I Broke The Girl I Loved

I Forgot

The sun was setting behind the trees outside of my window, letting the moon and the stars adorn the dark sky. I had been nonstop painting since the moment I picked up my paintbrush. Different shades of green made up the forest that now covered the wall my window was on. It was therapeutic for me to get lost in the different shades of paint and strokes of my brush. I stood back and crossed my arms, admiring my work. I made a couple minor tweaks and then I smiled in satisfaction.

I was covered in paint, little marks of green scattered across my bare skin and clothes. As I reached for my phone it started buzzing with a call. The number was unknown so I declined. Once my screen dismissed the call I noticed that I had seventeen notifications from Aydrian and ten missed calls from the number that has just popped up on my screen; I instantly called back.

"Mr. Maxton?"

"Yes, this is he," I responded, unsure of who was calling.

"You are Evie's older brother, correct?" She asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Oh crap! I forgot," I mumbled. "Yes, yes," I quickly rushed out.

She sighed. "She's with a girl named Aydrian. Aydrian is not listed as a family member so I was not going to allow her to leave with Evie however Evie seemed comfortable around the girl and you never showed. She was a sweet girl who showed me pictures and told me stories of how close you were. I called her parents to confirm and had them come her to check Evie out of school. I suggest you thank her with the most sincerity you can muster because she did you a huge favor." The annoyance was peaking through her voice more now and I let out a shaky breath.

"Look," she started in a softer tone. "I heard about your father and your home situation and I send my deepest condolences but if you are going to care for your sister the way I assume you have been, you need to get your act together. She is young, she needs love and attention and if it is clear that she is not receiving that then I will need to call Child Protective Services and file neglect since I am obligated as an educator to do so. That is something I know we both don't want but when raising a child you have to make decisions that are the best for them."

I could barely breathe and my chest stung from the lack of oxygen it was receiving. Losing Evie was the last thing I could handle right now.

I cleared my throat and sniffled. "I will give her what she needs in a home, I promise. I'm sorry that I messed up and I understand the consequences are for the best if I do again but I promise you that I won't. Thank you for letting her go with Aydrian's family, they're good people."

"I believe you'll do what is best for Evie," the lady said. "Goodbye Mr. Maxton."

"Goodbye."

                                      ***

I weakly knocked on Aydrian's door, still completely covered in paint having rushed over as soon as I got off the phone. It opened almost immediately and I was met with sympathetic eyes. Molly embraced me in a hug as I thanked her for taking the time out of her day to go and pick Evie up as well as have her over and feed her dinner. She just shook her head.

When she pulled away she gave me a small smile. "Evie is always welcome and so are you. Caring for another human at the same time that you are still trying to care for yourself is too much work to be left on a teenagers shoulder. Whenever you need a break we would be happy to have her over."

I embraced her again as tears pooled in my eyes at her kind words. "That means a lot."

Again she waved off my comment and let me in. The scent of barbecue chicken wafted towards my nose and I realized that I loved coming to their house around dinner time simply for the way that it smelt. I walked towards the dining room, everyone's heads turning towards me as I appeared. When Evie's eyes met mine she smiled with a mouthful of chicken and dropped her fork on her plate. She struggled to get off her chair but once she did she sprinted full speed into my arms.

I smiled as I picked her up and spun her around. She giggled and buried her face in my neck.

"I missed you Jayce," she said. "But I had the best time with Derrick and Lylah! Thank you for letting me come over."

"Of course kiddo," I replied. I hadn't heard that word since he passed away but somehow using it made me feel closer to him.

"You know you're covered in paint right?" She noted pointing to my outfit and arms.

I laughed, "no I hadn't noticed."

"You should clean up then," she replied before I set her back down.

She ran back to her seat to finish her dinner. John pulled another chair up to the table and Molly was already motioning for me to sit with a fresh plate of food in her hand. They had already done so much for me so I politely declined their offer, not wanting them to do more than they already had, however they wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Thank you, this is delicious," I stated after swallowing the first bite of my chicken.

"Oh please it's our pleasure," Molly said as she looked at John who already happened to be smiling at her. The love between the two made me envious of Aydrian's lifestyle.

Dinner was soon over and Evie had ran off with Lylah and Derrick, probably playing video games. Molly and John were talking on the couch as Aydrian and I cleaned the kitchen, after I offered to do so alone. It was relatively easy since they had done most of the cleaning during their cooking process but there were a few dishes so I washed those. The whole time I could feel Aydrian's unwavering gaze on my back and it looked as though she was walking on egg shells around me.

When I finished the dishes I turned to look at her, effectively causing her eyes to widen once she knew I was staring. She looked away and pretended to busy herself with putting away the spices. I went to help, reaching for the salt shaker at the same time she did. Our hands brushed against each other and she blushed while looking down.

Even though she was being timid around me I couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful she was. Her hair was in a ponytail, little flyaways poking out. She had a plain oversized red hoodie on and pajama pants with Christmas trees on them.

"I think it's a little early for Christina's trees," I said as I pointed at her pants. Her blush only deepened causing her cheeks to look like tiny tomatoes.

"It's never too early for Christmas trees," she retorted, attempting to sound confident.

"It's October."

Aydrian knew she couldn't argue with me so instead she settled on saying, "you're just jealous."

"Right," I drawled out.

She playfully hit my chest and leaned into me. A throat cleared causing the two of us to break apart and jump away from each other as if the other had cooties.

"I think it is best you and Evie get going," John said.

I nodded in response, feeling embarrassed for having caused them so much trouble with Evie and now clearing overstaying my welcome. Molly was about to protest but refrained from doing so when I called out for Evie and she was already padding her way down the stairs. Once she made it to the bottom we said our goodbyes. I thanked them once again for everything they did for me today and Molly, of course, sweetly reminded me that they were always there to help. She smiled softly at me and with one last wave, Evie and I made our way to my car, the door shutting softly behind us.