EVANGELINE."I still don't get why you haven't quitted, you bitch!" Esther spat as I sat down next to her and tried to read a book I was even too disorganized to read. I was caught off guard. Seeing Asher here had completely thrown me off. Fine, I learned that they were brothers, but they fucking lived together? Does this make me a parasite? I suddenly felt bad about accepting Asher's help, but Asher needed that stability more than anything else. Though I was sure that I could pull it off just as I'd always done from the beginning, why reject such an opportunity because of my petty feelings? I smiled at Esther, "Probably because I like to be surrounded by people like me… I guess. So, we're going to bond over a nice novel today. What about the great Gatsby or…Wuthering heights? Trust me, they're really nice choices of books I picked from your library, and they might also teach us a thing or two about human emotions. I must say, you have taste, woman!"Esther scowled, rolling her whee
EVANGELINE.Hurriedly, I spun and ran towards Esther's living room, hearing their footsteps behind me. I'd be dead if their father, with that demeanor of his, had caught me eavesdropping on them. My chest twinged, heavy with the drastic emotions I'd been jumping into from today, right from meeting Asher, Esther's story, and now I was pondering over how bad Axel's relationship with his father was. Was that why he was so messed up? I leaned against the door and panted, trying to catch my breath as I looked up to Esther's worried face. I inhaled through my mouth, feeling my chest thump violently. "Have you told them? Did Axel leave?" She asked with a worried tone as she lifted her head at me, waiting for a response that I didn't even know how to give. Did Axel leave? No, he was being fried by his father. Something about that scene made my chest hurt a little too much.Just as I moved closer to her, I heard the footsteps grow nearer, and I dashed to the table, picking up a book and mutt
EVANGELINE.The day has been quite hectic, with my emotions sprawled all over the place. I kept thinking back to the moment I had with Axel yesterday and what I could have done differently. He seemed really hurt. It was evening already and my closing time.As I stepped into the elevator, I was hit by the overwhelming urge to call him or see him and apologize for how I acted. I didn't know how but Axel seemed to have grown on me the worst way possible. I didn't know if that was a good thing, especially with the kind of history that we shared, he was the last person to get attached to, and I tried hard to avoid it.The elevator dinged and came to a halt at the last floor, and I stepped out to meet the last set of people I'd have imagined. I choked on my spit, staring at Mercury and Axel chat away just a few steps away from me. They were blocking the way to the lobby, which meant there was no avoiding them if I wanted to get out of there. My thoughts scrambled as I was rooted on the spo
EVANGELINE.Something felt…different. I jolted when I realized what it was. My hands were still in Axel's since we got out of his car. I hated that I liked it, and I wanted him to keep holding me like that. Slowly, I pulled mine away from his and instantly erased it with awkwardness by bringing up a conversation."Are you sure you can stomach this, though?" I asked him as we walked into the theater. I was still a bit dizzy from the crazy driving Axel did; one would think he was in the Asphalt race. My stomach churned, and I felt uneasy, probably because I was now on a date with the same guy I was supposed to be staying away from.No biggie, right? "Pfft," he rolled his eyes. "What am I, a pussy? Of course, I can handle it! It's just some superficial scary movie of things that never actually happened.""Hm-hm," I nodded as we finally walked in and picked a seat on the third row. The room was dimly lit, and there were very few people in it— their silhouette, at least, since we couldn't
EVANGELINE.Although I wasn't sure it was a good idea, Axel was now parked in front of my apartment, and I dreaded having to ask him in, except he wanted to. The drive had been a quiet one after the kiss that happened, and I kept replaying the moment in my head. Right now, what were we?"You know-""Do you-"We started our sentences at the same time. I giggled, "You first," I said to him, pushing my hair away from my face.Axel sucked his tongue. "Nope, you first. Ladies first." He looked at me again, the corner of his lips curved upwards into a degrading smirk. Axel removed his hands from the steering wheel and folded them across his chest. "I might as well be the lady here, seeing how you sit perfectly still when people get murdered on the screen.""Correct," I made a gun with my fingers. "You're not just a lady, but a chicken too! How can you be that terrified?"He shrugged, "Normal people don't wake up and decide to watch horror movies out of the blue." He eyed me again, "Only th
