Desperate Lies

Epilogue

Two years later.

Eve gazes out the window of the airplane, getting inspiration for ten paintings just by looking at the landscape below her. Chris sat next to her, tightly holding on to her hand as he did every time they flew somewhere together. Eve lightly strokes Chris's hand with her thumb, trying to comfort him as best she could. The band had some time off from touring, and Chris and Eve had decided to try and actually get away for a while, just the two of them, to spend some time together.

And Chris had a couple other ideas too that Eve was currently unaware of.

"So, why Colorado again?" Eve asks, turning to face Chris.

"Well, it's beautiful there in the summer, I figured you'd get some good pictures of the mountains and the landscape and whatnot...and I may or may not have a surprise for you there."

Eve throws her head back and laughs, "Chris, you know I hate surprises."

"You're gonna like this one, I promise."

"Can you give me a hint?"

"Hmmm..." Chris hums, "It's something that you've told me you wanted."

"That could mean lots of things!"

"Well, I'm not gonna give you too specific of a hint. I'm not gonna spoil it."

Eve laughs and shakes her head. She begins piling her hair into a bun on top of her head. Her hair had grown down to a bit past her shoulders, and she looked so much healthier now than she had two years ago. Eve definitely still struggled with her body image, but she was doing much better than she had been a couple of years ago.

Eve hadn't spoken to Paul since he'd been taken into custody, and she didn't plan on doing so for quite some time, if ever again. She did her best not to dwell on it and move on - her therapist had told her that it was perfectly reasonable to "forgive" someone without necessarily letting them back into your life. This was the path that Eve had decided to take. She didn't want to see Paul again, but she did want to let him go - and for the most part she was successful, spare for the occasional nightmare about him that Eve sometimes still had.

Paul's church had been taken over by a new congregation that welcomed everyone and actually did things that churches were supposed to do by helping those in need. Knowing this brought Eve some peace as well.

After the plane landed, Chris and Eve got a rental car and it was about an hour's drive to the log cabin that they'd gotten. The sun was setting over the mountains and Eve's eyes tried to scan every inch of the landscape. The sky was pink and orange by the time they reached the cabin, and Eve couldn't keep the smile off her face.

They get out of the car and Eve sighs as the fresh air hits her.

"Okay, you were right. This is exactly what I needed."

They walk into the cabin and get situated, then Eve flops down on the bed and sighs.

"So. When do I get this surprise?" Eve asks.

"Tomorrow."

"You're gonna make me wait?!"

"Yup."

"Chriiiiiiiiiis!" Eve whines.

Chris chuckles, then climbs into the bed with Eve, "Guess I'll have to keep you distracted in the mean time."

Eve smiles, then pulls Chris to her and kisses him, slowly and longingly. They melt into each other and let the night over take them.

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