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He sounded sincere, like he really meant every word he was saying. His body was shivering, even though it wasn’t cold. Eva wanted to hug him but this wasn’t the place for that. Someone might see and she was already in enough trouble with Katrina as it was. She had to take care of it but strategically. Meaning, she would have to come up with a plan to bring this bully down.
For the time being she had to make sure that the men she chose to care about felt the same way about her.
“When she told me, I didn’t want to believe it,” Eva admitted.
“See?” Dorian jumped. “You had a gut feeling that she was lying. Otherwise, you would have believed her from the moment she told you that.”
Eva thought about it for a second. Would she really believe her? Or was she simply blinded by her love for him? And, was she blinded again right now, and couldn’t see past his sweet lies?
“I think I would have heard something about it, if she was telling the truth,” Frey whispered to her, so that Dorian didn’t hear.
“What did you tell her?” Dorian wondered, though he didn’t seem upset.
“I’m on her side,” Frey replied. “You know that. And people who take joy in the suffering of others are assholes in my book.”
“You gotta believe me, man, I didn’t do any such thing. There is no bet. That bitch is lying.”
Frey eyed him for a second. Eva could almost see the little hairs on his back stand on end. She felt like smiling. He was the one to protect her. She knew that. She could trust him. Dorian - she wasn’t so sure of.
“There is no point to this,” Eva finally cut the conversation short.
“You do believe me, don’t you?” Dorian grabbed her by the hand, the one Frey wasn’t holding.
Eva gave him a weak smile. Her heart believed him. It was gentle and naive, of course it would believe him. But, her head was strong. It knew better than to jump at any given apology and believe it straight off the bat.
“I need some time to process this,” she told him, nodding. “I’d like to tell you I believe you, but I’m too hurt about this to think straight.”
“I understand,” Dorian said, meekly.
“Thank you,” she gave him a peck on the cheek, not caring that someone might see them and tell Katrina.
She stood up to go and Frey did the same. She gently caressed his cheek.
“I need some time alone,” she told him.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “I can just sit by your side and be quiet. You won’t even know I’m there but you’ll feel it and that’s all I want.”
“You’re sweet,” she smiled broadly this time. He deserved it. “But I think some time alone will help me decide.”
“Alright then,” Frey said, equally sad, as Dorian.
She walked away from them with a heavy heart. Her heart was screaming at her, to go back, grab them both by the hand and run over to the abandoned house, to their safe place. It wasn’t about sex. She just wanted them close to her, to know that someone loved her, that someone wanted to keep her safe and warm.
But, Katrina managed to ruin that. Her lies cut deep, like a rusty knife. Eva couldn’t understand how someone could be so mean intentionally. What was the point of such malice with no apparent reason?
Chapter 20
Eva walked out of the school building. She felt like crying. She could feel her eyes filled with tears and she tried even harder not to blink too often, for fear of them all spilling out in front of everyone. But, the campus seemed empty. There were only a few people sitting by the little pond, underneath the big, chestnut tree. A few others were rushing either to the dorms or to the school. However, it was much less occupied than usual.
Eva was grateful for that. That meant that she had less chance of running into someone who might ask her what the matter was, as she was really unwilling to do the usual chit chat routine. Her steps took on a rushed pace, pressing hard against the gravel underneath her feet. She felt a little dizzy and a bit hot, when she pressed her hand against her forehead. But, she didn’t feel sick. At least, she thought she wasn’t sick. It was probably all because she got so upset over Katrina and what she had said. That, and the fact that she was so eager to see her father, but she was told he couldn’t come out of hiding until he’d fully recovered. He couldn’t risk it. They might get him for real this time, and there would be no going back. So, Eva knew she had to be patient and wait for the right moment to come.
She was about to turn left at the next building and just take the short cut to her dorm, when she stumbled against someone and was catapulted backward, making her fall hard to the ground.
She moaned, feeling the back sides of her thighs were a little painful, but she managed to get up immediately, which made her feel even dizzier. She closed her eyes, pressing her fingers against her temples, trying to take the pressure off. It didn’t really help. The pain was still there and she saw everything around her as if through a veil of fog. She dusted herself off, and was about to apologize, when she came across the gentle eyes of the gardener.
“Eva,” she smiled. “Funny running into you.”
“Amelie,” Eva smiled back. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
