He's Back

25 - Hot and bothered

*READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE AT THE END OF THE CHAPTER*
Narrator's POV

A few minutes had gone by since the call, and Evelyn had kept herself busy, making up scenarios in her head as to what excuse she'd use to get out of the house and have it be convincing enough for him not to realize where she wanted to go. Thinking about it, want is a strong word as there was no way in hell that she wanted to be there. Like Aiden had said, she just had to get this over with. 

No excuse was good enough, and even if it was, she was sure he'd see her knock next door and get pissed and try to kill her etc etc. She sighed, maybe if she threw the shirt through her window to his window and he did the same, they'd get the job done and wouldn't even have to face each other. Brilliant. Just as she opened her phone to text him, a knock interrupted her. "Come in" she spoke, reluctant, hoping it was Jason on the other side of the door. To her dismay, it was Cole, who seemed oddly in a good mood. 

"Mom asked me to get some stuff from the store, so I guess that's what I'm doing now. Wanna come with?" he asked and Evelyn's eyes lit up. "Yes!" she thought, this was her chance to escape. "Yes?" Cole asked, he surely didn't expect her to be this enthusiastic about the store. "Huh? Oh, no, no I just remembered I don't have math tomorrow so that's a win for me. Yay!" she tried to cover it up, looking away from him. He wasn't supposed to hear that, she didn't even realize it had slipped her tongue. Stupid she thought. "So are you coming or what?" he asked again, boredom lacing his words as his patience was running thin. "Sorry, no, I need to get this project finished. Think you'll be okay on your own over there?" she teased him. 

"Ha-ha, very funny. Alright, I'm heading out, be good" he emphasized on the last word and she simply nodded, pretending to shuffle through books to find something. The minute she heard the front door shut and the car's engine start, it was showtime. She quickly got dressed, went over to Jason's room to tell him she was leaving and to call her if anything happened and left a note on the table for her mom or Cole, saying she was going to Bailey's, before texting Bailey to tell her that if anyone asks, they're together. 

Lastly, she grabbed the hoodie that was resting comfortably on her chair, feeling glad that she would finally give it back to its owner, as she remembered everything she had to go through because of it. Reaching his front door, she took a deep breath and lifted her hand to knock, but was almost made to fall forward as the door suddenly opened before she could get to knock. 

"Did you get lost on the way?" she heard his cold voice, his eyes hostile, it was like she was looking at a stranger. Little did she know it felt strange to him too, to be speaking to her like that and he only hoped his act would be good enough to be believable. "I told you, I had to get past Cole. Now, where's my shirt?" She got straight to the point, her attitude matching his, and one side of him was glad that she was getting annoyed since it meant his plan was working. The other though, God only knew how many times it had replayed the kiss, her presence only making it unable to forget it.

Nonetheless, he smirked "Not yet, Hayes, you and I need to have a little chat first" Evelyn thought the smirk meant that some of his playfulness had remained in tact and that he was breaking his shell as time went by, but she quickly realized that his tone of voice, stance and smirk had nothing playful. His seriousness was almost sinister. "And why would I want to do that with you?" she crossed her arms over her chest, narrowing her eyes. Aiden chuckled and took a step closer to her before almost whispering "Honey, I don't care about what you want. Come inside, or don't." and just like that, he turned his back to her and walked inside the house, leaving the door open for her to close.

Evelyn was fuming, she wanted to put his head between the door and its frame and shut it so many times that it would break. His head, not the door. She grunted, frustrated and for a moment she considered throwing the hoodie inside, closing the door, and going home, but something, that not even she could identify made her walk in. Aiden was sat in one of the high stools they had in his kitchen, typing away on his phone. He motioned for her to sit, but she didn't want to. "Just say what you want to say already I don't have all day"