Tiny Crown

Chapter 22

When she opened her eyes, Emilia wondered where she was before remembering she was in Evan’s bedroom. Whimpering, she put a hand on her chest, it still hurt and ached and she could feel her heart hitting against her ribcage.

A few moments later, Evan burst into the room. He looked a little sweaty and slightly red but in his hand was a familiar coloured box. He had a bottle of water in his other hand. Emilia carefully sat up, leaning against the pillows and the headboard behind her. After setting the water down on the bedside table, Evan opened the box and handed her one of the strips of tablets.

Emilia pushed one of them out of the foil and Evan unscrewed the cap of the bottle and handed it out to her. She swallowed the tablet with a sip of water. Evan watched her as she fumbled around with the packet and took another one. Emilia handed him the drink back and she stared at the strip of tablets. He knelt next to the bed as he put it on the bedside table. She felt a little awkward as he watched her.

It wasn’t a new pack of tablets, the box had been opened before and it had four missing from one of the strips. She couldn’t remember how many she had taken but it didn’t seem like Evan had taken too long.

“Are these from my room?” she asked, looking up at him. She didn’t know where else he could get them from and Aunt Kat’s house was only a fifteen minute walk from where she had been hit and that couldn’t have been too far away from the house. He nodded. How did he get into her house? Aunt Kat was probably at work if he managed to get in.
“They are,” he said. His hand moved to his pocket. “This was right next to it, I thought you might have wanted it.” He pulled something out of his pocket and he offered it to her in his open palm.

Her ring.

Emilia grabbed it and looked at it for a moment. She didn’t lose it.
“Thank you,” she whispered as she put the ring of her finger. It did mean that Evan had definitely been to her Aunt’s house. “How did you get in Aunt Kat’s house?”
“I have your keys and she’s at work today,” he said awkwardly.
“You have my keys?” Emilia asked with raised eyebrows. She wasn’t too surprised but she couldn’t think of when he would have gotten them.
“I picked them up from the road.” She nodded, she probably could have guessed he had done something like that.

“Shall I leave you up here?” he asked as he stood up.
Emilia nodded. “If that’s okay with you.”
Evan’s phone screen lit up but he didn’t unlock it, was he checking the time? He stared at the screen for a moment and then to her. He locked it and put it back in his pocket. “That’s fine. Call if you need me.” Emilia nodded and watched him leave.

Emilia stared down at her ring. He must have followed her to Aunt Kat’s house before and he had to have watched it enough to know when Aunt Kat was at work. Still, it had meant he had saved her life twice now. His mother would have killed her if he hadn't been there to move her out of the way and if he hadn't known where she had lived, she wouldn’t have been able to take her medication.

She hated that his stalking had led to him saving her life. She also hated that she had called for his help. Emilia regretted it, she shouldn’t have called his name when she needed help. He had murdered his aunt, albeit on accident, but he had still left her there on purpose. Though, she had abused him and Evan wasn’t exactly all there judgement-wise.

Looking around the room, she realised it was quite nice. Spotting a clock on the bedside table, she strained to read the time. Five o’clock. How long had she been lying there?

Evan didn’t want to hurt her, Emilia was certain of that much.

But she couldn’t deal with being stuck in his house any longer.