𝗜𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁 𝗔𝗳𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘀 | 𝐁𝗼𝐛𝐛𝐲 𝐊𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝𝐲/𝗥𝗙𝗞

XI: "Cri de Cœur"

Knock, knock, knock

Evelyn had to use all the courage inside her body, her energy was completely drained when she knocked on the bright door. She could hear nothing but faint blues; varying from slow strumming of a guitar, to very light piano in the background — playing from inside the room.

"I'm not coming down!" The muffled voice of the man displayed it well that he was not ready. "I'm fine, you don't have to check on me." There were unique trembles on his voice as he was speaking; the kind of voice you'll get when you cry in silence for a bit too long.

"Bobby, it's me." Evelyn felt her eyes sore as they were welling up with tears, she acknowledged the second she opened the door, a melancholic space would greet her. After a while, the door rattled as the lock turned, and Hallelujah — it opened.

There he was, standing in a white shirt and blue jeans, Bobby gazed at Evelyn long enough for her to make out the puffiness under his eyes. She instantly knew it was from all the tears he'd been shedding — his eyes had never been so puffy. It had always been the bone structures of his face that stood out, not the puffiness.

"Why are you up here?" Bobby turned around, making his way back to the record player on the floor — he lifted the needle off the vinyl before getting back to Evelyn. "Well, I... I thought you'd need some company." Evelyn responded. She found herself a spot on the edge of Bobby's messy bed; photos of their family — mostly Kathleen and him were scattered all over it.

"Didn't you think for a second I might want to be alone?" Bobby sat down across from Evelyn, he noticed her curiosity for the photos when she picked one out, and analyzed it. "No one should be alone in a time like this." The green-eyed girl spoke with her emeralds glued to a photo of Kathleen in her bathing suit with Jack and Ted standing next to her.

Bobby quickly began to gather the pictures and stored them away in a wooden box. He walked up to Evelyn before snatching the photo away from her grasp. "It's not a good time." He placed it into the box, and locked it. "I'm sorry," Evelyn uttered. She watched as Bobby hastily put the box in a drawer.

"I know how it feels to lose a sibling, you know?" Mumbled Evelyn. She lowered her eyes to the white bedsheet that was stretched and tight on the mattress. "Your sister?" Bobby softly spoke up, he turned around. Evelyn responded to him with a nod, "my sister, Delphine." It's been years since the last time she spoke of her older sister.

"You never told me what happened to her." Bobby sat down next to his secret lover. A hand was placed on Evelyn's thigh, he looked at her with such curiosity. "I wasn't ready— I am, now." The girl took Bobby's hand and once again held it with tender loving. "She died from tuberculosis. She was seven, I was five." Evelyn felt the stones on her shoulders being lifted off as the words left her mouth.

"Jesus. TB, huh?" Bobby was taken aback, he never had a relative who perished from the illness — however, he knew how much pain it induces to the victims and their families. "Well, it didn't take her long to die. My mother tried so hard to keep her alive, but my father knew it was chronic— that it would bring death." Evelyn sighed forcefully. "I wasn't even by her side when she breathed her last breath." Then she broke down, started sobbing with nothing else to say.

"Shh, shh. It's okay." Bobby stretched his arms around Evelyn, pulling her into a warm embrace. The girl couldn't get a hold of herself when the man tenderly kissed her forehead with his hand caressing her hair. "I'm sure it was for good, Eve. You were four, don't feel bad." The vibration of Bobby's voice was comforting to Evelyn, she snuggled into the man's chest to listen to his solacing heartbeat.

"When my father received a call from the States, we couldn't be happier to move... move away from everything." Evelyn managed to speak, even with a heavily strained voice. She was making a spot on Bobby's white shirt with her bucket of tears. "Can I just say... I'm glad you're here." Bobby loosened the hug, taking a good look at Evelyn's puffed face. "I'm happier to be here, Bobby." She uttered while sniffling.

The sun crept, illuminating the dimmed room as it was gradually setting. "You're so beautiful," Bobby swept the hair away from Evelyn's sunlit face, "even when you're crying." He stared deeply into her vulnerable eyes, he could feel something stirring in his stomach, and his heart won't stop provoking him when it kept thumping faster and harder behind his ribcage.

"No," Evelyn shook her head as she wiped the tears on her face, and the dripping sweat on her forehead. "You. Your soul—" She scoffed in amazement, "you've been gifted with the most beautiful soul." The way Evelyn spoke of Bobby would make anyone envy, everybody wants to be loved like that — at least once in their life.

With so much warmth and fondness in Evelyn's eyes, Bobby couldn't feel anything — ironically enough. He felt numb when a person loves him more than what he thought he deserved. "Eve, you're..." The man shifted his eyes somewhere else, he couldn't bear the complexity of their love. "You're too good... and it makes me wonder how long this is gonna last," Bobby confessed. Truth be told, that was all he thinks about since the moment they shared breath.

"Forever." Evelyn shrugged with excessive pride in herself. Bobby lifted his head, he was teary-eyed, and bewitched. "I don't know 'bout you," Evelyn inhaled deeply, "but I know I'll love you 'til my dying day—" "Eve—" "...even if you break my heart." The atmosphere in the room was thick, there was a deafening silence between them as their feelings loudly collided with one another.

"I know you will break my heart," With the most unexpected words, Evelyn gave a genuine smile to Bobby. "I know I will end up hurting, but Christ, nothing I can do now!" In a mocking tone, she continued. "I'll just take the heartbreak and heal." Leaving no space for Bobby to put his thoughts into, Evelyn nonchalantly grinned.

"It'll be fine." As much as she was trying to act like she wasn't hurting, Evelyn's sore eyes were covered with tears. "I'll be the one who carries the scar, not you." She laid her gentle hand against Bobby's cheek, "that's the sacrifice I will make for this love." Her thumb was rubbing the prominent cheekbone on Bobby.

"How many people can say that without lying, huh?" Evelyn cocked her head, she had an out-of-place smirk on her face. "None." Bobby simply said. "Exactly," Evelyn replied, lips quivering.

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PS: Evelyn lowkey had a breakdown—