The Bad Boy's Sleepover

Chapter 26

The smell of freshly cut grass wafted through the air. It lingered around Eva as she lay on a mat, trying to study. Her eyes narrowed to pincers and she scowled at the help attending to the lawn. They were disturbing her studies and it was enough to make her explode. 

She stood up abruptly, her eyes narrowed on the latest landscaper her mother had hired. He was tall and brooding, with sharp green eyes and the kind of jawline that you saw on a-list actors. He was exactly her mother's type and she hated him on sight. 

The waning sunlight was already casting shadows over their vast, already well maintained lawn which meant evening was slowly turning to night. It was hardly the time to be snipping at bushes and discussing fountain fixtures. 

Her mother waved her over to meet her latest tryst but Eva wasn't having any of it. She cast him a wicked sneer and walked away, ignoring her mother's annoyed expression. 

This happened every time her parents fought. Her father would leave the house to go God only knows where while her mother would bring back all sorts of men, pretending they were there for some important business. 

The timing would be opportune, just right for her father to walk back in, see the so called 'hot' guy and chase him out. Then they would have another huge fight and proceed to their bed room. 

Eva didn't want to think about what happened after. 

She tucked her books under chin and sighed to herself as she marched up the winding staircase to her room. The kitchen staff were bustling busily downstairs, getting dinner ready for the guests her parents were expecting. She could hear the soft clanking of fine china being laid on down on the table. 

Soon the circus would presume as it usually did. Eva's parents skirting around their important guests, underlying tension sweeping the room between her fighting parents, Eva stuck in the middle, pretending to smile through it all. 

The thought of another night like this made her groan out loud but then she remembered all she had been given. Eva was so lucky, luckier than every other girl in school. She was given everything she wanted and she showed her gratitude by giving it her all the only way she could, by excelling as a daughter and student. 

It was the only way she could prove herself worthy of their approval. 

She marched into her room, gazing at the photos and all the medals and awards she had pasted all over the wall. She had made sure to fill it up, to show her father her worth every time he walked in. 

She remembered the proud look on his face the first few times he did grace her room with his presence but those moments were becoming scarce. It made Eva's chest feel heavy with dread, every time she caught him looking at her with empty eyes. 

Eva tried her best, she knew she did. Every time she achieved, she would win back just a little bit of his heart but even she could not lie to herself when it came to her father. 

Ever since the secret about his biological son came to light, Maximus Simmons had changed. Eva had pretended not to notice the vacant stares she received, felt bits of his attention slip away from her, the heart that belonged to her now replaced by another. 

And how could she ever compare?

She ran to her bathroom and retched into the toilet bowl. Her heart was beating furiously in her chest, she hated this feeling, these sudden attacks of fear. 

She didn't know where he was. The problem is no one knew if he was alive or dead. Eva dreamed of the news of a body found in the woods on a daily basis. At least then the secrets would die with him and she would be free to live her life and pretend none of it ever happened.