𝔼𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕟

Chapter 35 : Consent

It is on a Tuesday morning that Alex witnesses what real trauma looks like.

Everyone has left for work but there is no sign of Ivy so far.

Alex feels incredibly pathetic, sitting in front of his computer, sending e-mails, and wishing Ivy would come down already because damn, he misses her.

Eva's name appears on his screen, and he picks up immediately.

It's a nice distraction. Alex finds out about all the new recipes she's been trying and all the new conspiracy theories Tom came up with during the week.

Alex misses them.

The faint sound of footsteps pulls him away from his conversation momentarily, and when he sees Ivy's face when she walks past him and straight to the fridge, he knows something is wrong.

"Hey, Eva? I'll call you later, okay?"

Alex doesn't even wait for an answer before he hangs up.

He watches Ivy roam around the kitchen like a ghost. Every single move is mechanical. Even when she bumps into the corner of the counter, there is no reaction, only side stepping.

Alex feels like he should know what is going on by now. He should be able to handle the situation without wishing Tyler was here.

Ivy is still there, sitting on one of the stools across from Alex and looking right at him, without actually seeing him.

Alex smiles at her, but Ivy simply goes back to her cereal, ignoring the ringing of her phone. It is only when Ivy looks at the phone and picks up that he realises.

Ivy didn't even hear it.

She doesn't say a word, only listens with an empty stare until the call is ended by the person on the other end.

When Ivy is done with her cereal, she places it into the sink, rinsing it in slow motion, so much so that Alex wants to remind her that some people don't have clean water.

He knows better, though.

Ivy walks out of the kitchen and settles on the couch with her blanket and simply stares at the black screen of the T.V.

As much as Alex would love to talk about it, the one thing he does know is that now is not the time.
So he does the hardest thing he's ever had to do in this life.

He lets her be.

•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Alex is going crazy.

In his mind, he is repeatedly pushing Ivy off the couch to get her to move.

It's been two hours since she turned on the TV, watching without really paying attention, while Alex works on his laptop at the dinner table.

Ivy still hasn't said a word, and her eyes are glued to the screen. So Alex sends one last e-mail and shuts his laptop off.

"Alright," he sighs a little too loud, "all done!" He says, but Ivy doesn't react.

Alex's heart is pounding when he stands, making sure his footsteps are loud enough for Ivy to know he's coming. He plops down on the couch and turns to face her, but as soon as Alex opens his mouth to ask her what is wrong, Ivy stands up, walking incredibly slowly towards the kitchen.

Alex takes a second to recover from this.

He wants to tear his hair out of his scalp and scream at her. Instead, he decides to follow her quietly, but as soon as he leaves the couch, the doorbell rings.