EVANGELINE.I clutched my bag tighter as we stood before the towering ship. It gleamed in the afternoon sun, its white exterior reflecting in the calm, blue waters. The wind was cool , yet strong. Strong enough to restyle my hair and make me Tarzan from an alternate universe. I'd given up on trying to pat it down.I didn't gasp or react rashly because I was simply incapable of doing so. Whatever my expectation was when I left my apartment, it definitely exceeded it. I was left in complete shock. Why was it so huge and exquisite? Help me breathe!I was dressed too casually for what towered before us. I'd picked out a white tank top and, blue jeans, blue sneakers to match, while Harper was the exact opposite.A crop top and a leather mini skirt that hugged her slim frame in the right ways was her pick. Her hair was packed up in a ponytail, and I was beginning to regret not listening to her when she asked to style mine, too. Harper had her tripod and phone active, capturing every beautif
EVANGELINE. I settled on the chair next to Axel while Harper picked a seat beside us. The game was about to commence, and I was indeed wondering if we were supposed to get doing this as adults, but it seemed fun. This was a vacation anyways, a way to get rid of all this baggage. I couldn't help but steal glances at Axel. I was about to steal another glance when he caught me, then smiled and moved his seat closer to mine. Axel wrapped his hands around my shoulders, and I rested my chin on his hands, feeling everything I should not be feeling. "If we're going to decide this by spinning the bottle, then I guess y'all couples would have to detangle, don't you think?" Mike said with a bitter expression, not bothering to hide his envy. If only he knew I wasn't even sure of what I was doing. "Yeah!" Harper supported enthusiastically. "Let the singles feel alive! Enough of your disgusting cuddles." Everyone giggled, me included, although I didn't even know what we were. Mike, of course,
AXEL. Maybe the night was about to get better or worse. I shot Andrew a glance when I saw the caller ID, and it was the blonde girl again, the one I ALWAYS forgot her name. I sighed, excusing myself from the group before I went to a corner to take the call. She said she was on the ship also. Andrew had invited her even after we'd argued about it a few days ago. Savannah had been around all morning, and suddenly she threatened to come up the deck. Messy, I tell you. This vacation was the perfect plan to get Evangeline to loosen up a little more, although I admit that I was also getting used to her. She was adorable like that, which also made her a bit different from other girls. I knew, at the end of the day, she'd turn out not so different. I went downstairs to meet Savannah and found that she was in my room, in a goddamn lingerie. Apparently, she'd also managed to get a key from Andrew. This was a nasty setup. On the edge of the bed sat Savannah in the cool, dim lighting where th
AXEL. (Final)Asher would get married tomorrow, although it doesn't seem like he's planning on it. He'd vanished into the thin air, and our parents had been worried for a few days.It wasn't like they hadn't realized he really didn't want to do it. He'd told them several times. Now, I was charged with the responsibility of finding him, but to no avail. I barely even knew where he used to be, not to talk of successfully guessing his hideout.I had one last place in mind, and I'd made it my last because a part of me never wanted to believe that it was possible. He couldn't be with Evangeline, right? She'd specifically told us not to contact her anymore.I still did, as frequently as I could, to make sure she knew I was still waiting. I didn't know what to do, and I very much wanted to respect her decision, too. It would be so wrong of me to intrude. Still, I thought about her every day.Every minute, she was on my mind, and I kept wondering how she was doing. If she was fine, if she ate
ASHER.It's been a few days. The doctors only told me that Marcus had been discharged although when I reached out to his teachers, they confirmed that he hadn't resumed school yet, which meant he was with Evangeline here.I wouldn't blame her if she didn't want me close to him, but I did want to know how Marcus was doing. We had left the hospital in a hurry on Evangeline's request, so I didn't have the chance to be there for him the way I wanted to, and that hurt so much. I dropped my suitcase on the chair and fell onto the couch. It was a long day at work today and it was even worse because I couldn't concentrate on the things I had to do. It was almost as though I had detached from the world around me. It terrified me so much.It hadn't been up to a minute since I walked in when the door opened again. The low creaking sound forced me to open my eyes, and I saw Mercury and my mother walk in. I sighed tiredly, already frustrated by the discussion that hadn't even begun yet.I didn't
EVANGELINEMarcus was now conscious. I was the first person he saw and recognized after he opened his eyes yesterday. There was no greater joy. The moment I realized that he was fine, half the stress I had been feeling melted into nothing.Now, he was asleep, and I was back to the unfortunate hospital chair, swallowed by my thoughts again. It wasn't a bad thing sometimes. I couldn't help but imagine what I'd have been like if Marcus hadn't opened his eyes.I was dotting my 'Is' and crossing my 'Ts,' doing everything that needed to be done before I began a new chapter. Closure might seem far, but it was worth the try.I informed Harper about the accident last night but told her not to bother coming since Marcus was getting better. I could handle that much by myself now. I already sent the brothers off yesterday, seeing as their presence did my heart more harm than good.Asher was more reluctant to go, judging from the kind of relationship he had with Marcus, and I couldn't blame him.
