Not Without You [Chris Evans]

90

Chris' POV

"I can't believe she just fucking dropped that on me so nonchalantly!" I ranted in a low voice to my best friends, throwing my napkin on the table in disgust after Megan was out of earshot. Thankfully she'd left to go wash the syrup off her hands; I needed to get this off my chest before I said something stupid to my fiancé. "I suppose I should just be fucking grateful I didn't have to find that out from social fucking media!"

"Language," Sadie smacked my arm hard enough to make me look at her in surprise. "Are you even listening to yourself, Chris? She just wanted to share her excitement with you."

I was already in a bad mood and her accusation just pissed me off even more. "She could've fucking told me sooner."

"Why? So you could try to talk her out of it?" Sebastian asked, leaning back in his chair and draining his mimosa. "You said you weren't ever going to make her choose between you and her music, punk - but that's exactly what you want her to do."

"I'm not!" I protested. "I won't - I just wanted her to be with me."

"That's one of her biggest fears," Sadie added as she crossed her arms over her chest, letting disapproval color her tone. I felt a pang of guilt that I'd disappointed her with my poor attitude, but I wasn't ready to move past this.

"She'll be there for the only part that really matters," Sebastian said. "After the premiere, things'll get a lot easier. She can't be with you for the interviews; you know that."

Sadie's phone chimed and she picked it up to look at the screen before showing us the message.

Can I come back yet
or is he still in a
pissy mood?

I scrubbed at my face with my hands. "She can come back regardless of my mood."

Sadie tapped out a reply. "This is good news for her, babe."

"I know," I sighed.

It didn't feel like good news, though. I didn't want her to be away for that long again. I'd gotten used to having her here with me every night and we'd settled into a comfortable routine...and all of that was going to change again.

"Then quit acting like a stupid jerk," Seb said, unamused. "And calm the fuck down."

"Or what?"

"You're going to scare her," he said with complete sincerity. "That fear is still there - it isn't gone yet."

Not for the first time, I wanted to beat the shit out of her ex for what he'd done to her. I had never once intentionally hurt a woman, but Seb was right - that kind of fear wasn't something that went away overnight. She'd still flinch sometimes if I moved too quickly towards her.

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Megan's POV

The ride home from the restaurant was the complete opposite of the ride there; gone was the playful mood we'd been in. Chris resisted my attempts at idle conversation and I'd quickly given up, playing on my phone instead in an attempt to ignore the uncomfortable silence. By the time we made it back to the condo, I was so on edge from anticipating an argument that my stomach hurt.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner, Megan?" Chris asked as soon as we got inside the condo. He shut and locked the door behind us with quick, angry motions.

"Like half an hour was really going to make a difference?" I scoffed, hanging up my coat and kicking off my shoes.

"That's not what I meant. How long have you known that Ed wanted you to join this tour? I know you talk to him at least once a week."