All Eyes on Me

Chapter 8

Maci really wished she could undo the last half an hour of her life, but she can't, and now she's definitely paying for it. It wasn't enough that her cheeks reddened -- hence the desire for water, to cool off -- but her body tingled when it moved against Evan's. Not like she meant to, it was such a small space she didn't have anywhere else to go. She didn't even realize she had held her breath until her hands cupping the water started to shake. Once she exhaled, her hand stopped trembling, and she finished splashing the water on her face. Then, she slowly opened the door, and made her way over to the sofa adjacent to the one April and Ben claimed. They had finally separated from one another, and were watching some action hero movie Maci didn't immediately recognize.

The way the living area was set up, there was one large window along the back center, with the one side exit door behind the TV. The flat screen itself was mounted off the wall, a small stand underneath for show. The couches sat diagonal from the television, the one April and Ben were on faced more towards the window; the one Maci occupied faced more towards the screen. She debated asking if they wanted to switch places, but they'd been glued to that same spot for an hour or so by now, so she ultimately decided against it. She propped her head up with her elbow, watching mindlessly as some masked avenger was fighting someone else. Sometimes -- like now, for example -- she thought her own life was a movie, considering some of the shit she'd been through was worthy of a Coppola film.

If you had asked her 6 months ago if she'd picture herself being in witness protection concerning a case, she would have thought you were crazy. But, then again, she may never have gotten the opportunity she had out in LA if she hadn't missed the first conference, as ridiculous as that sounds. Maci shook her head. It was weird how things worked sometimes. Like out of all the people within the Harrowbrook Police Department, of course her ex-boyfriend and his best friend, (who also happened to be dating her best friend,) would be the ones assigned as their detail.

She recalled her earlier conversation with Evan, and how she said there were worse people to be stuck with. It was true, but that didn't do anything to help the heat that reemerged on her cheeks at the thought of him. Despite her face feeling hot, she felt a chill run down her spine, so she went upstairs to grab a jacket or sweater.

She went into the small closet and pulled out one of her high school hoodies. She slipped it on, feeling a little better having a piece of home with her here. The dumbest thought of I wonder if Evan knew that and that's why he picked it up crossed her mind, but she dismissed it. No, he's not that guy for her anymore. Nor was she the girl he did things like that for. They hadn't been an "each other" let alone an "us" in a long while. She didn't think that was going to change anytime soon, no matter how many times her body told her differently.

She had made her way downstairs, still lost in thought and ready to sit down in her original location when she landed on a something rock solid, as opposed to the sinking softness of the sofa.

"Oh," she matched the voice to Evan, who of course, took a seat on the only other available couch in the room.

She whipped her head around, positioning her hips back, more towards her right, and then sat down in the open cushion. "Sorry," she whispered, not wanting to look at him. She knew logically that she'd probably just touched his leg, but considering she'd almost landed in his lap, she assumed she'd gotten a little farther than she thought. So much for them not having any awkward moments. Course, little did each know they'd already had a fairly intense moment earlier, with only one degree of separation. The exes also failed to notice their friends' knowing glance they shared.

Even so, the foursome settled in for a rather boring first night in the Smokies, only conversing when they needed. One such conversation was whether or not to order food or pick up groceries. They couldn't risk having anyone come to their location, even if it was a seemingly harmless delivery person. Therefore, if the girls wanted pizza, one of the guys would go get it; that was precisely what happened, Ben volunteered to pick it up, Evan stayed put with Maci and April.