Paper Hearts

Chapter 19

Includes Mature Content - reader discretion advised 

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Although I knew that an apology to Eve was overdue, I avoided seeing her until Wednesday. I made up the worst excuses to justify why I was putting off seeing her. Work kept me distracted during the day as I tried getting through the week as normal as possible.

The events of the weekend weighed down heavily on me and I found myself wishing on more than one occasion that Gabriel were already here. But he was coming soon.

When the show that Eve and I always watched together came on and I sat in front of the TV by myself I felt like crying. I was being ridiculous. Getting up I gathered my keys and switched off the lights, driving to Evie's in nothing by my pyjamas.

I knocked at the door before entering, not patient enough to wait for her to open.

"Eve?" I called out, walking down the lit up hallway that led to their open-plan kitchen.

"Evie?" I tried again, my voice shaking as I tried keeping the tears at bay. Usually I would have had Eve's shoulder to cry on in light of recent events, but because I had managed to mess up so royally, all of my emotions had bottled up inside me over the course of the week and I realised now how badly I needed to talk to someone.

Usually Gabriel would have been the one I would have turned to, but the thought of having him turn to me about his crux in friendship with Jacqueline made me shudder. So I sought out the one person who'd always stood by me, an apology on my lips.

I heard footsteps come down the stairs and turned around to see Eve standing in the landing.

The tears spilt over as I walked towards her, throwing my arms around her shoulders and burying my face in the crook of her neck.

"I am so so sorry Eve" I whispered.

For the longest moment I was afraid that she wouldn't reciprocate the hug, that I had lost not only Ezra but Eve too. But then she wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me back and I felt her body shake gently against mine.

"Why are you crying?" I asked her through my own tears.

"Because I pushed you when you should have been allowed to make your own uninfluenced decisions" she said.

"Oh Evie but you were right. He did fall in love with me and I couldn't do anything. I'd gotten it wrong all this time. And I'm so sorry that I didn't listen to you" I blubbered, trying hard to control my tears that wouldn't seem to stop.

When the door opened behind us, Evie raised her head enough to look over my shoulder as Will stepped inside. His eyes widened momentarily before he slowly dropped his keys on the side table and retreated up the stairs.

"I'll be up here if you need me" he said carefully.

Eve let out a watery laugh, before stepping back.

She wiped her eyes on her sleeve before taking a tissue out of her sweatshirt and blowing her nose.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" she asked, rubbing my arms.

So I spent the next half hour venting about everything that had been piling up on me the whole week. Twice she handed me the tissue box and let me calm down before I continued on. At one point Will came down the stairs again and stood beside my armchair, rubbing my shoulders as I spoke.

"So there it is, I'm an idiot" I said, taking in a shaky breath.

"You're not an idiot Marnie. Eve was speculating that he liked you but we didn't know for certain either... you had every right to hope that it was a friendship he was looking for."