Evelyn Kang was a lot of things to a 10 year old Rafe Cameron. She was sticky, loud, clumsy and a girl. Any one of Sarah's little friends drove him up the wall but she seemed to take first place. He claimed he hated Evelyn, even though he had given her the nickname 'Evie' which was one only he could use. He despised her, even though he gave her extra napkins when he was forced to take the girls out for ice cream only because 'she was incapable of eating ice cream normally'. And he really couldn't stand it when she was so careless at the playground, falling off anything and everything because it would make his chest feel tight.
He claimed that Eve was an idiot, a nuisance when she had fallen badly and scraped both of her hands one day during summer break. He scowled and grumbled, showing how 'frustrated' he was even though he helped her anyways. He carried her back to the house when she cried, gently running her small hands under lukewarm water. It was a gentleness that was foreign to the boy, ever since he had started acting out recently. But when it came to Eve, it just felt natural.
Rafe had bandaged the girl up silently, his chest feeling tight as he examined the red skin on her palms. He couldn't look at Eve's stupid, tearful face— it would make him feel worse.
"I'm done." He grumbled, letting go of her hand. He wasn't exactly sure what to do when he saw her scraped hands, so he had put some ointment he had seen Rose use for his cuts and put it on Eve's. He then put a bunch of bandages over it, hoping that would somehow heal the girl. They were his favorite Spider-man ones, and for some reason Rafe hoped that she didn't mind. He hated that he cared about what Eve thought.
"Thank you." Eve mumbled, sniffling a bit. She looked up at the boy, admiring his pretty blue eyes and soft blonde hair. At 8 years old, she had no idea what the definition of a crush was. All she knew was that she desperately wanted to hang onto Rafe Cameron and never let him go, even though he was a bit mean. Sarah had told her that boys were mean to girls who they thought were pretty. Young Eve lived by that statement, her delusion of a chance with Rafe starting pretty young.
As she grew older, she realized how much she was infatuated with the boy. He was just so handsome in her eyes and seemed to become more and more attractive with age. Unfortunately he also became more and more destructive.
Eve was 13 when she walked up to the Cameron's house, finding a distraught Sarah walking out. She tried to wipe away at her tears, but they kept flowing. Eve's eyebrows furrowed as she walked up to her friend, waiting for an explanation.
"Rafe's not doing so well. We have to hang out somewhere else. Dad told me so." Sarah mumbled, rubbing at her arms to comfort herself. Eve frowned, knowing how bad Rafe's meltdowns could be.
"What's wrong with him?" She asked as the pair began walking away from the house. It wasn't meant in a malicious way, Eve genuinely had no idea why Rafe acted the way he did. Her classes only recently began to dive into mental health, but she wasn't sure if there was any correlation.
"Rose says he's sick...like mentally, not physically. That he needs help. But dad says that he's fine. That apparently teenage boys are just like that." Sarah explained, shrugging her shoulders. Eve was skeptical, considering that her three close friends, JJ Maybank, Pope Heyward and John B. Routledge never acted like that. JJ was more of a firecracker, but compared to Rafe, he was way calmer.
After hanging out with Sarah, Eve laid in bed that night, wondering how she was able to help Rafe. As a 13 year old, she truly believed she could do something, not understanding the extent to Rafe's mental issues. Even though it wasn't something she fully understood at the time, she still thought of something. Eve picked up her favorite teddy bear, quickly running out of her house, hoping to bike to the Cameron's before the sun fully set. Her mother was still at work so she had time.
Eve made it in record time, pushing her bike to the side and running up the cobblestone path. She rang the doorbell a few times, bouncing on her heals as she waited for someone to open the door.
"What do you want." Rafe drawled, narrowing his eyes when he saw the young girl in front of him. Eve blushed, handing him the stuffed bear she brought. It was tattered and old, but it was so special to her and Eve hoped that Rafe would feel appreciated.
"Sarah told me that you were upset, so I wanted to cheer you up. I know it's stupid but...this bear has brought me a lot of comfort so I hope it can do the same to you." Eve rambled, her hand starting to shake the longer she held the bear out. Her eyes were wide and hopeful, looking up at Rafe, hoping he would accept her gift.
The boy looked at the bear then back at Eve, then back at the bear once more. He took it out of her hand to examine it, making the young girl's heart soar.
"I'm not five." He muttered before tossing the bear behind Eve. The girl gasped watching as her favorite toy landed into a wet, mud pile. When she turned around to face Rafe, the door was slammed in her face. Eve was sure that was the first time she ever experienced heartbreak.
The girl choked back a sob as she ran towards her bear, lifting it up by its arm and inspecting the damage. She let her tears flow, biking all the way back home while crying softly to herself.
At 15 years old, Sarah knocks on Eve's window. The girl scoffs, opening it to reveal the blonde. They weren't friends anymore, they hadn't been ever since high school started. After Sarah had ditched Kiara Carrera, Eve broke off the friendship, hating how disloyal her ex best friend had been to her new best friend. It was hard, but Eve felt as if it was the right thing to do...the Cameron family had only brought her pain.
"Can I help you." Eve sighed, not failing to notice Sarah's tear stained face.
"I'm sorry...I'm so so sorry I just...Eve I don't know what to do." Sarah sobbed, kneeling down to the floor. Eve's eyes widened as she did the same, eventually pulling Sarah into an embrace. The blonde cried and cried, Eve wasn't sure when she'd stop.
Once Sarah had dried most of her tears she explained everything. She ranted about how Rafe had been more violent and angry recently, about how he had disappeared after his graduation party, showing up later to their house higher than she had ever seen him.
"He was doing drugs, Eve. And I'm not talking about weed I mean fucking cocaine." Sarah said, wiping the tears falling from her eyes. Eve froze, releasing her grip to look at Sarah. She had known about Rafe's mental issues, it was obvious to anyone who had ever knew him. His father never helped, and instead put a lot of pressure onto his son. Eve just hoped that it would never turn to this. She had the talks in school, seen the videos that warned her generation.
It always made her feel guilty...but she couldn't help but think Rafe was going down that path. And she had unfortunately been right.
"Shit, I'm sorry Sarah." She mumbled, her chest feeling tight. Even though Rafe had been an asshole to her on multiple occasions, she still cared about him and knew that he was probably in a lot of pain to turn to something so damaging to comfort him.
"He told me not to tell dad, but I had to. He had to know— and I did. Rafe exploded on me when he found out, it was terrifying. That's why I came here, I didn't know if he was going to do anything." Sarah admitted, looking down at Eve's blue rug. Eve's breath hitched, imagining Rafe being rough with Sarah.
"He- he wouldn't. He wouldn't hurt you, Sarah." Eve stuttered, not even believing herself at the moment. Sarah looked at the girl and shook her head, her eyes full of despair.
"He would...he already has."
