Heal Me

Chapter 28

It felt different... it felt as if there were hundreds of words that she could say to him and so many stories that he could share with her, but they couldn't; something about the fact that she told Damon about that day made them feel like strangers. It was a horrible feeling and Evangeline feared that nothing would ever be the same between them and she would always feel this void consuming her. She wanted to be happy again and at ease all the time, just like she was before she met him.

Because Damon changed her as well. He did not realize it, but, involuntarily, he opened her eyes and made her see the real world, which was confusing and full of misconceptions; it was crude and vulgar and it showed no mercy to the ones that did not even try to fight it. For, in the end, life in general was an abstract little thing.

Are you alive now or is your heart just filled with hope? Do you feel life running through your veins or is something that you have to reach up to? Perhaps we're all pathetically trapped into a gigantic glass snowball and laughed at.

And as these thoughts ran through Evangeline's head, she decided that she did not wish to know the answer to any of those questions. Maybe she was a coward or maybe she was still just a little girl who was not ready to face all those things yet.

"Do you want me to stay, Damon?" she asked, standing up to look into his eyes.

And that's how Damon realized he had been wrong all this time: she did mean something to him.

He couldn't just let her walk away when she needed comforting; he just couldn't, knowing that she would hide in her room and cry silently, all alone. He hated seeing her with tears running down her face, but he would have rather knew if Evangeline was suffering than be oblivious to her feelings.

"Yeah, I do." Damon said as a red tinge touched his cheeks. "I want you to forget what... he had done to you." he gulped, reaching to hold her hand. It was cold and delicate and she wanted to flinch away, but he kept a strong, comforting hold on her.

"Don't cry..." he whispered, noticing her watery eyes. He just wished he could take her pain away, but he did not know how. And it was so frustrating and unfair because Evangeline's mere presence was like a balm to his wounds, yet he couldn't return the favour and he felt powerless. "I'm sorry..."

"It's not your fault. I will forget one day... just not today." she smiled weakly while sniffing her nose. They just stood there in silence for a few moments, until Damon spoke:

"Do you think ice-cream will help?" he said playfully, trying to change the mood. "We have Mint-Chocolate and Berries. Hmm, what do you say?"

Evangeline just chuckled lightly, trying to block any negative thoughts and memories and focus on the now. She wanted to get over it already and the only way to move on from something is not to act as it did not happen and hopelessly try to erase the past, but to look forward. Because although the world around us becomes only viler as time passes, degrading itself painstakingly slow, life does not, for life is given by God and it is beautiful. And only by looking forward we realize that no matter how fallen apart the world may be, it is life that we have to believe in and it is life that can make us feel complete.

~

"I think I'll be brain-frozen for the rest of my life!" Damon grunted, putting the ice-cream back in the freezer. She just laughed, and took the dirty dishes to the sink to wash them.

"How about we watch a film or something?"

"Yeah, sure. Just don't pick a horror one." Evangeline smiled sheepishly and left the now clean plates to dry.

"Don't tell me you still love Disney films. I mean-..." Damon was cut off by the metallic jingle of keys twisted into the lock and the front door opening, then closing with a thud.

"Damon, are you home?" a male voice echoed in the hallway.

"Yeah, in the kitchen!"

"That's your father, right?" Eva whispered and, as Damon nodded, she wiped her hands dry with a small white towel.

"I know it took a bit longer than usual..." she heard the man sighing loudly and taking off his shoes, letting them fall on the floor. He trudged closer and closer as he spoke:

"But the meeting was God-awful and boring. Not to mention that-" he stopped abruptly when he saw Evangeline standing next to his son, her beauty and the color in her whole being contrasting with the darkness and the tormented mind of the one next to her.

"Hello, Sir! I'm Eva Richards." she smiled and did a small wave. Damon's father was looking at her so intently and with such a surprised look on his face, that she could not help but feel embarrassed.

"God, dad! She's my friend. Stop staring." Damon muttered and looked away. This kind of closeness was new to him and he was still not comfortable with it yet, but Evangeline was his friend. And his soul adored her for Damon may have not realized it yet and perhaps he would never do, but they shared a link, a bond that made them meet on that horrible October day and kept them from going on their own separate ways. What it was, though, remained unknown.

She blushed a bit and stuffed her hands in her pockets as the older man spoke:

"Oh... oh, I'm, umm... v-very happy to meet you, t-then, Eva. Joseph Williams." he stuttered, forcing a smile in the shocked expression on his face and extending his hand for her to shake.

"Nice to meet you too, Sir." Evangeline smiled and firmly gripped his hand and shook it.

"Would you like to stay for dinner, darling?" Damon's father suggested, his eyes twinkling in approval. He quite liked Evangeline because she seemed mature and trust-worthy and... happy; it was so strange to be happy. For although she was hurt, she had so much hope in her heart and that was what made her so alive.

Evangeline glanced at Damon and saw him nodding, so she just did the same.

"Yes, I would like that very much. Thank you." she said shyly as the older man pulled out his phone and dialled a number.

"I'm just going to call Lynn and ask if she could cook something for the four of us."

"She's great in the kitchen, you'll see." Damon said beside her, clearly excited, and took her hand in his, making Evangeline's eyes fill up with surprise as they flickered down to their intertwined fingers.

"Come on, let's watch a film." he softly said, gazing down at her.

"A Disney one?" she quirked an eyebrow playfully.

"A Disney one."

So she smiled and let herself indulge in the warmth of his hand. It was not uncomfortable and awkward as she had expected it to be; it felt right, it felt like that was where her hand belonged.