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I glanced to the left before I climbed into the passenger’s side, and saw someone standing there. There was nothing particularly off about them, they were just leaning against a building, with cigarette smoke billowing around them. I couldn’t see their face, because it was turned to look down the street, but for some reason, they gave me a deep sense of foreboding.
Chapter Fifteen
Evelyn
The days went by, and I buried myself in my textbooks.
On the fourth of December, I tried to be there for Hannah, but all she wanted to do was watchThe Time Traveler’s WifeandSherlock Holmes. I tried texting Julian multiple times that day, but didn’t receive his usual, snappy response. Hannah had probed about Mike again, especially when she saw me texting, because she was convinced that was who it was. I didn’t correct her.
Once Hannah went to bed, I snuck downstairs to Julian’s floor, and bravely crept into his room. He had mentioned once that I was free to sleep in there whenever Hannah wasn’t home, and I hoped that extended to when he wasn’t home either. I snapped a picture of myself, cuddled up in his bed, and sent it to him. His smell surrounded me, and was comforting despite his absence.
In the morning there were only four words on my home screen, but they made my heart sing.
God, I miss you
I texted him that I missed him too, and crept out of the room and downstairs. Hannah was already there, but thankfully hadn’t looked into my room and found me missing. I smiled at her, and she smiled back - it was a genuine thing, and I knew that she was okay. I got it though. If I knew my mother’s death date, I’d probably have a hard time that time of year, too. All I could recall though, was the warm summer breeze when I stood in the parking lot after she passed away. I decided I wanted to do something for Julian upon his return. Nothing flashy, but I wanted to spice up our experiences in the bedroom. He had mentioned that we were going at my pace, since I was new to everything, but that he would have liked to try a couple of things. Hannah declared she was going to spend the day at the library, so I decided I’d head over to a couple stores and see if I could find anything interesting.
I spent the afternoon flicking between studying and researching the best place to go, and telling myself that if I was going to have this money, I was going to spend it on something Julian might like. Our relationship was far from relying on the physical, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t an aspect that I enjoyed. The day got darker though, and suddenly it was nearing five. I slipped out of the house, and headed for the subway.
I chose to head to the shop on the edge of Manhattan, instead of the one in the Upper East Side, because I was scared of how nosy Hannah might be if she caught me. Despite her not knowing the truth of who I was dating, it just felt weird to talk lingerie with her when I was buying it for her father to see.
The shop was painted black, with neon pink lighting. Walking inside, I felt immediately out of my depth. There were straps and bras, and corsets andeverything.The prices had me shying away, but I reminded myself I was doing it for Julian.
“Can I help you?” a young woman asked.
I laughed nervously and looked around the shop. The idea of having a stranger help me was daunting, but the idea of doing it myself was even worse. I nodded and gulped.
“Yes please. I’m, uh, trying to find something for, um, my boyfriend?” It was surreal to call him that to another person. “He’s away on a business trip right now and... I wanted to surprise him… when he got back…” my voice got smaller with each word, but the woman looked unfazed.
“Okay!” she said brightly. “So, for your body shape, we’ve definitely got some gorgeous options.”
The girl led me over to racks, and picked things up for me to try out. She stuffed me into a changing room, and handed me piece after piece, occasionally coming in when I groaned in distress.
Finally, she helped me settle on two outfits. One was a strappy number, all black, that criss-crossed across my chest, and had matching underwear with a garter belt to wear over it. The other outfit could easily double as some sort of nightgown, but it was made of sheer silk that only fell to the tops of my thighs and was trimmed in black lace. The young woman, who I’d learned was named Viola, cooed over my options, telling me that my boyfriend was one lucky man. Examining myself in the mirror, I couldn’t help but agree. I left the shop with a small bag and a smile on my face. I shot Julian a text, and his immediate response was encouraging.
I got you a gift ;)
Oh really? I look forward to unwrapping it.
I smiled at my phone, put my earbuds in, and started making my way home. It was already dark, and the light was glinting off the snow-slicked pavements. It was rather beautiful, I thought, as I headed towards the subway. I imagined myself, as I often did these days, doing the mundane things with Julian. I saw us walking down the street, hand in hand, talking about what we would do for the holidays. Did they stay home? Hannah had never mentioned any other family, but I supposed it was very probable that they had them. It made me wonder what I would do for Christmas. I became resolute that Julian and I would tell Hannah about us before Christmas rolled around. I wasn’t going to spend the holiday living in secret.
I was distracted while thinking about that, concerned about whether it would end in tears or acceptance. I prayed for the latter. I didn’t want to ruin her holiday, God knows I didn’t. But I was so distracted considering it that I didn’t notice the person behind me. I didn’t feel the prickles on the back of my neck until it was too late, and I was being dragged into an alleyway.
Some disinterested thought in my head sighed dramatically, and said‘again? really?’.
I felt the hands fumble for my hips, and I fought harder, harder than I’d dared to last time, because now, I had people worth fighting for. I wasn’t going to let any more tragedy befall them, and so I kicked, I screamed, and I begged for anyone to come save me. I was brutally turned, so that my back was against a brick wall, and this wasohso familiar, the feeling of his hands on me, forcing me to do things, forcing me to obey. I could tell from the shape of him that it was the same guy from the night I met Julian, but it was also someone else, who pulled down their hood, and grinned wolfishly at me.
I choked his name around the hands that closed on my throat, and wished that I could tell Julian how much I loved him, tell Hannah how much I wasn’t meaning to abandon her.
“Garth.”
Chapter Sixteen
Julian
Icouldn’t live if she died.
I couldn’t survive losing another soulmate, because I wassurethat she was the only second chance I’d ever get at a happily ever after. When Hannah called in tears, I got on a plane. I excused myself from what could have been the empire-building deal of the century, and hoped they’d understand. I called Fran from the taxi once I landed, and had her head over to the hospital to sort out any bills that Evelyn might accrue. If - when - she woke up, I didn’t want her to worry about anything. Fran sounded like she knew exactly what I was talking about, and I didn’t care. I didn’t care if people knew how much I loved her.
