Invisible String (Ransom Drysdale)

Stronger

FLASHBACK

"Well that was some goodbye" Evie pants as Ransom collapses down next to her.
"Well I had to make it memorable so I'm all you think about when you're hooking up with the college boys" Ransom smirks at her.

"I doubt I will have time for boys with the workload I will have and my parents micro managing"Evie replies moving so her head rests on his chest.
"They will be lining up at your feet" his facial expression kinda sad.

"Whatever Ransom" Evie laughs.
"You don't have to go you know" he plays with a strand of her hair.

Evie let's out a sigh. "We both know I do, my parents would disown me if I didn't"

"Would be that be the worse thing?" he asks now looking into her eyes.
"You know it would be" tears begin to form in her eyes.

"I wish you did something that made you happy for once" Ransom sighs placing a kiss on her forehead.
"I did you" she shrugs and he can't help but laugh at her response.

He wipes a tear away that escaped.

"Do you think about what our future would look like?" Ransom asks and the question causes Evie's head to spin.
"I didn't expect you to be thinking of a future for us, I thought we were just having fun together" she admits.

"We are but I just wondered if you ever pictured a future with me, that you would go to college and somehow we would find a way back to each other?" He stares at deep into her eyes, that she feels like her heart is going to explode.

She doesn't know how to answer.

They shouldn't be together, he's the popular and intimidating cool kid, while she's the nerd with no friends. Yet somehow they seem to work together.

Has she spent many of night fantasising about becoming Mrs Drysdale, sure she has. She pictured a whole life with him, marriage kids and them growing old together.

But that's all it was a fantasy.

This wasn't some rom-com movie, this was real life and most of the time the relationship never lasts once it hits college years, and they weren't even in a real relationship.

"We both knew whatever this was had a expiry date Ransom" she shakily admits while running her fingers up and down his naked chest.
She can't let him in further than she already has because it will make the inevitable heartbreak harder.

"I know" he sighs.
"I should probably go before my parents realised I sneaked out" Evie looks over Ransom's body one last time wanting to memorise it.

Knowing he's defeated he lets her slip out from beside him.

"Have fun and don't party too much" he half heartedly says once she's dressed and is almost out to door.

"Goodbye Ransom" she can't force herself to turn around and face him as she says those word, it would make leaving so much harder. Closing the door her heart breaks at leaving him behind.

End of flashback.

"Evie?" Harvey looks at her with concern on his face.
"Hmmm" is all she had the strength to muster.

"You need to eat something" he says holding some toast up to her.
"Not hungry" she goes to swat the plate away.
He sighs sets the plate down and leaves her alone.

She's been having flashbacks of the night of the attack and has tried to push everyone away, wanting space to process things by herself.

They refused to leave her alone which caused her to do what she does best and run.

She hid out in a hotel for a week while she tried to piece together bits, she can't remember much but she can remember feeling pain and the face of her ex.
She also turned to drugs to help her relax to see if that could help her remember.

Harvey and Ransom eventually tracked her down, she knew she should've taken out more cash but eventually ended up having to use her card.

But she refused to let Ransom anywhere near her, she hated they way he looked at her like she was broken. That broke her heart more than anything.

Also before she left she saw that he had missed calls and texts from Chloe.
She saw one that read.
Baby I miss you, you know you're nothing without me. She's never gonna make you happy, it's me you belong with.

Ransom swore he was done with her, but Evie said he had to go back, to find out if it was over between them or if it was her that Ransom truly wanted after all he did put a ring on her finger and not Evie's.

She hated that he had to see her as weak, feeble, broken and a burden, because that's what she felt like. A burden that everyone had to take care of.

Harvey refused to leave her side and tried his hardest to get her to move back to Boston, eventually she gave in knowing it would be easier for him.

She refused to go rehab or to a therapist like they suggested but it wasn't necessary, she would get clean herself and sort her own mind out.

Evie spent most of her days curled up in bed shutting the outside world out, she felt she didn't deserve their help.

Harvey tried his hardest to get to her eat and she would appease him every now and then, taking a couple of mouthfuls of food.

Dragging herself to the bathroom one afternoon, she caught her reaction in the mirror. She looked like the walking dead. Her features pale, clothes now hanging off her tiny frame, and her eyes looked like they had sunken into her face.

Staring at herself she felt shame.

This isn't who she is! She's a survivor!

How has she let her life come to this, it's in ruins.

Right there and then she decided no more pity party, no more hiding and letting the past rule her life.

Sure she couldn't remember everything clearly but she didn't care, Harvey promised to take care of legal issues for her so she's going to let him.

Evie decided there and then that she was going to start over again, she did it once before she can do it again.
The first thing that needs to happen is a shower because she was starting to smell how bad the room smelt.

No more moping around and feeling sorry for shit that had happened in her life that she couldn't control.

She was going to get her life back on tracks to what she originally planned to set out to do in LA.
Did that include Ransom that was yet to be determined but she couldn't think about that at the moment.

Right now she needed to focus on loving herself before she could possibly love anyone else.

But fuck she missed him, she hated that she forced him to leave, but didn't want the pity.
She was going to come back stronger and Ransom would see her for the strong independent woman she was, not the pathetic mess she currently was.

If Ransom chose Chloe sure it was crush her heart but she would bounce back, because Ransom's happiness is just as important to her as her own.

This is was to be a new and improved stronger Evie.