Oakridge Estates

Chapter 8

Evan's horse above

I go to the cafe with Livvi, Joey and Evan for lunch. Livvi and Joey talk to one another the entire time without so much as a second glance toward Evan and I. I roll my eyes playfully at Evan and he laughs quietly. I try to tell myself that I'm seeing things but I can't help noticing that Evan's smile doesn't quite reach his eyes. When Livvi and Joey head to the counter to collect our food I turn to him and raise my eyebrows. "Are you okay? You don't seem like yourself." I say.

Evan blinks two or three times and won't meet my eyes. "Yeah I'm fine." He says a little too quickly. I sit back in my chair and fold my arms, wishing he would look at me. I stand up so fast that Evan jumps, then I walk over to the counter. "We'll be back in a few minutes." I murmur to Livvi and Joey. They give each other a look then turn to me with mocking smiles on their faces. "Oh my god! It's not anything like that!" I snap. Livvi's expression changes from teasing to worried. "Is everything okay?" She asks. "That's what I'm gonna try to find out." I say. Joey pinches his temple and grimaces. "I know what this is about. Crap. I'm sure he'll tell you."

Livvi turns to Joey and opens her mouth, but he cuts her off. "I'll explain it." I frown and walk back to our table, grabbing Evan's hand and making him get up. I lead him upstairs and unlock the door to my dorm. I push him gently down on to the couch and sit next to him. "Okay. What happened." I say it as more of a statement than a question. Evan sighs and leans back into the couch cushion. "I don't like to tell people this but I trust you. But you have to promise not to say anything to anyone else." He gives me a serious look. I nod and try to  smile encouragingly.

Taking a deep breath, he folds his hands in his lap and looks down at them. "Well, I didn't really have a great childhood. We weren't exactly a rich family and my mom left when I was eight years old. After that my dad started drinking and brother was killed in a car crash. Since I was the only one left, my dad started taking his anger out on me. So when I got my letter saying I got into Oakridge I was so happy that I would have a ticket out of there. But a few days ago I started getting threats from my dad and I just don't know what to do. I'm so afraid of telling people because I don't want them to get hurt too. Joey is the only other one who knows." Evan tries to casually wipe away a tear by pretending he's rubbing his eyes.

I have no idea what to say, so I don't try to think of anything. Instead I take Evan's face gently and make him face me. I let go and lean in to hug him. He embraces me tightly and lays his head on my shoulder. We pull back and I hand him a tissue. "I'm so sorry. But everything will be okay. I promise you. I won't let anything happen to you." Evan nods. "Thank you. I can't tell you what that means to me."

I pop up from the couch and hold out my hands. He takes them and I pull him up. "Let's go for a walk. We can have lunch on the way." I say. He hesitates for half a second, then nods again and smiles. "Okay. Sounds good." We walk back to the cafe and Evan waits outside so no one sees his red face and puffy eyes. When they see me, Livvi and Joey both stand up, looking concerned. "We're going to take a walk." They nod and sit down again, and Joey hands me our lunches.

I meet Evan outside and we walk down the long driveway, talking and eating our sandwiches. I say everything I can to keep his mind off of his dad, and it seems to be working. We sit at a bench in the small courtyard behind the dorms and just talk until it starts to get dark. "We should head back." I say. "Yeah, thanks for this. We should do it more often." Evan says. We reach my room and I'm about to hug him again when he cups my face in his hands and leans down to kiss me. He pulls away and walks to his room, leaving me standing there with my hand pressed to my lips.

I finally remember to unlock the door and Livvi squeals when she sees me. "Joey kissed me and asked me out!" She grabs my hands and starts jumping up and down. "Evan kissed me too!" I say, starting to hop up and down with her. We stop and take a breath, then turn to each other at the same time and shriek, "The email!" We both run to our computers and I see that I have an email from Oakridge.

Dear Ms. Malone,
We are pleased to inform you that you have a place on the advanced riding team of Oakridge Estates. Practices will be at seven in the morning before school and at two in the afternoon after school. Classes start this Monday. Thank you.
Mary Smith
Programs Director

I look over at Livvi and we both squeal. "Advanced team!"

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Hey! Sorry it took so long to update. Anyway, sorry if this was a crappy chapter but I hope you like it.
Love you guys!