My forever

Chapter three

Her eyes are closed, trying to imagine a wonderland where this miserable reality isn't so vivid. A place with dancing, singing, and love. She slowly opens her eyes, her escape fading away as her vision forces her to notice Stevens face hovering centimetres in front of hers. The wall is cold against her back, him pinning her against it. Her lip is quivering with fear. He is really drunk tonight. He is going to rid her of the one thing he hasn't taken. The one thing she has left.

"Steven..." She begs "please stop." Tears fall from her eyes, trailing down her cheeks. His breath smells rancid and the stench of alcohol fills the room.

"Stop bitching, it won't be that bad." His fingers trail up her thin thigh and she lets out a cry. He is going to rape her. In her own bedroom. "I bet you'll even like it." His hands tighten around her leg causing her to cry out. His fingers are able to wrap all the way around because of how unhealthily skinny she is. She places her hands against his chest and tries to push him away, but the pressure is nothing against his sturdy frame. She feels his eyes drilling into her face, she refuses to look back at him and focuses on hitting his chest. His large hand suddenly clamps around her chin, yanking her head up so her eyes are suddenly locked with his. Silence fills the room as they stare at each other. His pale green eyes used to look at her so differently. When they first met, he was he was so sweet and charming. Now, he's a monster. He made her fall for him, and boy did she crash down. In fact, she fell so deep she landed at the bottom of a hole. Except there was no ladder.

"Don't you love me?" He asks his voice suddenly sweet, making her skin crawl. How can the devil be pulling you towards someone who looks so much like an angel?

"You know I do." She says, hating the fact that those words are nothing but the truth.

"Then why don't you want this?"

"Do you love me?" She asks, changing the subject.

"Of course." His blonde hair flops perfectly over his eyes, they seem so sincere. But she knows how quickly his attitude can change and how good he is at lying. She also knows she shouldn't say these next six words, but he can't help it.

"Then why do you beat me?" His eyes suddenly turn fiery and violent intentions are shown in the clench of his jaw. Evies eyes widen in acknowledgement of her mistake. "I didn't mean to say that, Steven I-" her voice is cut off abruptly as his hand collides with the side of her face, snapping her head sideways. The force makes her collapse to her knees, silent tears pouring down her face. Steven towers over her, casting the broken girls body is shadow.

"Don't ever fucking mention that again." He turns and leaves her room, slamming he door behind him. It's not until she hears his fancy car screech down the driveway when she starts to sob. She cried until her body was jolting with the force.

She was scared to death.

It was just a matter of time until he beat her to the verge of death, and she knew it.

•••••

Trea was driving down the street, his head bubbling with thoughts. Hot thoughts, rising to the top of his mind before exploding and vanishing again. Maybe he should have tried a little harder. A little harder to stop Evie from leaving. He believes he could have done something, that's what he thinks. Yet in the moment, he couldn't do anything. He sees his reflection in the rear view mirror. His eyes are tired, his brown hair scruffy and dirty. He is well aware he is a mess. Well aware his life is shit. He focuses his gaze back onto the road. Evie is always on his mind, and it drives him insane. It's been 8 years, and he is convinced that she has long forgotten about him. He slowly pulls his car to a stop. He climbs out of his vehicle and stares down the street. A place he knows so well. Where he grew up. He slowly starts walking, his feet crunching on the orange, dying leaves. He passes her old house, trying not to focus on it to much. He turns his back to her house and focuses on the one across the street. It looks so different now. The red bricks are covered in mould, the windows are broken, everything inside has been looted from carpet to bench tops, the grass is overgrown, roof tiles are missing. It was never a particularly nice place, but it seems like it has been abandoned for hundreds of years rather than seven. His eyes land on the tree he used to climb so often it was almost as if he lived in it. It is overgrown but he can still see parts of his old treehouse, the same rusty nails pocking out of the planks.

He didn't have the best childhood.

His parents had hardly any money, but they loved him and that was all he wanted. He had an older brother, he was a nuisance and they always fought, but the brotherly love was still there. The day they died in the fire was undoubtedly the worst day of his life, and he has had a lot of bad days. His aunt was left everything in the will. The house, the money, everything and to her disappointment, Trea. He hated that woman, running away from home at only age twelve. Sharon found him on the streets a week later and took him in. She loved him as much as his parents did, and even though at most times he was awful to her he loved her back.

He sighs, stepping onto the lawn. He walks slowly over the rotting tree, kneeling down beside it. The dirt is soft beneath his knees as he starts digging a hole. He doesn't dig for very long until his fingers brush against the top of the box. He pulls it out of the ground, holding it gently in his hands. The shoe box is visibly damaged with age, but he can still read the words written on the lid. In messy, pink sharpie "Evie and Trea" is written. He slowly peels away the lid, and gazes down at the slightly ruined treasures inside. He picks up the piece of paper, a drawing of them Evie made. He smiles at the messy colouring skills, and how the crayon is smudged in some places. He continues to dig through the time capsule, smiling as more memories are uncovered. His eyes widen as he sees something shiny. He reaches his hand towards it, gently picking up the necklace in his hands. The silver, half heart reads "friends". Evie had the other heart which said "best". He gave it to her for her birthday, when she gave him back a half he was more surprised than he had ever been. He treasured it, but never wore it. He didn't want to be seen wearing a necklace, his brother would of teased him to no end. He smiles, pocketing the necklace and placing the drawings back into the box before reburying it. He thought maybe one day Evie would remember it and return to her old hometown and dig it up. He slowly walked back to his car. He wasn't sure why he took the necklace, he knew it would just make him miss Evie more. But something inside him wanted to take it. He just didn't know what it was.