1460 Days//New Hope Club.

22.

Evie swore that she could have slept for 40 years straight, that's how exhausted she felt. The business had been falling into a bit of a pit and she had been working her butt off to avoid the consequences of its recent failures. Luckily for her, she had managed to drag her business back up from the depths to a more decent level, however, it meant pulling a lot of all-nighters and doing way too many sheets of paperwork, for her liking. The businesswoman had also spent quite a lot of money, but that was nothing new.

"Hit me with something, anything, I'm dying" The blonde called as she walked into The Lilac Cafe, trudging straight over to her usual table and flopping down at it, instantly resting her head in her arms as if she planned on falling asleep right there and then - and she probably would have, if she wasn't interrupted. "Evelyn, dear, what's the matter?" A familiar voice questioned and the tired girl looked up to see Maureen frowning at her, concern shining in her kind eyes.

"Just got a lot on my plate with the business. Everything is starting to clear up a bit now because I've been working so much to sort everything this week. Businesses are so difficult to maintain, especially big ones, I have no idea how my parents didn't lose all their money in a heartbeat" The blonde explained to the older woman, who nodded in understanding.

"Did you want some dinner? I can get Ty to cook you up something real quick?" The proposition was going to be refused, but then the businesswoman's stomach growled in anticipation of what amazing dinner the talented chef would cook, causing her to nod slowly in agreement. "If he's not going home - I know it's really late and you don't have to serve me just because you know me, I don't want to stop Ty from getting back to his family and-"

"Ev, it's alright" The chef called from the hatch to the kitchen "I got time" He smiled sympathetically in return to the grateful smile the tired girl showed him and got to work, cooking something he knew she would like. "You can take a little nap if you want, Evelyn. You're the only one here" Maureen told the yawning girl, noticing the bags under her eyes. The girl nodded, too exhausted to reply as she let her head rest back on her arms. The older woman smiled slightly at the half conscious girl, wondering if there would ever come a point when she could free herself from the dreadful life she was leading. It seemed, though, that Evie had no intentions of changing the way her life was headed. Maureen sighed and stood up, returning a bit later to wake Evie up so she could eat the food Ty had made her. The businesswoman smiled at the food and mumbled to the chef that it looked delicious, before starting to eat. She didn't even finish half of it because her stomach was tense and knotted, making her feel sick. "I'm sorry to waste so much" she mumbled "I just can't eat"

"It's alright, dear. You need to get some rest. Want me to drive you home?" The tired girl nodded, rubbing her eye with the heel of her palm and smudging her black mascara which stained her pale skin. Maureen lead her out of the cafe once she had closed up and to her car, before asking where Evie wanted to go. The blonde girl knew she should have said the mansion, but instead found herself directing the older woman to her apartment. She just needed a bit of time alone to rest and make herself feel better, and figured that the cafe owner wouldn't speak a word of her secret apartment to anybody. She wasn't the type to go running to the media with gossip. Partly because she couldn't run - old age had given her bad knees. "Are you going to be alright, darling?" Maureen questioned the girl, who nodded with a tired smile. She was stood outside of the car, her hand on the passenger side door.

"Yes. I just need to sleep." Evie paused as she watched the woman's eyes flicker with concern. She was so grateful that the woman was kind enough to worry about her, but she knew that she didn't deserve Maureen's thoughts. "Thank you so much for dinner and for driving me here, it really means a lot to me"

"Anytime, dear. Now get some rest, alright?" The businesswoman nodded and shut the car door, starting to turn away when the older one of the two spoke again. "Oh and Evelyn?" The blonde turned back, frowning through the open door window at the woman. "That boy, the one who spoke to you in the cafe..."