Envy and Evelyn || The Twilight Saga

Chapter Seven: Fear

I glared at the picture. The slightly-blurred man in the background, honestly, looked no older than twenty. He was tall, lithe... handsome, I had to admit. His honey-blonde hair was tousled in a timeless sort of way. With his devious grin and those expensive clothes, he could've been a male model that I'd seen in a fashion magazine. My mom, in the picture, looked at him like he was the best thing in the world.

The back of the picture confirmed all my suspicions. In Sue's handwriting was written Leah, Rebecca, and Isabella– December 1987. It lined up exactly nine months before I was born.

"Gotta be him," I muttered. "A."

Jacob frowned. "You gonna spend all day staring at the picture, or?"

"What do you think Sue meant when she said I wasn't ready for the answers?" I asked him, furrowing my eyebrows.

Jacob shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe your dad wasn't a nice guy."

"Well, that's a given." I chewed on my lip. "He left me."

Jacob took the picture from between my fingers. "Well, you're not gonna figure it out by doing this. You're just gonna give yourself a migraine."

I sighed, moving to lay back on his twin-sized bed. "I guess you're right. I just... I don't know, Jake. I feel like there's this... weight on my lungs, and it's never gonna lift until I figure out who he is."

Jacob laid next to me. "Well, this guy might be your father, but that doesn't mean anything." He turned to look at me. "You're so much more than whoever he was."

I shook my head. "No. I'm not. Jake, I'm screwed up. And it's all because of him."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

I sighed as I turned to look at the ceiling. "Ever since I found out I wasn't Charlie's daughter, there's just been this question. Well, all these questions. Who was he? Why'd he leave?" Tears pricked at my eyes. "Why wasn't I worth it? And then I started wondering, why wasn't I good enough? And if my dad is this anti-responsibility leaver and my mom is a narcissistic cheater, then what am I? Who am I? If your parents say anything about who you are, how you turn out..." I let out a dry laugh. "I've got to be awful."

"Hey," he whispered. "Look at me."

I turned, looking him in the eyes.

"You're the best person I know," he muttered. He lightly brushed his hand against mine, and I wanted to hold it so badly. "It doesn't matter who your parents are."

I felt tears fall down my face. "That's the worst part, Jake– I'm not a good person. All I do is screw things up. That day on the beach, I didn't leave because I didn't like you." I took a deep breath. "I left because I was scared."

Jacob's eyes softened. "Scared of what?"

"That I didn't deserve you. That I'd hurt you," I breathed. "And then I did, anyway."

Jacob sat up, pulling me with him. "Evie, what if I told you that I lied before?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "About what?"

"It wasn't... just a stupid kiss," he muttered, his dark eyes sparkling like onyx. "Not to me. So, I'm a liar." He laughed softly. "Because... I like you, and I have for a while. And... I don't think that'll change any time soon."

My breath hitched in my throat as I fumbled for words, for anything to say at all.

"You don't have to say it back," he whispered. "You don't have to say anything."

But I wasn't going to let my commitment issues ruin my life again– because I wanted him. I wanted him so much it was hard to breathe, sometimes. I couldn't let Jacob leave me again, because needing him might've hurt, but losing him was exponentially worse and more terrifying.

"Can you kiss me again?" I whispered, looking up into his eyes. "I promise I won't screw it up this time."

He laughed, and then leaned forward, pressing his forehead to mine. "You're so pretty when you're worried."

I laughed softly. "I'll keep that in mind."

He kissed me, and I felt butterflies erupt in my stomach and up through my chest. I wrapped my arms around his neck as he pulled me closer.

He pulled back from the kiss, once again resting his forehead on mine. "So..."

"So," I whispered back. "I think it's safe to say that I like you, too."

Jacob smiled. "So, when do I meet your folks?"

"Hah-hah," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

He laughed. Then, he sighed, his face suddenly serious. "Would it be weird to say that I've been dreaming about this since you left?"

I smiled, shaking my head. "No."

He grinned. "It's getting late. I should take you home. Unless..."

"Not a chance, Black," I giggled, hopping off of his bed. I grabbed my picture from his side table, putting it back into my back pocket. "We resume the investigation tomorrow."

He laughed, standing up. "Okay."

He placed another quick kiss to my lips before grabbing his jacket and mine. I slipped my jacket on, and he and I walked out of his room. He shut the door behind us, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"Hey, Dad, I'm taking Evie home."

Billy was in his chair, watching the game. Without even looking up from the TV, he said, "No offense to you, Evelyn, but I'd be more comfortable if the two of you stayed in here from now on."

Jacob's eyes widened, and he chuckled in embarrassment. "Why's that?"

"Don't insult me, son," Billy said. He grinned at Jacob. "I'm happy you two made up, but I don't want grandchildren any time soon."

Jacob started choking on nothing. "Dad!"

I chuckled. "You don't have anything to worry about, Billy."

"Good," he said, his dark eyes shifting to me. "Oh, and Eve?"

"Hm?"

His tone put a chill down my spine. "Tell your sister to stay away from that Cullen boy. He's bad news."

I just nodded, swallowing thickly as Jacob pulled me to leave.