Evermore - Troy Otto

nineteen

"You were getting shooting lessons?" Ethan exclaimed in near disbelief at the shocking revelation. His eyes never left Evelyn's frame as she pulled on a shirt, one that was way more comfortable than the sweat-coated shirt she had been wearing prior.

"Yeah and, not to sound full of myself or anything, but I think I did pretty good," Evelyn's prideful grin twisted into a confused frown once she saw the look on Ethan's face. "What? It's not a big deal or anything," she mumbled, turning to toss her wet clothes into the designated "dirty clothes" bin.

"Nothing it's just- it's nothing," Ethan shook his head and placed his hands in his lap.

Evelyn scrutinized the boy sitting on her bed. She quirked an eyebrow before speaking. "Well, look at your face. It's obviously not nothing. Tell me what it is."

"Nothing, it's just," Ethan paused, internally cursing at himself for repeating the word. "Shooting lessons? On the ranch? With Jake Otto? I don't know, Ev. It just... doesn't sound like you is all."

"Yeah, I... I sorta had a wake-up call, you know. There's nothing left out there. The world isn't going back to the way it used to be," Evelyn could hardly believe the words coming out of her mouth, but she couldn't deny that the thought had been circling in her mind since her most recent shift in the field. "I gotta learn to defend myself sooner or later. Besides, I'm not the only one who feels this way. My dad and my siblings have practically turned this place into a shooting gallery with how often they practice," Evelyn chuckled, turning her attention to the mess of trinkets she had lying on her nightstand. Instinctively, she went to tidy it up.

     "So that's why," Ethan began speaking before he could realize he was overstepping. "You're doing this so your dad will give you attention and finally start treating you like Katie and Carson."

     "Ethan!" Evelyn dropped what she was doing and instantly turned her head toward the boy sitting on her bed. She didn't know what to say to him, she just stared at him with a scowl.

     "I didn't mean that, Ev, I'm sorry," Ethan brought his hands up to his face and rubbed his eyes. Evelyn could tell he was stressed, but after the comment he'd just made, she was finding it hard to care.

     "So why'd you say it?" The scowl didn't leave Evelyn's face as she straightened her posture.

     "I don't know, I'm just... having a tough day, and hearing that you went to an Otto for help with guns just caught me off guard," Ethan finally looked Evelyn in the eye.

     Evelyn could feel herself beginning to cool down. Maybe his loaded comment wasn't as loaded as she thought it was. "Jake isn't an Otto, he's just Jake," Evelyn didn't know why she felt the need to defend Jake. Perhaps it was more of a need to defend herself.

     "Ev, he's Jeremiah's first son," Ethan pressed. Even with the serious look on Ethan's tired face, Evelyn felt inclined to move towards him.

     "Jake's a good guy, though. He's nothing like the other one. You know, he wrote a poem about me a long time ago," Evelyn didn't know whether this would be helpful to mention, but she mentioned it anyway. She sat down next to her best friend and grabbed his hand.

     "So I've heard," Ethan let out a soft chuckle and Evelyn couldn't help but crack a small smile. "Still, Ev. Just be careful with who you trust."

     "Duh," Evelyn playfully rolled her eyes. "Besides my family, you, and Jake, that's basically nobody."

     "Right," Ethan dismissed her response to get his next point across. "Enough of that. This entire day I've been thinking about making out with you. Now that we're together..."

     Evelyn didn't let Ethan finished his sentence before she leaned in to connect their lips.

"Looks like we're together, partner," Troy grinned at the already sweating girl as she begrudgingly approached him. Evelyn bit her lip to prevent herself from pulling a nasty face. "You don't look too happy."

"Oh, I am ecstatic," Evelyn did her best to mask the sarcastic tone in her voice. She was sure she didn't do too great, but she didn't care much. This was Troy Otto she was speaking to, after all. She'd recently decided she was only going to show Troy her indifference so that she could be the one in control. Troy was so annoying though, she was sure it would be impossible. "Where's that guy—what's his name. Jerry? Johnny? I thought he was gonna be here."

"Nah, he had an accident last night. Terrible ankle sprain, it's a shame, really. I was reluctant about picking up this shift but then I found that I'd be working with my Evvie, it was a no-brainer at that point," rambled the tall, insufferable idiot named Troy. This was classic Troy.

"You're too kind," Evelyn gritted her teeth before getting straight to business. "So, what the hell are we doing this for anyway?"

"We have to mend the fence," Troy shrugged. Evelyn wanted to thwack him on the forehead. It was tempting, but she withheld the urge.

"I know that, smart guy, but why?" Evelyn could feel her patience levels dropping with every minute. It didn't help that they were standing directly under the Southern California sun's ruthless rays. Evelyn felt like screaming, crying, and punching something all at the same time. "It looks fine to me."

"The boars have been eating right through them to get to the cabbage. Look right here," Troy pointed to a particularly gnawed spot on the wood fence. Evelyn hardly spared a glance. She really didn't care. She just wanted her task and to get it over with so that she could get back to Ethan. "Just follow my lead. We had a real bad boar problem while you were gone, Ev. I know what I'm doing."

"Okay?" Evelyn couldn't mask her confusion. In that moment, she planned on letting Troy do all the work. Maybe she'd even end up coming up with an excuse to leave Troy on his lonesome, so that she could meet up with Ethan. She doubted Troy would allow her any freedom to leave, though, so that dream was quickly crushed.

"Come, sit," Troy grabbed Evelyn's wrist and tugged her close to his body.

Evelyn's eyes widened as she became aware of how close their bodies were, nearly touching. Countless alarms and sirens went off in her head. Her conscience screamed, "No, no, no!" over and over and over again. This was how Troy won her over when they were teenagers. This was how Troy won over his friends' approvals. There was simply no way he could be attempting to play this game again. Evelyn felt the urge to vomit. She could not let that happen again, ever.

"Don't worry, Ev, you won't get bored. You have me to talk to! I've been dying for some more alone time with you," Troy shot her a teasing grin. Evelyn ignored the stinging feeling in her eyes.

a/n
guys i cooked this up super
quickly so im so sorry for
any mistakes. i wanted to
lock in and get something done
before the motivation went
away LOL. obvi the next
chapter will be more interesting,
i just wanted to get something
out there since it's been too long
since the last update. also, lots
has happened concerning troy
since the last update... would
love to hear y'all's thoughts on everything
in the comments hahaha. hope
you all enjoyed!
wc: 1280
11.24.23