AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I think about that. When I see her with Damien, he is always acting so carefree and goofy while she smiles and laughs. They all seem to be able to sense what each of them needs. When Evie gets confused in class, Lev will lean in and re-explain it. When Damien looks down or is having an off day, Evie is always there to hold his hand.
He says she’s the way home, and I’m starting to see what he means.
“They help me feel,” Lev continues. “They make the sadness worth it because the happiness they bring is all-consuming. I don’t know what I give to her, but I'd like to think I can help to calm the chaos in her world. She’s always so deep in thought when I watch her, like she’s trying to solve the world’s problems by thinking about them hard enough. But when it’s just us, that crease in her brow goes away, and it’s like she relaxes.”
He looks at me then. “I know she wants to believe you're the bad guy because you’re right here, and you’ve never given her much of a reason to think you wouldn’t hurt her. But I also know that she cares about you in a weird way. When we wanted to blow you off after the video, it was Evie that pushed us to make time for you.”
I stand there in shock. That, I didn’t know. I knew it took something to get them to come to talk to me after she got home from the hospital, but I didn’t know she was the one who pushed them. “I bet the two of you were just driving her crazy. Damien hardly leaves her side as it is,” I say, shrugging it off.
“Think what you want, Alexi, but I think she cares. She doesn’t want to admit it. And maybe she hasn’t even admitted it to herself, but I see it.” He finishes his water, throwing the bottle into the recycling before turning back to me. “Show her who you are, and I’m sure it will all fall into place. The three of us have always been inseparable, but we have never had balance. She brings us balance.”
Maybe Evie is the missing puzzle piece that we need to feel complete. She is definitely capable. She matches our skills, and there is no denying that there is a pull to this girl. Whether she is enamoring me, turning me on, or getting on my last fucking nerve, I can’t deny the fact that she makes me feel things others can’t pull out of me. Lev said she was the way home, and I let that sink in.
“Okay, deal,” Evie says, pulling me from the memory. I smile. A real fucking smile for the first time in who knows how long.
“Let’s go get the bitch then.” I gesture to the door. She looks at me skeptically before walking over and grabbing her hoodie that says ‘Kinda sweet. Kinda savage.’ She hands me her coffee cup while she pulls it on. If someone would have told me six months ago that I’d be making coffee and offering to cook for a girl, I would have shot them.
“Thanks,” she says, taking her coffee back from me. She holds it close to her like it’s a lifeline as we walk. I’m convinced she needs the sugar more than the coffee because there is hardly any coffee in that cup.
“Do you want to take the car?” I offer. The weather is starting to get chilly, but I could go either way.
“Let’s walk, I need to wake up a little more before I beat the shit out of this creep.” She walks ahead, already knowing the way and I follow almost obediently. The sun shines down on us as we walk. I drink in the sound of the waves in the distance and the birds singing their songs. It’s almost… nice. Just the quiet, here, with her.
“We only have about an hour before we need to get to class. What are you guys planning for your evading scenario today?” I ask. One of the many changes I made was her no longer being allowed in combat class. As more students began to hate her for how quickly she was climbing the ranks, I could only see it ending in a tragic ‘accident’. So I had her removed from the class and partnered with the only two people I could trust to keep her safe.
She sips her coffee before answering. “I think we are going to try something with the cars today. I’ve been thinking about ways to evade faster cars, for obvious reasons, and I think I have a few ideas.”
I gasp jokingly. “You mean driving off the side of a cliff isn’t the best idea?”
She presses her lips together, but I can see the faint smile that touches them. I’m starting to understand why Damien acts so crazy around her. Those smiles are like a breath of fresh air. We continue our walk in a comfortable silence.
“I didn’t peg you for a jokester,” she says. "You surprise me a lot."
“I don’t joke with many people.” Looking up ahead I see the shed come into view. “When I’m around other people, I’m expected to be a specific person. Someone to be feared, a person in authority. Someone who has the answers and maintains control. I rarely act like myself. The guys are the only ones I can let go around, the only ones where I don’t have to put on the carefully crafted cool exterior. I can be me. Sometimes with them, I struggle to take the mask off, but at least I know I can.”
“So you’re not a heartless monster all the time?” she asks sarcastically.
“Heartless, no. I care about my people and about our organization. It’s why I struggled so much with them being killed.” I take a breath, trying not to linger on the image of my men, laid out in their own blood. I decide to change the topic to keep my mind from going there.
“Can I ask you a question?” I ask Evie.
“You can ask all you want, I just won’t promise you an answer.”
“That’s fair. I’ve been wondering about this for a while now, and I’m not sure if there will ever be a great time to ask. But I want to know. Why did you lie about not being able to swim?”
She stops dead in her tracks, and my heart jolts with the thought that I’ve upset her. As much as I love our banter and how we are constantly giving each other a hard time, I don’t want that to be the only way we talk to each other.
“I can swim, I just usually don’t,” she says after a moment, keeping things vague.
“Why?” I ask. I won’t be able to file this question away until I know.
She sighs as she continues walking. “I have a lot of scars. There aren’t many bathing suits for women that cover them and I don’t like people asking questions. Questions lead to me having to lie, or worse, tell the truth. And that only leads to looks of pity. So I avoid it all by not swimming.”
“Okay,” I say, finally understanding. I’ve seen a few of her scars. Lev filled me in on what Doc has said about some of them. It makes sense that she would want to keep them hidden.
We arrive at the shed as Evie downs the last of her coffee, handing me the cup. “What’s the code?” she asks, as she approaches the door. I give her the numbers and we scan her fingerprint into the system. I attempt to hand her back her cup, but she ignores me as we make our way through each door.
I set it down by the entrance, having no interest in carrying it around while we go and meet the little sociopath who thought they could fool me. When I walk up to the door, Evie hesitates.
