A Light in the Dark // Flicker Series Part I #wattys2019

Know You Better

Chapter 65
Evie's POV // Know You Better

"What's that about?" I ask my mom as soon as Niall and my dad have stepped out the back door.

"Just give them a minute, darling." My mom smiles to herself as she kneads the cookie dough in front of her.

"Should I be worried about my dad dragging my boyfriend off to his woodshed with all the sharp objects?" I joke.

"You're dad is just trying to get to know him better. Let them have a minute to talk. I promise he won't run him off." My mom laughs, placing her hand on my shoulder in reassurance before moving to take a tray of cookies out of the oven.

Something in her voice bothers me a bit. She's never said anything bad about my relationship with Niall, and she hasn't questioned it much. But suddenly I worry that she thinks something is wrong.

"You are ok with him, right mom?" I ask, sitting back down on a barstool on the opposite side of the counter.

"Evie you're a grown woman...who are we to tell you who you can and cannot date?"

She's deflecting. I feel sick.

"That wasn't an answer, mom."

She stops working the dough and sighs before looking up at me.

"Evie, we know how hard it was for you after Jaxon. We were hurting with you..." She looks at me sympathetically. "I guess it's just a little scary for us to think about you getting together with someone you barely know. And this has all happened so fast. We just can't imagine you getting hurt again."

"So you don't approve?" I furrow my brows, my stomach turning to knots at the thought of my parents not being happy for me when I'm the happiest I've ever been.

"No, honey! That's not it at all!" My mom wipes her hands on her apron as she abandons her task and comes to sit down next to me, holding my hands in hers in front of us.

"We see how happy you are! And that makes us happy. You know that's all we've ever cared about for you and your sisters..." She explains.

"So what is it then?"

"Evie, it's not about us approving or not... We're just scared of seeing you get hurt again. We don't know Niall as well as you do. Just give us some time to get to know him?" My mom says, inflecting her voice in a way that makes her statement sound like a question.

I nod in response to her, looking at my lap for a moment before back to her.

"I was really scared too. But...he's different. I know that's easy to say, but he really is. He's a really good guy, mom...I promise." I say, as if it will convince her of whatever she's lacking to be able to trust him.