Stay (Completed)

Chapter 33- Questions That Need Answers

Evan’s POV:

She said yes. She actually wants me to stay. How in the world did I get this lucky? I thought it was a long shot, asking my dad to stay and actually getting her parents to agree, but it worked out!

After we nibbled on the sweet peach pie, I paid the bill and we took a walk around downtown. It was a little chilly so I wrapped by arm around Maria’s shoulders and we strolled down the sidewalk with our hips bumping each other slightly.

“This is such a lovely town, very quaint right? You like it?” Maria asked, looking up at me with the breeze lightly lifting her hair off her cheeks.

“I do like it actually. It’s not too big and bustling, but there is enough here that it feels alive ya know? Not like some sleepy old coastal town that I have been stuck in recently,” I joked seeing her eyes light up in defiance to my comment regarding her home.

“You take that back!” she said, “McClellanville is perfect just the way it is. Besides, didn’t you want to stay there?” she questioned, raising her eyebrow at me as we stopped at a crosswalk and waited for the walk sign to flash for us.

“I did. And I meant I wanted to stay with you, not your town.”

“Well the town and I are a package deal buddy. You might want to reconsider your offer,” she said, talking as if I was going to make a bad deal or something.

“I’d never reconsider. I want to be with you; who cares about the sleepy town you live in, it doesn’t matter as long as I am with you, got it?” I clarified, making sure she knew how serious I was about it by leaning down so my eyes were at her eye level and she couldn’t step forward unless she looked up at me.

“Got it,” she said, almost like she couldn’t believe it was true, like someone was going to snatch the promises I had just made away from her.

“Hey, I’m serious about this, you know that right?” I said concerned, why was their doubt flickering across her face? Or was I just being paranoid?

“Yes, I know,” she said, wrapping her arms around my neck and kissing my nose quickly before pulling away and pulling me across the crosswalk back towards our car.

On the way home it was silent. Kind of an awkward silence, but Maria kept giving me reassuring smiles so I guess everything was fine. There was just something in the way she had looked at me at the crosswalk that made my stomach feel queasy. I felt like once everything was perfect again, it was all going to come crashing down. Just like last time.

When I dropped Maria off at her house and walked her to her door she seemed almost hesitant to look at me.

“Okay Maria, what’s wrong?” I asked, hating how desperate I sounded, but I needed to know everything was going to be okay. I needed to know she felt the same way I did.

“Nothing’s wrong Evan, I promise,” she said, hugging my chest and not letting go.

I wrapped my arms around her but I didn’t let her go when she pulled back. “No, something is definitely wrong. I can tell,” I said, brushing hair out of her beautiful brown eyes that seemed to flash back and forth between happy and sad.

“I just need to think. I’ll see you tomorrow alright?” she said and kissed me nonchalantly on my lips before turning and reaching for the door. I wasn’t going to let her get away that easily.

I turned her back around and cupped her face in my hands. I brought her lips to mine and I didn’t break the kiss until my brain was dying of lack of oxygen.

“I love you, never forget that,” I told her, letting her go.

“I love you, too,” she said in a broken voice that caught me off guard, but before I could react she was through the door and I heard the lock click into place.