The Birch House

Chapter Four

Evie's P.O.V.

Morning dawned bright and early, and I woke up to the smell of frying bacon. I stumbled to the bathroom down the hall, yawning, barely aware that I was scantily dressed in my extra-long T-shirt until I remembered, oh my god, boys live here, too. Luckily, nobody saw, and the bathroom was free. Somebody had already been in it this morning; the mirrors were still frosted with steam, and the big black-and-white room glistened with drops of water. It smelt clean, though. And kind of fruity.

The fruity smell was the shampoo, I found, as I lathered and rinsed. When I wiped the mirror down and stared at myself, I saw the patterns of bruises up and down both sides of my pale skin. I could have died. I'd been lucky.

I tossed the T-shirt back on, then dashed back to my room to dig out the panties I'd rescued yesterday from the washer. They were still damp, but I put them on anyway, then dragged on my blue jeans.

On impulse, I opened the closet, and found some old stuff pushed to the back. T-shirts, mostly, from bands I'd never heard of, and a few I remembered as ancient. A couple of sweaters, too. I stripped off my bloodstained shirt and dragged on a faded black one, and, after thinking about it, left my shoes on the floor.

Downstairs, Alyssa and Chase were arguing in the kitchen about the right way to make scrambled eggs. Alyssa said they needed milk. Chase said milk was for pussies. I padded silently past them, over to the fridge, and pulled out a carton of orange juice. I splashed some into a glass, then silently held the carton up for the other two. Alyssa took it and poured herself a glass, then handed it to Chase.

'So,' Chase asked, 'Alex didn't pitch you out.'

'No.'

Chase nodded slowly. He was even bigger and taller than I remembered, and his skin was a golden brown colour, like he'd spent a lot of time in the sun over the summer. His hair had that bronzy sheen, too. Sun-bleached where Alex was naturally blond. OK, truthfully? They're both hotties. I wished I hadn't really thought that, but at least I hadn't said it out loud.

'Something you should know about Alex,' he said. 'He doesn't like taking chances. I wasn't sure he'd let you stay. If he did, then he got a good vibe off of you. Don't disrespect that, because if you do - I won't be happy, either. Got it?'

Alyssa was silently watching the two of us, which I figured was a new experience for Alyssa, at least the not-talking part. 'He's your friend, right?'

'He saved my life,' Chase said. 'I'd die for him, but it'd be a dumbass thing to do to thank him for it. So yeah. He's been my friend all my life, and he's more like a brother. So don't get him in trouble.'

'I won't,' I said. 'No milk in the eggs.'

'See?' Chase turned back to the counter and started cracking eggs into a bowl. 'Told ya.'

'Traitor,' Alyssa sighed, and poked at the frying bacon with a fork. 'Fine. So. How was Linda last night?'

'Laura.'

'Whatever. Not like I have to remember a name for more than one date, anyway.'

'She bowled a one fifty.'

'God, you're such a disappointment. Share, already!'

Chase smiled tightly down at the eggs. 'Hey, not in front of the kid. You got the note.'

'Kid?' That hurt. I dropped plates on the counter with a little too much force. 'Note?'

Chase handed over a folded piece of paper. It was short and sweet, and signed 'Alex'...and it told them that I was underage, and that the two of them were supposed to look out for me while I was in the house.