Evangeline (Unedited)

20

T H E   P E N T H O U S E
(20th chapter! Thank you to everyone still tagging along with my arduous and inept writing :) )

The bumpy driveway awoke me, the sun a bright shade of orange as it shone over the vehicle. We pulled into a parking spot, and I yawned as I tried to process my surroundings. I didn't remember feeling asleep. I didn't understand why I was able to, either. Why I felt I was safe, so comfortable.

I also didn't understand how Noah and Leo slept the entire time.

I push open the door, and it slams closed before I can shut it gently. I roll my neck to crack it and watch as the boys do the same. The others must have gotten here earlier since they walked outside of the extravagant front doors of the tall building before I even looked at it in all of its glory.

My eyes were wide as I looked up, the skyscraper-esque building towering over me like it was going to fall down.

The windows were stacked to the top, glimmering in the light and reflecting into my eyes. I squint as I continue to examine it. The dark grey walls, the intricate designs carved into them, the arches in front of the door; it was something out of a movie, something I wouldn't be stepping foot in if it weren't for the subtle nudges from Andreas. The sun beamed behind the building, blocked by the size of it.

"Evie." Tommy chanted my name, walking out of the front doors, straight past the doorman. I snapped my face in the direction of him, my vision already missing the sight I had seen a second earlier. "How was the rest of the drive here?"

"It was good." I put a smile on my lips, nodding at my own words as if to convince him it was true; it was.

"Good, I'm glad to see you in one piece. Means the twins didn't make you jump out of the moving vehicle." He widens his eyes before chuckling and playfully ruffling Noah's hair, who slaps his arm roughly and glares annoyed. "Hey, I'm off to work. I've been gone too long, apparently."

He rolls his eyes, and I furrow my eyebrows. I didn't know why a wave of nauseating fear washed over me at the thought of him leaving. It's not like I've been with him the entire time. But, I guess, I subconsciously was aware that the first boy I met was always near, always present in one way or another. I was scared to lose that constant—the only constant I have felt since my parents got arrested.

"Oh, okay."

"Is that alright?" His spirited expression dims, and he narrows his eyes as if trying to see through me. In a way, it felt like he could, especially since he continued his questioning. "I can stay if you want, I'm not that desperate to go back."

"No, no. it's okay." I quickly shake my head, eyes shutting as I feign confidence. "I'm totally fine."

Overkill.

He frowns, but quickly replaces it with his usual charm. I hoped one day my lying would improve, because this was not cutting it. He turns around and waves goodbye at everyone, and then places his hand on my shoulder, walking past me and to the same car we drove back from the airport.

I stand still, watching him greet the driver, Anton, and get into the backseat.

"Come, Evie." Leo breaks me out of my trance, and I follow him to the front. The doorman gives me a peculiar work, and I awkwardly smile at the teenager as he swings the tall doors back open, the other boys following Leo and me in. I thought the outside was extravagant, but the inside screamed luxury on every surface. It practically pushed me out the door, my unpretentious and inexpensive clothing not fitting in with the rest of the population in the building.

A long, patterned carpet ran down the long hallway, two giant wooden doors on either side of me. In one, a dark, modern-looking gym. In the other, an even larger room with an even larger carpet, and multiple desks with receptionists chatting behind them. The walls that surrounded me were a dull white, with no paintings covering them as you'd expect, but similar sculpting to the exterior danced around them enough to make the room feel like an art gallery. It was minimal, yet so lavish that you could barely even tell. Large chandeliers hung above me, and I stared up at the intimidating elegance in awe. Leo practically made a beeline to one of the two grey elevators, a man pressing one of the buttons for him. Noah was right behind him, and the others dodged me as they followed, too.