Roommates

Chapter 7

Troubled by her odd behaviour earlier, Evangeline tried to figure out what had come over her today.

Evangeline already had all of the "friends" she needed, so why would she submit herself to small talk with someone who would probably put in her two-week notice tomorrow? Something about Aurora's eagerness to get to know her was both charming and off-putting. Nobody had ever been that interested in Evangeline before. Her introverted mind couldn't grasp the desire for cumbersome small talk. Yet, somehow, she wanted more of it with Aurora. The delightful thought of talking to her again made Evangeline question her own intentions.

Surely, she had to have an ulterior motive; Evangeline wasn't kind to people out of the good of her heart. It didn't help that Aurora was the kind of girl that Evangeline would use and discard. Aurora was pretty and very desperate for a connection. That made her an ideal target for Evangeline.

In the quiet sanctum of her apartment, surrounded by the echoes of memories and the lingering scent of Chloe's presence, Evangeline grappled with Aurora's impact on her carefully guarded world. Despite the soft exterior she meticulously presented to the world, adorned with Covergirl and Botox injections, Evangeline's inner world was cloaked in shadows and layers of self-imposed barriers. Others foolishly perceived her as approachable, yet beneath the veneer, it would take a miracle— something akin to a second Chloe— to penetrate the walls of her gloomy stone castle.

Evangeline was never the first person to bring up her parents' deaths. It was always by clinical force that she relinquished the truth about her youth. Not even Trey knew of her parents' passing. Much less, about her estrangement from her siblings. Yet, now Aurora mingled among the few who knew. It was like Evangeline couldn't help but share her life with Aurora. Evangeline, after all, was the initiator.

Something about barking at Aurora made her feel so guilty that Evangeline felt the only way to cleanse her soul was to play into Aurora's little game. It was the first time since middle school that Evangeline played such a foolish back-and-forth questionnaire icebreaker.

Normally, less than a handful of words was exchanged before Evangeline got what she wanted from a woman.

She grabbed a glass from the kitchen cabinet overhead and placed it on the counter next to the box of wine that had been sitting untouched for several weeks. She used to drink heavily, especially in her teen years, but since starting a new regimen of taking a mood stabilizer and an anti-psychotic, she rarely drank alcohol. She stopped drinking after experiencing so many blackouts she lost count.

Chloe always hated when she drank. She was enough of a mess when she was sober, being drunk just made things exceptionally worse. It got to the point that Chloe had to start telling her what happened the morning after, and they were never good stories.

Evangeline would wake up with a pounding headache, blood on her face, and bruises all over her body, and Chloe would be forced to tell her what had happened. Evangeline was so violent when she blacked out.

Plagued by the emotional strife she faced, the scale tipped in favour of a slight numbing buzz before bed. It would help her sleep, she assured herself. One glass of wine couldn't hurt. It was not even strong liquor. She'd be fine.

She made sure to put the box out of reach once her glass was poured. She didn't dare tempt herself with over-indulgence. Once she started, she knew she wouldn't stop.

Evangeline headed to the living room to turn on a show to distract her mind. She used the remote control to command the window curtains to close. As they shielded her from the setting sun, she relished in the final drops of light before falling into a dark cavern. She tucked herself into the corner of the couch, snuggled in under a blanket, and set her drink on the table. She didn't have the energy to reach for the TV remote, so she sat blankly staring at the dark screen, allowing her mind to project its own movies against the screen. She could craft quite vivid imagery when given the chance.