Run Away

Chapter 19

Evie's heart was racing, and not in the good way, her breath felt tight in her chest.

"What the..." Owen was the first to speak, "What's going on?"

"Owen, what are you doing home already?" Zane asked casually.

Zane felt guilty for not having told his best friend his plans to take Evie out for the night. All Zane had wanted to do was get Evie out of the house. After Owen had mentioned to Zane that Evie stayed locked up in her room the entire time unless she was going to school. Zane knew Evie had been avoiding all contact with people at school; she had deserted her new friends after only a week and if Zane approached her, she would make up an excuse to leave suddenly.

Owen descended the steps quickly and stood with Zane on the bottom, Evie a step above them in the middle. His eyes grazed over Evie and then back to his friend, waiting for an answer.

"Owen, stop," Evie pleaded grabbing his arm and attempting to pull him away from Zane, a sense of déjà vu blanketing her, "Nothing happened. Don't punch him, please."

Owen and Zane both looked at Evie in confusion.

Evie's heart was pounding so fast she feared it would jump out of her chest. It was just as she remembered. Was history repeating itself?

"I wouldn't hit Zane," Owen replied, watching Evie intently, "He's my best friend."

Silence extended over the three. Evie glanced between the two boys in front of her, their confused yet concerned faces made her feel a little more at ease. With a steadying breath, Evie tried to calm her heart to a normal rate.

"Oh, I know, I just meant," Evie stumbled for an excuse for her behaviour, "Never mind."

Evie took a step up towards the house, the boys still watching her as she went. She turned and looked at Zane, trying to ignore the analytical look Owen was giving her.

"Thank you, Zane, for tonight. I had fun."

With a small smile in appreciation, Evie retreated into the house, closing the door behind her, leaving the boys to talk on their own. Once inside, she dashed upstairs to her room not wanting twenty questions from Sandra, closing herself inside and taking a deep breath to calm her nerves and anxiety.

In the short moment when Owen found them, it had felt like her life was on repeat. She could never escape her past. Evie closed her eyes, standing against the door and concentrated on her breathing and calming her entire body down.

Outside, Owen turned back to look at Zane when Evie closed the front door.

"What happened?" Owen interrogated his best friend, arms crossed over his chest. He had a good idea after finding the Zane with Evie on the doorstep of his house, but he needed to hear it from Zane himself. "What were you doing out with Evie?"

"We just went to a movie, that's it," Zane replied earnestly, his hands held up in surrender.

"You told Mark you couldn't come out with us tonight because you had a date," Owen pushed, "Please don't tell me you're trying to hook up with Evie."

"No, I just thought she needed to get out of the house, be a normal teenager," Zane explained.

"She's not a normal teenager. You and I both know that and there's something off about her. You can't get attached to her."

"You're telling me that you don't care about Evie?"

"Exactly," Owen exclaimed, "She's just another runaway, another one of Mum's charity cases."

"Listen nothing happened, it was just one friend helping out another."

"She's not our friend."

"Ever since Evie arrived you've been all tense," Zane accused his friend, "You can't tell me you don't feel sorry for her."