Perfect Eve

19

Speechless for a long moment, I did nothing but stare at him and the opened car door.

Tyler? Opening the car door for me?

"Get in." It resembled a command but I was too surprised by his gesture to think about it.

"You wanna spend this night here?" He asked with a smirk.

And, that got me moving.

"Straight to home or...?" He raised his eyebrow and I gulped.

"Home."

"Let's have an ice cream, yeah?"

"No thanks."

And like the dozen other times today, he didn't care what my answer was and stopped the car in front of an ice cream shop.

"I need-"

"Come on, Eve." He cut me off by shaking his head and preparing to order.

The order never got out of his mouth as a few guys, some of who I've seen before but can't pinpoint where and when, approached him and one of them grabbed his shoulder.

The red and glossy eyes took the limelight away from the guy's face. He looked like he was strangled right before he came here.

Either he was sick or...

"Jones, what a coincidence!" He spoke and those slurring words made it clear.

Not sick.

I took a step back and turned my back on them as if I don't even know who Tyler is. I've had my fair share of encounters with intoxicated people and I don't wish to add any more to that list.

And then they all started conversing like a group of long-lost friends.

I don't know what was going in my mind because I was half eavesdropping and half ignoring them when one of them started talking shit about a girl.

A tint of disgust and fear crept into my mind. I hate drunk people. I hate stoned people. I hate them all.

And I hope Tyler's not a part of them. I really do.

I stole a glance at them to see Tyler approach me with a sigh.

"Something came up and I really need to go somewhere. So I can't drop you. Here, take this." He sighed, taking out his wallet. "But I'll definitely make it up to you."

"Excuse me, I don't need this." I pointed at the dollar bills in his hand and shrugged. "I never asked you for a ride so, please don't bother about it."

I gave him a half-smile, turned back and started walking. I could hear him call my name but I was too lazy to acknowledge it.

Maybe even a little disappointed.

Since which moment exactly did I think he has really changed? Was it when he behaved like a normal person? Was it when he opened the door for me? Or worse, was it when I felt a pang of sympathy for him when I realised his house and his parents were nothing but an illusion of a happy rich family?

Maybe Sasha's right, I am too naive.

God, I need to change that.

With a sigh, I wiped all the thoughts about my flaws and letdowns from my mind and waited for a bus. And it took me almost half an hour to get one.

Finally when I reached home,
I got to witness a sobbing Theo and a furious Noel.

What a refreshing scene to relax.

"What's it now?" I groaned, plopping onto the couch, between them and the next moment, Theo hugged me with a pout.

"He pinched me." He sobbed into my arms and I shot a glare at Noel.