Jenalyn: Disconnected (#5) [Complete]

Chapter 24: Hayden

Tues. 12/30/08 • 9:06 A.M. EST

It's so weird to have Evelyn and Ty sitting here with me in the same room. She's excited behind her visible nervousness, he's skeptical behind his "I know I have to be kind" smile, and I'm just sitting here trying to juggle both of them to the best of my ability. 

It's proven to be difficult; Ty is asking too many questions, and Ev is answering a little more honestly than I think I can handle right now. 

"Wait- How do you two know each other again? I'm confused," Ty asks Ev, turning to me before following up. "You said you weren't in contact with your biological sisters... Did something change."

Before I can get a word in, Evelyn responds. "Oh, we're not biological," she states matter of factly. "Blood isn't always thicker than water. We met when I was in foster care! My brother came to get me, and she was-"

"Stop rambling, Ev!" I force a laugh, inturrupting her when I realize what she could have continued with. Her brother went to get her, and I was "dating" him at the time... I'd rather Ty not know that Ev is the little sister of my "abusive boyfriend" from Pennsylvania. He's already too skeptical about her showing up here today. "We met when you were in foster care; That's a good enough response! He's not interrogating you, silly!" 

I shoot Ty a look as if to tell him to lay off of her a little. She's been up here all of 15 minutes, and he hasn't stopped questioning her for a second. He has so many more questions he wants to ask; That's clear on his face. Instead, he let's out a small sigh and clasps his hands together. 

"Well... You girls want to get some breakfast or something?" he asks, turning first to Ev and then to me. "We could go out, or I could order some room service? What are you girls in the mood for?" 

I know he's talking about breakfast, but I can't help my mind from going over what seems like a million other things that I'm more in the mood for; Breakfast is not one of those things. I'm in the mood to figure out why the hell Ev is here so I know whether or not I can relax my mind and body. I'm in the mood for a shot... or a line... or anything that could prepare me for whatever reason she's here. I'm in the mood for Ty to find a reason to leave this suite for a while so I can actually talk to her... 

"Um, Room Service is probably okay, right Hayd?" Evelyn asks when I leave too long of a silence after Ty asked about breakfast. She turns toward me. "Is Room Service okay?" 

I nod my head, signaling for her to tell Ty what she wants. When she's done, he turns to me. I tell him to order me whatever she got; I can't even think about food right now. 

"Okay!" Ty exclaims after a moment, once again clasping his hands together. "I'll go order that, and then we'll figure out what to do after that? I don't know if you plan on staying long, or what- but we're on vacation, so our day is free." 

Ev smiles and agrees to his plans. I'm sure she's in that state of mind I was in once I found myself actually living out dreams I used to have about my favorite celebrities. I'm just happy he'll at least be leaving the room for a few minutes to order the food. 

"Cool!" Ty says, standing to his feet to start heading toward the bedroom where the hotel phone sits. "I'll be right ba-" 

He's interrupted when his cellphone rings in his hands, reminding me that I hadn't even gotten a chance to check my own. I'm sure I have a million emails, unread texts, and missed calls. I grab it from the coffee table sitting in front of me, but keep the screen locked for the sake of not being rude. Ty glances at his phone to read the caller ID, and then holds his finger up to Evelyn before scrambling off to take the call. 

Maybe it'll be important enough to keep him for a few extra minutes. 

"So what's up Ev?" I ask as soon as I hear the bedroom door click shut. "Hurry up, fill me in while he's doing that so I know where to go from here. What's going on?" 

She turns to me, her face and demeanor completely different from that of which she held a few moments ago while Ty was present. "I need you to take me with you now," she says, her tone serious and eyes wide and expectant. She quickly follows up, her voice rushed and urgent. "I- I can't live like this anymore; It'll kill me! I need a fresh start, like you! And now is the perfect time because Dane has been away for a while now! Just... help me get set up, and I'll do my own thing! Even if he comes back, he won't know where to find me!" 

I try to process everything she says, but my mind can only focus on one thing. Dane has been away? "What do you mean?" I ask, my brows furrowed in confusion. "Where is Dane? What's a while?" 

Evelyn rolls her eyes. I'm sure she was expecting me to respond to her underlying request rather than asking about Dane, her annoyance is clear on her face. 

"I don't know where he is!" she hisses. "Who cares! He left after you... had your babies! You know how he throws his fits when things don't go his way. He runs away! It's been months! It's the perfect time to-" 

I interrupt her when my focus lands on my phone screen, which has lit up in my hand with new notifications. At the top of the list are four missed texts from Gage; I only have to read the thumbnail to know it's something I have to check on immediately. 

"Hold on Ev," I mumble, unlocking my phone with a sense of anxiety flooding my body. I pull up my messages with Gage. 

Gage: I shouldn't have
had sex with you like 
that Hayden... I have 
to tell my brother. I'm 
sorry, but you have to 
understand... 
Gage: I broke up with 
Jordan. I told her what
happened, and I have to
tell him. 
Gage: I just wanted to 
give you a heads up before
I called him
Gage: He's my brother...

I'm so confused... When did I have sex with Gage?