Only Eve [h.s]

Chapter 10

Hey all! Happy Halloween Eve!! I hope you all have fun, stay safe, and of course gorge on candy!! 

This chapter is sort of like a filler chapter, which I hated putting it this far in the book, but it's necessary for the next part of the book to make sense. While I am sad that this book is almost over, I am super excited for you guys to read book three! I'm announcing the title soon so stay tuned!! I think the next book is the best one yet, and I really hope you like it! But for now, here is chapter 10!

Eve's POV:

It's the last day of January. Things are slowing down at the record store, which is nice because all of the attention was getting to be a little too much. I can't stay on social media without seeing my ex doing what he loves, his smile beaming.

We don't speak to each other. He doesn't call, but I don't reach out either. It's like we're strangers. I still think about him, though. All the time.

I miss him, but I can't tell him that. I'm the one who broke us up. He probably hates me right now. I have to keep telling myself that we don't work together, that one of us is always going to have to leave.

I'm not doing anything to help me get over him either. I still have all of our pictures out, still have a ton of memories saved on my phone. I haven't washed the blankets on my couch that smell like his cologne. I haven't stopped listening to the music that we created together. I can't. It's like once I do all of that, he'll be gone forever, which sounds stupid because we work together, but it's not the actual person I'm scared of letting go of. It's the relationship that came from it.

I look over at the clock. 12:02 am. February 1st. "Happy Birthday, Harry." I whisper to myself. I think about calling him, but I don't know where he is, or what he's doing. So instead I lay on the couch, petting Roman, watching crappy reality TV. So this is what my life has come to.

The month of February crawls by. I hear from Mitch, Sarah, and Clare a lot, but never directly hear from Harry. They tell me how he said something funny, or how he told them to tell me something, but I can tell it isn't genuine. I love them for trying to make me feel better, but honestly I'd rather be told he hasn't said anything for me to hear, rather than be lied to.

It was weird getting back to my normal life. I'm back to being Eve, the record store owner. The girl who isn't in the spotlight, seen as Harry's girlfriend. I mean people still assume we're still together, and Mitch says that when Harry is asked about it he doesn't deny it, but it's not like it was before.

Even though being back to normal feels nice, it doesn't necessarily feel right. I still write a few songs here and there, but none of them are really for Harry and the band. But they are good songs, songs that could go somewhere. To be honest I don't even know if I'm a writer for Harry anymore.

Sam says I should explore other options, expand my horizons and all that, but just thinking about it is terrifying. I've had some offers. A ton of offers, actually, but I haven't really looked into them. I feel like in a way I would be betraying Harry, and I don't want to do that. He would tell me to go for it, but I can't.

Eventually it's mid March and the band has a break from tour. Have I thought about how it's going to be talking to and seeing Harry for the first time in two months? Of course. Am I nervous? Oh so much. Am I going to do my best to avoid him? You bet.

I don't stop by the studio, I don't stop by his house, I don't reach out at all. I stay at my house, Sam's house, or at Beachwood. I do my best to stay out of the way, but of course it doesn't work.

I approach the woods, taking the leash off of Roman and letting him run straight towards the lake. I follow behind him, putting his leash in my bookbag, not aware of my surroundings at all. I look up to see Roman running straight towards a guy standing at the other end of the lake. I can't make out who it is, but Roman jumps up on them and the mystery person starts to pet Roman.

"I am so sorry, he's not usually that friendly with strangers, I don't know what's gotten into him." I call out as I run towards the man and Roman.

"I know I've been gone for a few months, but I didn't think that made me a stranger." he says in a British accent. Shoot.

"I heard you back in town before the US leg of the tour." I say, playing it casual. "Yeah, I got back the other day. I've been working non stop, so I came down here for a little breather." he explains.

His hair has grown out some, and his accent is a little thicker from being in the UK. He gets up from petting Roman, looking up to find me staring at him. We both look away, the tension in the air making it hard to breathe.

"Hey, Mitch and Sarah are having a party tonight to celebrate the first leg of the tour. He told me he invited you and never got a response, are you coming?" he asks me, making me anxious.

I of course thought about going, it's not everyday my friends are in LA, but I had decided to make up an excuse just so I wouldn't have to see the man that I'm in love with. I haven't actually thought up of the excuse yet, so Harry is catching me off guard.

"I don't think so, I have some stuff to do at the record store." I say off the top of my head.

"Oh okay." he says, sounding disappointed. "Well, I'll get out of your hair. Hopefully I'll see you both sometime soon." he says, petting Roman one more time.

He starts to walk back to his car. I feel guilty. So guilty. I have absolutely nothing to do tonight. All I was going to do was ready a cheesy romance novel. I could do some good to see my friends, and Sam is going so it'll be nice to see her. Ugh fine.

"Harry, wait up." I say as he's about to get in his car. "What time is the party at?" I ask, out of breath. "6:00, super casual." he tells me, getting excited. "I'll be there." I say as I put the leash back on Roman's collar. "Do I need to bring anything?"

"Nope, I'm picking up food on the way." he responds. "Okay, I'll see you there. I look forward to hearing about the tour!" I tell him as Roman starts to pull me away from the car. He nods and drives away.

I look down at Roman. "Well look what I just got roped into. Who knows, maybe it'll be fun."

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Heyyyy! I hope you liked this one! It's not the best, but I do really like the next two, and we get a surprise visitor soon, so look out for that!

I don't really have much else to say, other than I am so grateful to those who have kept reading and stayed up to date on this book! Thank you thank you thank you!!!

Make sure to follow me, vote for this chapter, the whole thing ;)

xxx