wicked games // ethan cutkosky

VI

just as ethan unlocked the door, we heard distant cursing and walked in the apartment to see his mom with a white trash bag in one hand and a handful of empty blunt wrappers in the other. she looked over at ethan as he approached her, not even acknowledging my existence. "oh, perfect timing! care to explain this?" he closed his eyes and began to talk, "mom, i swear those aren't mine. jaden-" she cut him off and handed him the trash bag. "i don't want excuses. this apartment better be in mint condition by the time i get home young man." she grabbed her purse off of the island next to her and started for the door when ethan stopped her. "mom, this is evelyn." she turned around and gave ethan a look that i couldn't detect, looked at me, then blandly asked, "how are you sweetie?" i took in all her features. she had short auburn hair that curled in at the ends with matching brown orbs, complimenting her full lips. "it's nice to meet you mrs. cutkosky, im fine how are you?" i said with a smile, hoping to make a good impression.

she gave me a sweet look. "you can call me yvonne." she smiled back and looked at her watch. by the expression on her face i could tell she had 5 minutes or less to get to where she was going or she'd be 6 feet under.

"im off to work, remember ethan. mint condition," she said with a small smile, pointing at him. "nice meeting you evelyn!" before i could reply she was out the door. i walked over to ethan and grabbed a broom and dustpan i spotted leaned against the stainless stell refrigerator. "well she seems sweet," i smiled. ethan snorted. "she does!" i said laughing. "who even did this anyways?" i asked, hands on my hips glaring at the trashed apartment. ethan took the broom from my grip and began sweeping broken glass into the dust pan. "carter, jaden, lola and val decided to throw a little party when i went to grab food. they said they'd clean it up but," he paused and looked around, "that was an obvious lie."

after all the solo cups and shards of glass were safe and secure in trash bags, i walked over to ethan's nightstand where a picture frame stood. i picked it up and studied it, curios who was in it. "who's this?" i called to ethan who was doing dishes in the other room. i heard the water stop and footsteps approach me. he peeked his head in the doorway. when he seen the picture frame in my hands, he came in and sat on his bed, drying his hands on his pants. "that's me," he said, pointing to the little boy with short hair on the left, "and that's brielle," he added, oddly quiet. him and the girl, brielle, were outside on an old wooden swing set, both smiling cheek to cheek. they looked about 11 or 12, and were both holding hands on opposite swings. i looked at him, curiously, as if asking to know more about her. he must've took the hint because he began speaking again. "she's a childhood friend.. we have some history, but it's in the past. nothing to worry about, were just friends," he assured me, grabbing my waist. i was taller than him because he was sitting down, so i ran my fingers through his long loose curls. i've wanted to do that since the minute i met him. i turned around and sat on his lap, feeling a bulge and giggling. i leaned in to kiss his sweet lips when my phone sang it's god awful ringtone, scaring the shit out of both of us. i  slid over and put the phone to my ear, annoyed. "what's up val?" i asked. "whats up? im at your house. don't tell me you forgot," she said, obviously irritated. it took me a minute to remember, but when i did, i swore under my breathe and prayed she didn't hear me. my prayers weren't answered because she began to speak again. "you did forget!" i sighed, "i didn't forget, i just lost track of time, im sorry! im coming now." i hung up and looked at ethan. his eyebrows were furrowed. "that was val, i completely forgot we had plans today. she asked me to go to her mothers wedding today because she's marrying a complete asshole and needed a friend to be with her." i felt even more guilty when i said it out loud. i covered my face with my hands. "im sure she'll understand, cmon i'll take you home," ethan said, grabbing my hand. we got up and started for the door, walking past the pile of unfinished dishes.

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the car came to a stop as ethan looked at my sympathetically. i looked out the window, not getting out. "hey, what's wrong?" i looked at him hesitantly, not knowing if i should ask what i couldn't stop thinking about. "any other guy would've taken advantage of me that night .. but you didn't," i paused, "why?" he looked me deep in my eyes. "im not any other guy evelyn. i like you. i really like you im-" i bit my lip to strain myself from crying. i hate how emotional i am.

"i don't wanna get hurt," i said, my voice cracking.

i distanced myself from every guy i've ever talked to. im afraid of getting my heartbroken. every guy i've ever liked has treated me like i was nothing in this world. i wasn't used to feeling important. ethan made me feel important.

he held my face with both of his hands. "im not gonna hurt you," he assured me, slowly shaking his head while looking deep into my misty orbs.

and that's when the world stopped. he kissed me. actually no, this wasn't a kiss. this wasn't a peck on the lips or a drunken make-out sesh. this was slow. passionate. electric. sparks flew. i knew he meant every word that left his lips. i could've stayed in that moment for eternity. for once, i felt.

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when i reached my apartment, lola was sitting at the island holding up her head with her hand while her elbow rested on the countertop. she turned at the sound of the door shut and got up. "hey, you ready to go? listen, i'm sorry for being bitchy, today's just going terrible. i know i shouldn't put my problems on you im just not ready to see my mom- wait, were you crying?" her voice went from irritated to sympathetic. she walked over to me and pulled me into a hug, squeezing me tightly, making me feel safe.

i cried into her shoulder, not holding any tears back. im not sure why i cried. maybe it was because of the other night at the concert, maybe it was the fact that i was falling in love and didn't want to, or maybe i just needed a really, really long hug. whatever the reason was, i cried so hard val had to calm me down. i could see tears welling up in her own eyes too.

"it's okay, i'm here. im right here," she assured me, rubbing my back. our hug was released and i nodded my head, managing a small smile to leave my lips.

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i scanned my closet to find something suitable for a wedding and decided on a loose coral-colored dress, complimented by a light wash denim jacket. i slipped on my white high top converse and pulled my sloppy curls into a ponytail.

i turned to val who was applying mascara in my vanity. "does this look okay?" i asked her, flattening out my dress. mascara still in hand, she over-dramatically gasped and grabbed her chest. i laughed and spun around sarcastically, taking a bow.

she put the cosmetics she used back in their appropriate drawers and stood up, flattening out her cream colored strapless dress with her freshly polished nails. she let out a sigh, "ready?" i nodded and gave her a small smile.

we walked out of my room and started towards the door when she stopped me. "hey, ev?" i turned around to face her, "yeah?" she looked at the ground then back up at me. "thanks so much for doing this for me. ethan's lucky to have you."

it was as if every ounce of sadness and stress i had bottled up inside of me had vanished into thin air when i heard those words. my lips quivered as i mustered out her name, "val." she grabbed my hand and squeezed it, "cmon," she half smiled and led me out the door.