Not Today | ✔️

Chapter Forty Three.

"I had all and then most of you
Some and now none of you
Take me back to the night we met..."

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Evelyn was so tired.

Finals felt like they had only just ended and Evelyn already had an important unit test in Literature to study for. As she reread her notes, despite the neat state of her penmanship, the words started to blur together, and Evelyn kept losing her place in her reading. She couldn't stop the yawn that escaped her and she frowned when it made her lose her place again.

"You need to take a break," a voice said and Evelyn jumped in her seat, her eyes lifting to meet Tristan's.

Evelyn looked around the library in confusion. "Where did you even come from?"

"You need to take a break, Evelyn. You look like you're going to drop from exhaustion," he said seriously, and she finally noticed his hands were full as he lowered them to a table, sliding a muffin and a cup of something that was steaming towards her. She looked between it and him skeptically and he rolled his eyes.

"Relax. I don't think you'll hate me any less just because you accept a damn muffin from me."

Evelyn frowned. "I don't hate you."

Tristan winced slightly, as if those words brought more pain than comfort. He just stood there, staring at her, and Evelyn felt awkward. For a moment, her tired state made her wonder if she was in the middle of a weird dream, but her subconscious usually stayed away from anything awkward. She had her fill of that in her daily life.

"What?" she finally asked.

"I'm not leaving until you take a bite and a sip," he said and raised an eyebrow, nodding towards the muffin and drink.

"You're not serious," Evelyn said, but all he did was give her a pointed stare as he crossed his arms over his chest.

A part of Evelyn wanted to just get up and leave, but the library was her sanctuary, and she wouldn't give that up, too. So, she wrapped her hand around the cup and began to lift it, but Tristan's voice made her pause.

"Careful, it's hot," he said.

Evelyn looked down at the steam coming from the cup before she looked back at him. "Thank you for that."

"Anytime," he said, bringing his hand up to run through his hair, as if embarrassed. Evelyn brought the cup to her lips, mostly to hide the nuisance of a smile on her face that had begun to make itself known. For some reason, she'd expected the robust, bold taste of coffee, but instead she instantly recognized the sweet, rich flavor of hot chocolate. Evelyn closed her eyes for a second. Not only was it delicious, but the warm beverage only increased her drowsiness.

She set the cup down and half-expected Tristan to be satisfied, but he just stood there, not moving, and Evelyn almost rolled her eyes as he gestured to the muffin. She unwrapped it and bit into the muffin, soft and flavorful. She set it down once she was done chewing and though he hesitated, as if he'd rather stay, he nodded once and walked away from her.

Just knowing Tristan was in the same room, and was most likely watching her, studying would be impossible, so she drummed her fingers on the table for a few seconds before she grabbed the muffin and unwrapped it carefully and in its entirety. She finished the muffin quickly, needing to restore the energy studying had zapped right out of her, but she was slow in drinking the hot cocoa. She savored the warmth between her hands as she held it and the sweet, smooth taste she got with every sip.

Not feeling quite ready to stop yet, she moved her handwritten notes aside and opened to the marked page in her book. For a little while, focusing was easy, but her sleepiness hit her more intensely and with every blink, her eyes stayed closed just a bit longer than the blink before. She yawned again, covering her mouth as she stood to throw away the muffin wrapper and put her cup in the recycling.