Abandonment is one word to describe Evelyn Ward's childhood.
Known as an orphan freak and paranoid schizophrenic, she was dragged through years of therapy after admitting to hearing whispering voices and seeing creatures and living shadows.
...
My own joy reflected in Chelsea's eyes, a bright smile lit up her face. Pulling me from the muted yellow painted kitchen, she plunked down onto the overstuffed, black couch and clapped her hands together in excitement. "So, your birth mom, huh? Have you gotten the chance to meet her in person yet? How did you find her? I didn't even know you were looking."
Laughing over her rapid-fire questions that left me stuttering, I put my hands on her shoulders to calm her down. "Slow, Chelse. You're talking so quick I think you might be speaking a different language altogether."
"I know, you're right, sorry. I'll try to contain myself." Biting her lip in a useless attempt, a grin spread across her face and she burst out again. "I can't help it. I'm just so happy for you! Is she nice?"
Leaning back against the arm of the couch, I nodded. "I got the chance to talk to her for a bit last night, and she seems... Well, she's like the mother I only ever dreamed of having, but never thought in a million years I ever would."
"I am so happy for you, Evie." The tenderness in her tone as she leaned forward to hug me brought tears to my eyes. "Really -- so happy. You deserve the absolute best, and I'm glad you found her."
"Thank you, Chelse."
"You should've told me you were looking though, you know I would've been there for you, hun."
Except I didn't. Even if I had of actually been actively looking for my mother, I'm not sure I would've told Chelsea, not after I had convinced myself she had turned her back on me. Guilt ate at me over my lack of trust and I wormed my way out of her arms. "Chelse... I called you last week. Repeatedly and you never answered." My words weren't meant as an accusation, I knew now Chelsea would've never abandoned me.
Culpability filled her features. "Oh, hun... is that why you didn't want to talk to me yesterday?" She shook her head with remorse and a soft sigh. "I wasn't ignoring you, babe -- not on purpose. It's just that I, uh, well, I met someone."
I blinked, unsure how Chelsea meeting someone led to her not answering my phone calls. Chelsea was always meeting someone, and usually that someone would be the main topic of our conversation for hours. I raised an eyebrow in question.
"I really like him... Like, really like him, and I kinda just got swept away in getting to know him. I was going to tell you, I swear, I just, I wanted to make sure first."
Well, that was new. Chelsea didn't do serious. She bounced from guy to guy depending on her mood and was the first to jump overboard at the mention of commitment. Now, call her a slut or a whore, and I'll show you the definition of pain. She's not vindictive or an attention seeker, but as the daughter of divorced parents, she grew up with an absentee father and a steady stream of boyfriends out her mother's door; she never learned any different.
She never understood my hope for true love, to her, it was a foreign concept and a waste of time. To see her with that doe-eyed look and a giddy grin, was a miracle, and this guy must have been out-of-this-world special to have given her pause.
I hugged her tight, pouring all of my love and happiness for her into the embrace.
"So you're not mad? I know I should've told you sooner and I shouldn't have ignored you for a week, especially since you needed me. So if you wanna be mad, go ahead, I wouldn't blame you if you wanted to punch me."
"I'm not going to punch you, Chelsea," I laughed. "I'm not mad, honestly. I'm happy for you... You really like him, huh?"
Her eyes lighting up with joy, she nodded. "I can't stop thinking about him, and every time I see him my heart races. I just want to spend every possible second with him. Is that crazy?"
"No, it's not crazy, I know how you feel."
Her hazel eyes were wide as she looked at me with wonder. "Is this how you felt when you and Jorden were in love?"
I shook my head. Even back when I thought Jorden had loved me, when I thought I could have loved him, I never felt those things with him. Only one man had ever made my heart lurch out of my chest, had kept me awake with longing for him at my side, and I had chased him away by yelling at him over the same thing I had forgiven my mother for.
Zev's green eyes flashed into my mind, and I knew I wasn't angry at him. It had hurt that he had hidden such a big secret from me but he'd had good intentions and had told me the truth after all. I had directed my hurt into anger at him, but it was misplaced, and my real rage was for the demons who had made it all necessary.
"No, Chelse, you were right -- what Jorden and I had wasn't love, and I never felt those things with him. But enough about him, this is about you. We need to go out and celebrate this momentous occasion."
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Has Chelsea found true love? Are you dying to know who the mystery man is who has captured her wild heart? And aren't you happy that Evelyn seems to be coming around and realizing that she has more people at her back than she thought?
