As I Am

Chapter Nineteen

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Nineteen

          I call my parents from the kitchen in Evan’s home. His step-father is out visiting family for the week and his mother is just lingering home, waiting up for Evan. When she sees me follow in behind him her look turns surprised but then she sees the tears and wraps me in her arms without a warning.

            She strokes my hair as Evan tells her what happened and I stand awkwardly in her arms, unsure of whether or not to pull away. The gesture is comforting despite how strange it seems.

            I tell my parents I’m staying at Hadley’s knowing they wouldn’t let me stay at Evan’s even if it was my last night on Earth. When I hang up the phone, Evan’s mother says goodnight and says to let her know what I end up deciding to do about the situation.

            For a few moments after she leaves we hover wordlessly at the bottom of the stairs. I don’t know what to say, so I wait for Evan, who seems to be having the same problem. Eventually he leads me towards the kitchen. I bump into a wall on the way there.

            “We should get you some water,” he mumbles, more to himself than me. He takes a cup from the cupboard and clicks it underneath the cut-out in the fridge. We listen to the water falling until he hands me the glass.

            I sip it graciously, feeling my dry throat become moist and my stomach feel a little bit better. Though I still feel sick, I’m now positive that I’m not going to vomit all over Evan’s feet.

            “Do you want to go to bed?” he asks, leaning his back against the counter.

            I shake my head no. “I don’t think I can sleep right now.”

            He nods, understanding. “Eventful day.”

            I rest my empty glass on the counter and let my elbows sink onto the marble. With Evan watching me the whole time I cover my face with my hands and let them rise up until they’re tangled in my mess of hair. I sigh.

            “Do you want to talk about it?”

            I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to see if it’s possible that this could be a dream. Maybe this whole day was a nightmare and I can just close my eyes and forget it. I open my eyes. It certainly is not a dream.

            “No,” I reply.

            We end up going to Evan’s room and collapsing against the wall at the head of his bed. He gives me a sweater to put on after I change out of my wet bathing suit in his bathroom and I realize it’s the not the same one I returned. Instead, that one is draped on the inside door knob to his room. His comforter seems much too comfy as I sink into the mattress. Evan ends up putting on another movie, this one he explains is one of his favorites.