The Boy Next Door

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Evan drove me home the next afternoon. It was the first time I'd not known what to say, and the silence was awkward.

"Are you okay, Lilianna?" he asked. "You're being really quiet."

I nodded and looked at my hands.

"That was rhetorical. What's wrong?"

"I missed two days of school. I'll have a lot of homework."

"That's not it," he rolled his eyes. "You've missed school before-that time you got the flu?-and you weren't upset."

"Erika said something yesterday that's been bothering me."

"What did she say?"

"That when she rode to the hospital with you, you were cursing."

"Oh."

"You never curse. Why then?"

"I'll show you." He took a turn away from my house and brought us down an unfamiliar road.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see. Think of it as a surprise."

I frowned in confusion, but obediently sat back and waited. About ten minutes later we came to a stop by the side of the road. "It's about a quarter of a mile off the road."

Nodding, I got out of the car and followed beside him as we walked. "You like wandering in the wilderness, don't you?"

"It's calming."

Suddenly he stopped. "Here's where I was standing three days ago. I was thinking about if I should give you that ring or not, when Brianna called. I'd walked here, and she wouldn't tell me anything over the phone, so she drove up to me and met me here. When she told me you were in the hospital, my mind stopped functioning."

I thought, while he paused, of what it would feel like if he was in the hospital for an unknown reason. Immediately my mind jumped to him having a serious disease or getting in a car crash, and a small gasp left my mouth.

"Exactly," he said. "So of course I felt helpless, because I knew I couldn't do anything. I asked her why you were there, and she just started crying. That's when I realized: I couldn't stand the thought that you were hurt. It almost competed with my mom's passing. I realized that I might just love you."

I smiled and threw my arms around his neck to hug him. It was maybe the third or fourth time we'd touched apart from hand holding. "You know, Evan, I think I might just love you too."

He smiled a bit. "I know you weren't comfortable with this before, but could I kiss you?" I thought for a moment and nodded.

The moment was perfect. I was safe, happy, and I was kissing the most amazing guy to ever walk the earth (apart from Jesus of course, and maybe Paul...).

Evan smiled at me when we broke apart, but his gaze was broken by movement behind me. The smile disappeared and he tightened his hold on me. I spun to see what the problem was, but he wouldn't let me. "Just get back to my car," he hissed, "and I'll meet you there."

I nodded and fought the urge to look behind me as I walked away. Even though I didn't see who it was, I knew.

Jumping in the driver's seat, I buckled and waited. Evan didn't show for a few minutes, and when he did he looked fine. I was worried that he had fought physically.

"He wouldn't even talk to me," he said as he slammed the door. "Just stared after you."

"That's good, right? That means he won't bother anyone else."