Taiven Parmiga

Chapter 24: Explanations

My eyes flutter open and shut many times before I fully come to my senses. I see the sun's rays shining in through a crack in the curtain. I look to my right and see a clock reading 11:08 AM on the night stand. I yawn, and my head starts to pound. I can already tell he effect of last night won't be fun.

Evan quietly walks in and sits beside me.

"Hey. You ready to get up?" he whispers. I nod in response and he slowly opens the curtains a little more to let light in, without making my headache worse. He leaves for a short moment and returns with a small tray of food. Eggs, bacon, toast, and a glass of water with an Alka-Seltzer tablet beside it to help the hangover. I start to sit up and he gives me a smile. I start to laugh and am glad he was the one to take me home last night and not some random guy.

Suddenly my smile fades as I remember, EVERYTHING about last night. I still have unanswered questions. And I want the answers before he turns around and goes back to that girl again.

"Hey...Evan...Look, I'm so thankful for everything you've done for me last night and this morning. I owe you big time, and I won't forget about it. But I still feel really confused about where I stand with you. And without screaming or yelling, it would be really great if you could explain some things for me." I stare at him, curious to see his response.

He starts to smile at his hands and replies, "No screaming? That'll be a change." He looks up and giggles and I laugh quietly in return. "Just eat up first. Then come downstairs and I'll tell you everything." He stands up and starts to walk to the door.

"Wait, Ev. Can you stay with me? Just until I'm done eating." I ask sitting up a bit straighter.

"Sure." he smiles at me and walks to the other side of the bed. He climbs in and turns on the TV to flip through the channels. I smile as I sit next to him and start to eat breakfast, pushing away the nervous feelings until we have to deal with them later.

***

"First off, who was the girl that drove you to filming the other day?" I start my questioning with a quiet voice, feeling like I'm walking on eggshells. And if I get an answer that I don't want to hear, I'll instantly break, and won't be able to easily hide it.

We sit downstairs in his living room on the couch now. And I'm currently thinking of an escape plan if I feel the urge to cry soon.

"Her name is Emily and she's a well-known actress in the industry right now." He replies looking straight into my eyes, proving I can trust everything he tells me.

"Why was she being so...clingy and protective of you?" I ask next, shuttering at I thought of how that afternoon had gone.

"My agent introduced us, she might be in a season of AHS in the future and I was fine with being her friend. But when we left, my agent pulled me aside and told me I needed to get close with her, no matter what it takes. He said being seen with her will help me get more promotion and more opportunities to act in other films and shows." I nod, starting to understand before he continues.

"I was pretty against it, but my agent didn't give me much of a choice. I don't know why she was interested in it, honestly. I doubt she actually likes me. Maybe it gives her more promo too or she's getting paid for helping me out." He looks at me, not knowing what else to say.

At first I don't know what else to ask. But then I think about how we are supposed to act when we leave this house. Are we friends or dating or keeping things a secret?

"So how do we go on from here? Are you still gonna see her? Are we gonna stay friends, or..."

"No! I want to be with you, Taissa. I hated having to be around her all the time. I just want to go places with you. Not her. But I don't really know how to get out of this." He heatedly explains.

"So, what do you want to do? We can keep it a secret. I'd be okay with that. If it's for your career, it won't be a huge deal for me." I tell him.

"No. I'm not gonna play along anymore." He says shaking is head and standing up.

"What do you mean? What are you doing?" I ask, getting very confused.

"I'm calling my agent and telling him I'll get famous by focusing on my acting, not going out with famous people I don't even like." He grabs his phone from the table by the front door and walks back toward me.

"Evan, are you sure about this? He might not be very happy about that." I try to reason with him, keeping his career in mind.

"I know he won't, but that doesn't matter to me. I want to be able to go out with the person I really care about. Not some fake, phony blonde that only cares about fame and money and will do anything to get ahead." He sits back beside me, looking me in the eyes again.

All I can do is smile, because I was wrong about everything. And now that he's right in front of me, right in my grasp, I want to reach out and hold on to him and never let him go.

I lean over and kiss him deeply, pulling away to see his smile. He stands and starts to dial and I lean back, feeling light as air, excited to walk out into the world with his hand in mine, and nobody to stop us.

AN:

Hello all! Here's another update for you. I tried to make it as long as I could with the time I have. Classes started back up this week and I might be a little busy. So I'm sad to say I might be taking a couple days off to focus on school. So until then, let's see if we can get this to 8K by the end of the week! It would be absolutely amazing if we can.

And as always, Tap that star, and Drop that comment below; I always read them. Until next time!!! :)