Abandonment is one word to describe Evelyn Ward's childhood.
Known as an orphan freak and paranoid schizophrenic, she was dragged through years of therapy after admitting to hearing whispering voices and seeing creatures and living shadows.
...
The ramifications of my actions hit me like a ton of bricks as my temper cooled off while I laid curled up on my ratty mattress. All that anger and pent-up frustration I had hurled outwards left me feeling drained and humiliated. Though it was undeniable the guy had been a jerk, he hadn't been worth losing my job over.
Tears pricked my eyes but I refused to let them fall. I had cried enough over the last few months, and there was no one to blame here but myself; I didn't deserve the repose crying would grant me.
My gaze met the peeling paint of the walls, the water damaged ceiling, the creaky old hardwood floors. It wasn't much but it was all I had, all I could afford with my meager paychecks, and now I didn't have a job to pay my rent.
I shook my head at the emotions roiling inside me. Anger, pity, resentment; all such bitter, useless emotions serving no good purpose. Zev was right: I needed to let go of my pain. Pain is nothing but a chain that holds you down and demands for you to kneel, it's the lead boots that prevent you from swimming when you're sinking deeper in an ocean of unrelenting currents, and if you give in you end up buried beneath the sand. But if you refuse to succumb to the misery -- to let it rule you -- if you fight for the glimpses of light your eyes catch in the shortest of moments, the chains will loosen and you can slip free.
A shaky breath filled my lungs. For all I had suffered, I was stronger, not weaker, and gods be damned if I let this setback break me.
An abrupt pounding echoed from the door, and I stood to peer out the peephole, shocked to find Jorden standing on the other side. As I opened the door, he flung his arms around me in a crushing hug.
"Evelyn," he mumbled into my hair, "Chelsea called me to tell me what happened. I'm so sorry."
I wrapped my arms around him, snuggling into his warmth, grateful for his concern. After the way I had been acting as of late, it wouldn't have been shocking if he had of ignored me, but then, Jorden had never displayed the same cruel tendencies I had always shown myself. He had always been a solid fixture for me to hang onto in times of doubt, even if I never did let him in.
In that moment, it dawned on me that perhaps the reason for my unhappiness with Jorden was that all this time I had been too consumed in my own sorrow, unwilling to see that he was my light, and so I rejected his support in fear he'd abandon me.
That was until anger flashed in his chocolate eyes and he lurched away from my grasp, stalking toward the couch. "What the hell is this?"
Shame washed over me as he held up a leather jacket in his clenched fist. A jacket that still smelled faintly of pine and fresh rain. Zev's.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
So Evelyn has finally realized she can be happy with Jorden. But is she going to be honest with Jorden now about Zev's jacket, or will she lie and try to hide what happened?
Let me know what you think in the comments. I love hearing what you have to say!