EVANGELINE.Asher and I were on the same hospital chair, waiting for the results from the blood transfusion. Axel was still in, and waiting for him was the most tortuous thing I'd ever had to deal with.We sat in silence. I was so overwhelmed with sadness, and it gnawed at my chest. Asher, being a person who always read the room, stuck with the silence. My legs wouldn't stop shaking, and I couldn't seem to stop shedding tears either.My palms were pressed together in a prayer. I broke the silence by speaking first. "They said…it was on the football field…""Hm-hm," Asher nodded, his gaze was fixed in the empty space."He—" I took a pause to catch my breath. "He slipped and fell and—" hit his head. I was supposed to add that, but my mouth wouldn't make the words. I couldn't seem to believe that it was Marcus and he'd ever go through something this terrible."I…called him the night before," Asher said, "And…we had this…chess tournament after which he told me…"Do you think I should try
EVANGELINE"Where is he!?" I shouted again, and Asher was looking just as perplexed as I was. I turned to him. "Haven't you seen him since you got here?""I haven't, Evangeline," He responded tersely. "They didn't let me.""What do you mean they didn't let you?" Axel intercepted. "You haven't seen him, then why are you even here? What did the doctor say?"Asher huffed, "Well, I guess I should have barged into the fucking room then! They didn't let me see him! It had barely been fifteen minutes since I got here. All I know is the ward he is!""Can you two shut up and just show me the ward?!" I shouted as I walked down the hallway at an increased pace and they followed me. This was the worst time for them to be arguing. Asher overtook and led the way, then pointed to a ward as he continued down the hall. "This one."Oh god! Oh god! I was panicking, and my entire body shook on its own. What did the poor child do to deserve something like this happening to him? What exactly happened? Ho
EVANGELINE.We were meeting at a restaurant not very far from my apartment. I texted to meet up and scheduled it for today. Sitting in the restaurant had been a chore of its own. I seem to be the center of attention for no reason at all.Then I remembered that there was an art ik about me flying around. One that somehow hadn't seen the light. I wondered if Asher bothered to deny the rumors or if he just left them to linger and cause more hurt.It was weird how I had earlier thought something could work out between all three of us. I'd been hesitant to let go of my relationship with them, but I have decided what I thought was best for us. There wasn't a way I could be with Axel if Asher still harbored those feelings. His drunken call last night terrified me.I hadn't taken him to be the kind who drank. I figured I should draw a line and fast, no matter how much it killed me.Aside that, I'd been hurt way too much by Axel that I couldn't see past it. People didn't just spring up with a
ASHERAfter hearing of the impromptu meeting Axel had set up with the shareholders, I couldn't hold back the anger I felt for him. As the acting head of the organization, I had the right to be aware of any meeting to take place.It was as though he'd gone behind my back to do it on purpose, and somehow, Axel had also managed to incite pity in their minds. Rumors about him spread like wildfire in the office. A lot of people were on his side, and they felt sorry for him since he'd been in the shadows for so long.Do they even know what he'd been doing in the shadows or how much I'd cleaned up after him? I doubt he mentioned any of that. I doubt he mentioned how he got wasted, got into trouble, and had fights that landed him in police custody on late nights. He must have forgotten to tell them that.He must have left out the part where I wasn't given the chance to be a child all so I could fill in for his inefficiency. How I was made to grow up earlier than I should, so I could jump into
AXELThe sun had just begun its ascent into the morning sky as I strode into the headquarters of the company. I'd spent the whole of last week getting settled in last week. It was finally time to do something differently, to set the path I wanted.I've had this thought, but it got worse since the article about Evangeline and Asher hit the net. The amount of affluence he had that made people so interested in his business— I wanted to have it, too. A part of me believed it was possible with the right amount of work.I just hoped Evangeline took me back when she noticed my effort. She hadn't been responding to my texts, nor had she returned any of my calls. It took all my willpower not to camp outside her apartment like I always had since she'd already warned me against it. I missed her so much. It felt like there was a hole in my chest.Each step I took echoed through the polished marble floors of the grand lobby, a stark contrast to the weight that pressed down on my shoulders. Today m
EVANGELINEMy patience wore thin as Axel's mother continued to push me to accept her offer and disappear from her sons' lives. The condescension in her tone and the dismissive way she spoke of my feelings for Axel grated on my nerves.Unable to contain my frustration any longer, I leaned forward and said through gritted teeth, "Can I let you in on a little secret, Mrs. White?""Oh, please!" She rubbed her forehead, frustrated. "There's more to this!? The whole thing makes me so uncomfortable already!" "Hm," I nodded reluctantly, ready to burn everything to the ground with a smile planted on my face. "I'm pregnant, and it's for Axel." It didn't take me too much to spill the words since I was already tired of her insensitivity. "Before you say the next thing on your mind, I think it's imperative for you to know that I did try to get rid of the child…my child for your son's happiness, but…that didn't work out for me, just like everything else!"Her reaction was instantaneous, her eyes w