her mother was trying to make a point. She sniffed, releasing her father from the tight wrap of her arms around his body. What could they have possibly been arguing about?

"Yes, Michelle. Now we're all together again."

a/n
so maybe i love this chapter??
this is the first one i've written
and been proud of in a while,
so of course your thoughts are
appreciated!!! hope you enjoyed
wc: 1207
03.08.23