Tiny Crown

Chapter 16

Once the anxiety attack had passed, Evan let her head upstairs to lie down. He had seemed upset after the argument with Nathan. Emilia wasn’t sure how to feel about everything. Nathan was supposed to be her friend and yet…

Emilia must have drifted off. When she opened her eyes, she just stared up at the ceiling as she tended to do. It wasn't the next morning, it couldn’t have been. It had to be the same day still.

Nathan had been there earlier. He was very loyal to his mother but not to Evan. All because Evan was his half-brother and wasn’t exactly all there. She knew there was a reason Nathan had corrected her on Evan being his half-brother when they were talking a few weeks ago.

A few weeks ago.

She remembered.

Her body shook as she stood up and tried to find Evan. Her chest still felt a little weird and she didn’t know why she felt as though she had to tell him but she was going to tell him anyway.

She found him in the living room opposite his office at the front of the house. He heard her walk towards him and looked away from his phone.
“I remember.”
His eyes widened and there was a smile on his face. “You do?”
“I remember Nathan. I was talking to him about siblings, he wanted to know if I had any,” she said. Then she spoke slower. “I’d had this ring from my mom, Nathan wanted to look at it so I let him and he dropped it down the side of the road.”

Evan’s smile faded. He knew what she was going to say.
“Why were you there at the side of the road? Both times you were there,” she said. “Why were you there?”
“I…” He took a deep breath. “I just happened to be walking the first time, the second time I knew what she was planning to do to you and I wanted to make sure you were okay, if I could. I wanted to help you.”
“You were following me?” she asked quietly. He bit his lip and nodded. “So you’re a stalker too?”
“I… I just wanted to make sure you were safe.”

“Why can’t you see that its wrong?” she asked, her voice wavered, it sounded like she was going to cry. She felt like crying. “Why didn’t you call an ambulance?”
“The police would have gotten involved.”
“And why would that have been a bad thing?”
“They would have asked questions,” he said, frowning. “About the car and why it didn’t stop and why I was there so quickly.”
“That’s why?” she asked. “Because you were following me?”
“There’s things I can’t explain,” he said vaguely.
“Can’t or won’t?”
“Won’t,” he said honestly. Emilia took a step back, a step away from him. She doubted she wanted to know the reason behind Evan not calling the police then.

What else was there to explain?

Emilia had the feeling that she wouldn’t like the answer to that question.

“My mother could be dead,” she said quietly. She looked down at her hands, at the finger that the ring fit on. She had no idea where that was; she couldn’t remember if she had left it at home or if she had taken it to school with her that day. “She sent me to live with my Aunt Kat because she didn’t want me to see her dying. She gave me the ring Nathan dropped and I… I don’t know what I’ve done with it. My mother could be dead and I’m stuck here with you.”

Evan looked away as Emilia wiped her eyes with the back of her palm.

“I want to go home.”

But home was several hours away by train and she had no idea how she’d even get home.

“I’m sorry, I can’t let you go home.”