Good Night

INTRATCHER | SOLO

"Melody just messaged the group chat; we can get the drinks from her cousin's store again." Evelyn tapped away on her phone, sitting cross-crossed. She picked at her sweatshorts. "And we can hold it at Albert's house. Perfect!"

Evelyn flashed her toothy smile and shut off her phone, stretching and her loose sleeves falling to her elbows. She dropped her phone on the bed behind our head. Her dark hair fell just right. As she opened her eyes she laughed when she noticed me admiring her.

Our unofficial hangout spots were my attic and her bedroom, and as we laid our heads on her bed rest a sense of comfort washed over me. "I can't wait to kiss you on New Year's." I grinned, and Evelyn leaned toward me, kissing on my neck. Her body warmth carried over to me as she scooted closer and rested her head on my shoulder. "Who is on the guest list? I know anybody can come but who is the base? Albert, Mason, Liv, Melody, me, you, Taylor-" I paused, though only in my mind. "Tampcent, who else?" Evelyn nestled closer to me as she thought alongside me.

She stuck her finger up as if pointing to the lightbulb that appeared above her head. "Oh!" Evelyn said. "Nancy and Kota." She reached for her phone again and created a notes document. I recalled how last Monday had gone.

The name Nancy struck a nerve Regret filled me as I remembered how Monday went. I asked him so little, and the only answer I got was a simple "The situation is difficult, but I want to clarify that I did not intentionally cause his death. Although, I do take responsibility for what happened." I just sat beside him on the counter, empty-minded in utter shock and confusion. But I knew what meant, after minutes in silence, he took his ziplock bag of ice and left.

Biting the corners of my nails, Evelyn glanced up at me. "Are you okay, hon?" She trailed her hand down my arm.

Snapping back, I dropped my hand from my face. "Yeah, mhm. I can't think of anyone else, but I think the guest list is fine. Just them?" She nodded and sat up from my shoulder.

Evelyn yawned, "Yeah I think Albert wants to keep it minimal. Baby, can you get me a glass of Coke?" She asked and I jolted up.

"Sure," I agreed, getting up and feeling her eyes follow me. "Bottom of the fridge?" Evelyn shot finger guns at me and I went to get her a Coke.

I felt like a bad boyfriend a lot of the time. Her previous relationships were so much quicker, and as we had been dating for almost half a month we hadn't gone farther than kissing. I knew she wanted more, but she never asked me. Going down the hall, the peeling paint caught my eye, and the empty waste like water bottles and tissues cornering the house. Travis is passed out on the couch.

Evelyn's house wasn't in bad condition but it wasn't polished into a beach theme like my parents themed it, and more than a story smaller. Glossy white cabinets, pale blue striped pillows and rugs, and sleek wood tables. Tampcent and I had almost the same house besides decor and certain room layouts. But based on how she held herself, she acted like a millionaire.

Swinging open the fridge door, I browsed till I saw the beverages at the bottom. I had to move the glass bottles of liquor to get to the Coke, getting one for myself. New Year was the one exception I held to drink, I enjoyed being the chauffeur. As I shut the fridge door I thought back to how badly drunk I used to get. Once I tried to make a funnel in my red cup, fumbling with it in my hands and throwing it all over a group beside me. I ducked behind the counter, head cocking back in laughter.

Approaching Evelyn, she reached out to her drink and popped it open immediately, taking an enormous sip. We kissed that Wednesday away, our last Wednesday of winter break before New Year's. Our foreheads leaned on the others as she spoke, her breath trying to catch up with her speech. "Did you hear Albert and Liv broke up?—Sorry, random." Evelyn took her intertwined hands off my neck.

"I had no clue, when did they break up?" I asked.

Evelyn shrugged. "Yesterday, I guess. I swore he was head over heels for Liv but she was allegedly seeing someone else. He couldn't ignore it anymore and just ended it." Back in middle school, Albert and Tampcent hated each other. They were both in honors classes and competed for everything, even if Albert seemed like an airhead. I used to think Albert bullied him but he's one of the only people in my friend group that actually likes Tampcent. That's why a 92% still doesn't cut it for Tampcent. "Promise me, we're never going to end, especially not like they had." Evelyn held out her pinky, heads still bumped. Grinning, I wrapped my pinky around hers, kissing her nose.

"After college, I'm going to marry you and we'll live the American dream." Evelyn squeezed me as I told her that. "A golden retriever, giant yard lined with white fences-"

"-I know you like more than that. More spice." She teased growling in the back of her throat. "Something subtly off of that American dream, like a bold red door."

"I want an Olympic-sized pool and hot tub in our giant backyard." My brows raised as I raised my voice. "I want more settings them than I'll ever need. LED lights!"

"You know I still can't swim." Evelyn confounded in me, blushing.

I thought for a moment. "I'll teach you this summer in my pool, the non-Olympic-sized one, sadly." Although I expected a chuckle, Evelyn's face dropped.

Frowning my brows, we both backed up from each other. "I've been needing to talk to you about that." Her voice shrunk and my stomach dropped. "That school trip, over the summer to Germany." I nodded. "I got an email that I won the raffle, they're paying for the whole thing." I pulled her in a hug.

Holding onto her soft hair, I tried to ignore how much her chin on my shoulder pained me. "That's amazing! An incredible experience." We pulled out of the hug. "Maybe one of the pretzel girls in Germany can teach you." Evelyn shined her bright smile once more and she kissed my neck.