In The Safety Of A Lie - COMPLETED!

Chapter 3

"I'm not going on a date." Evelina pushed passed her friend with a tub of dishes. "I've tried it. Unsuccessfully, I might add, a few times after I moved. It didn't pan out. Guys are jerks."

Nakita Okiro followed with a towel. "I get it, Ev. I really do, but your parents died — what? Four years ago? It is time to move on. Besides, the man I have picked out for you is splendid."

"Oh, he's splendid, is he?" Ev glanced back at her friend and rolled her eyes. She couldn't keep the dryness out of her voice. "Sounds like he'd be fun."

Nakita smacked her with the damp towel, allowing it to hit her hard enough to make a slapping noise. She hadn't meant it to be nice.

"Ow!" Ev glared back at her. Her bangs slipped in front of her eyes with the sudden motion. She blew the blondness out of her face. Four years had been long enough for her hair to go back to the blonde she remembered it being throughout her childhood.

"Do not talk about him like that. You have not even given him a chance." Her heavy, Kenyan accent rang out.

"Nakita, I know you mean well, but truth is that I'm fine. After things fell through with Zach, I just haven't been all that interested in getting into another relationship. I mean, we just about got married. I was pretty sure we were meant to be together."

"And then what?" Nakita didn't show any sympathy. "You got cold feet?"

Ev ducked her head and pulled her focus back in front of her, avoiding eye contact with her friend. Her silence spoke volumes.

Nakita gasped. "You did! How could you do that to your soul mate?"

Ev set the container of dirty dishes down. She pondered her past relationship for a moment, along with the events that led up to the breakup. The thought of anything being the same then as it was now infuriated her. "It was our fault my parents were out that night. They would have been safe if we hadn't gotten engaged. We caused that."

Nakita looked between her friend's eyes. "You can not be serious! You broke off your engagement with this man because you blamed him for your parents' death?"

Ev chanced a look up at Nakita, instantly regretting it. She looked back down, pulling her breathing back into check before it had a chance to speed up. She didn't want to waste her time defending her past actions.

"How could you blame him for something like that?" Nakita's brows knit together, refusing to back down from her overwhelming question.

"They would have never been out of the house if we hadn't gotten engaged." Ev breathed out, trying to steady her shaking hands. The weight of her words was heavy.

Nakita watched her for a moment. "If he would not have thrown that engagement party. Is that what you mean?"

Ev looked up with tears in her eyes. "They shouldn't have been out."

"Evelina, they would have still been out. You said yourself that they were at your aunt's that night. What happened to your parents was a freak accident. There was nothing that anyone could have ever done to stop it. If it did not happen that night, it probably would have happened on a different night. When are you going to stop blaming Zach and yourself for something that was purely an unpreventable accident? It was nobodies fault." Nakita laid a hand on Ev's shoulder.

Evelina picked up the container of dishes and walked away from her friend.

"Ev?" Nakita stared dumbfounded at her friend.

Evelina ignored her and kept walking into the kitchen. She began setting the dishes down on the conveyer belt that took them away to be cleaned. Her mind still was lingering on her past. She hadn't truly forgiven herself. She hadn't forgiven Zach. They argued for months after her parents' death. He had just wanted to comfort her, but she would have none of it. It was only a matter of time before she broke off their engagement and booked it out of her hometown. She started someplace new hoping that her sins wouldn't follow her. Perhaps she didn't deserve happiness.

"Ev, you can not blame yourself for what happened." Nakita quietly walked up behind her friend. She stood right behind her, not budging her position. "It is time to start fresh. You moved to this town for a new beginning. Going out on a date with a real gentleman is what you need. If it does not go good at least you can say that I was wrong. Do this for me."

Ev slid her hand across her face, letting her skin absorb any tears that had slipped down. She nodded her head. Nakita was right; this was a chance to begin fresh; to begin new. She could do that. "Okay."

"Okay? Are you agreeing to a date, Evelina Jones?" Nakita watched her wide eyed. She awaited verification to ensure that she wasn't wasting her time with making assumptions.

Ev nodded again. "Mhm, I'll go on a date with your mystery man."

"You are sure? You are okay with this?" She watched her carefully, still unsure if her friend was really, truly giving her permission.

"I don't think it'd matter even if I wasn't okay with this. You're pretty insistent." Ev noted of her friend. It was what she needed though. She needed to get out of her box and live a little. A little push didn't hurt anyone...unless it was straight off of a cliff. She prayed it wasn't that drastic.

"You will not be angry with me, will you?" She said slowly.

Ev allowed a smile to fill her face. "For you trying to be a good friend? No, I won't be angry with you, even if it doesn't turn out well. I've learned my lesson with Zach about being angry with people who are close to me. It's not worth it." She lingered on that thought, thinking back to when she finally came to her senses to forgive Zach. He had been too hurt by her to even consider taking her back. She couldn't blame him, but she knew it was her fault for hurting him like that. She had wasted years of his life only to blame him for something that had never really been his fault. She had cut him deep, maybe only because she had hurt just as deeply, but it was the only way she knew how to handle the pain at that moment.

"That is a relief, Ev. It is a big step going in the right direction. I will give you the details after I talk with him. I am sure it will go as smooth as molasses." Nakita pulled her friend into a hug.

"Aren't molasses sticky?" Ev returned the hug before her friend pulled away.

"Not even your distasteful attitude with molasses will ruin my mood!" She snapped before turning away.

Ev watched the woman scurry away to get more dirty dishes. Her gaze returned back to the dishes that she was still unloading. She sighed, reminded once again of how badly she had messed up. If this man was anything half as special as Zach had been, then there was no way she would let him get away. She needed the chance to be able to love someone; the chance to be happy. Only the Lord knew how unhappy she'd been for years. She had turned her back on him and everyone around herself. Just recently had she returned to the Lord and reminded herself that she was still a Christian. Zach had held her to that during their years together, keeping her from doing anything compromising. After they had parted ways, however, Ev had been left with choices to make and the option to stray away from her faith. She had taken that leap; not doing anything bad, but allowing her anger to put a gap in her life. She was finally getting her freedom back and forgiving like she should have done years ago. This really truly was a chance to get a fresh start. A chance at redemption. An official leap into a new life.