Not once did Evelyn’s head drop. She held it high while she walked to her bed and crawled under the covers. Holding the pillow to her chest and wrapping herself in a ball around it, she let the sobs pour from her.
Flashes of her past engulfed her mind, smothered her breath. The need to rush to Stephen was almost uncontrollable. The question “Why” kept repeating in her mind. He said that he loved her. He acted like he did. So then why after one weekend of Sheila visiting her brother had Stephen left her? What was it about Sheila that had made him throw away everything they had? Nothing made sense.
For endless minutes she lay sobbing, confused as to what was happening. Was she having some sort of brain meltdown?
Evelyn screamed into the pillow as a wave of despair took over her. At the pounding on her door, the pain was suddenly gone. She sat up wiping her eyes and felt absolutely fine. The absence of her sadness left her even more confused. There, that was it. It was out and she would be fine now, at least she hoped.
Clearing her throat, Evelyn called out, “Just a minute,” and rushed to the bathroom.
Cool water had her gasping for air while she rinsed off her face. “See, you’re fine,” she said to her reflection in the mirror. But she didn’t look fine. The redness and swollenness of her eyes were a dead giveaway, not to mention her whole face was flushed.
Brandon and Stephen looked ready to break her door down. It took her a moment to ask them anything. “I thought I told you two I was taking a nap.” Evelyn tried not to make eye contact with either of them.
“We heard you scream, and you’ve been crying. What’s wrong?” Stephen took a step toward her.
This was not happening. No way had they heard her scream. It hadn’t been that loud, plus she had screamed into the pillow.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. It was probably one of the kids you heard screaming. Now if it’s all right with you I’m going back to bed.” Evelyn looked up for the first time at Stephen’s face. It was the worst mistake she could have made. She felt as if she had been impaled on a knife. Evelyn gasped, grabbing her chest, and slammed the door.
It opened immediately. Damn, she forgot to lock it! They both walked in, eying her suspiciously. The tears were already rolling down her cheeks, and there was nothing she could do about it.
“Get out! Go away! I don’t want you two here! I want to be…alone.” Evelyn could barely make out the last word, she was crying so hard.
“It didn’t work.” Brandon sighed. “What now?” He turned to Stephen.
“How do you know it didn’t work? Maybe something else is bothering her.”
Stephen took another step toward Evelyn. She jumped away from him as if he had burned her.
“Evelyn, come to me,” Stephen said calmly.
As if her body had a mind of its own, Evelyn walked forward. “No, no, I don’t want to,” she cried. Her legs carried her, but her mind was screaming no. “What is happening? Why can’t I stop?”
“Fuck, the bond’s not completely broken. I don’t know what else to do. I was just supposed to release it and everything was meant to go back to normal, so I thought,” Stephen said, more to himself than anyone else. “You can stop, Evelyn. You don’t have to come to me if you don’t want to.”
Evelyn came to a halt at his words. Did she really want to stop? All she knew was if she even so much as touched Stephen she was going to ask him why he left, cry some more, and then beg him to make love to her. That, she couldn’t do. She had way too much pride to resort to begging someone who had left her to begin with.
“You have to call Ayden and tell him what you’ve done,” Brandon said, never taking his eyes off Evelyn. “Maybe he’ll know how to break it.”
“Fuck, you’re right. The shit is going to hit the fan. Damn, he’s going to be pissed.” Stephen pulled out his phone.
“What are you both talking about?” Evelyn was furious that they kept speaking in riddles. Angry, she wiped the tears from her cheeks. She was so tired of feeling this way. The sadness she’d felt over the last two years kept mentally wearing her down. She wasn’t sure how much more she could take.
“Nothing. Why don’t we go and make some coffee?”
Brandon led her to the kitchen like a child. Evelyn didn’t care. Coffee sounded very good at the moment.
Chapter 15
On the second ring, Ayden picked up the phone. Weight settled in Stephen’s chest. There was no doubt in his mind that Ayden was going to be pissed off, but all he could think about was if Evelyn was going to be all right. He had never meant to hurt her.
“Stephen, what’s up?”
“We have a problem.” Stephen walked to the far end of the living room. He didn’t want Evelyn to hear his conversation.
“Is it Sheila? Is she all right?” Ayden’s panic was thick in his voice.
“No, Sheila is fine. I talked to her earlier. This isn’t about her. There’s something I haven’t told you.”
Ayden got quiet for a few seconds. “So tell me.”
“Before you ordered me to take care of Sheila, I marked someone. I broke off our engagement and haven’t seen her until recently. A part of me thought she would be fine and that after Sheila was better, I could pick up where we left off. Well, she wasn’t fine, and I released the bond, but she’s worse now. She’s in so much pain.” Stephen breathed deeply.
“You did what! Why in the hell didn’t you tell me this before? I could have gotten someone else to look after Sheila. Do you know what you’ve done to this girl?” Ayden growled. “Stephen, you can’t release the bond. I don’t care what you’ve heard. It’ll be there forever.”
“What do I do? I love her. I loved her from the moment I saw her, but I don’t think she loves me. She just feels what the bond wants her to feel.”
Ayden took a deep breath. “No, Stephen. If she’s as bad as you say she is, the bond is only intensifying what she feels. She loves you too, or else she wouldn’t be this bad. You have to replace the bond. Having the connection severed is only hurting her more. She needs to feel it or else this will go on and only get worse.
“I really wish you would have told me. Nicole and I were only separated a week, and it was the most agonizing time in my life. I don’t know how the both of you did it for two years.”
“Thanks, Ayden. I’ll figure something out.”
“There’s nothing to figure out, Stephen,” Ayden snapped. “You have two days to replace that bond or else I’ll hunt you down myself. I will not allow anyone from my pack to put an innocent person through that much agony. Two days.” Ayden hung up the phone.
Stephen looked at it, shocked. “Shit.” Overwhelmed, he stuffed it in his pocket. How in the hell was he going to get her to fall back in love with him in just two days? That was impossible.
Brandon and Evelyn walked into the living room, both holding cups of coffee. Evelyn handed him a cup made just the way he liked it. The realization that she remembered after all this time made his heart skip. He would find a way to get her back. They were meant to be together, and he wouldn’t stop until they were.
* * * *
Evelyn felt so much better now that she’d had what she considered a breakdown. Maybe if she would have had hysterics like these two years ago, instead of crying and drinking her troubles away, she would be over Stephen already. Why was that thought not very comforting to her?
The red dress Evelyn had on was perfect for tonight. She turned, examining herself in the mirror in the restroom. The dress was one of the many curve-fitting microfiber concoctions she owned. It screamed fuck me. It was perfect.
A knock on her door had her swinging her hips. She tried her best to run in the red stilettos, but gave up and settled for a fast walk. Melissa looked absolutely stunning in a black little number. Her dark red hair haloed her face in silky waves.
“Hey, you look great,” Evelyn said, collecting her red clutch.
“Not as good as you. So how are things? Sarah told me Stephen is back in the picture. I’m not sure what I think about that, but my lips are sealed,” Melissa said, pretending to zip her lips closed. “He’s outside, by the way.”
“I figured he was. He’s always sitting out there with Brandon now. I don’t know, but I don’t want to talk about it.” The thought that the stabbing pain would come rushing back scared the crap out of her.
“No problem, I understand. Just be careful,” Melissa said softly.
“I will. You ready?”
Melissa opened the door and they walked out. A whistle had them turning toward Brandon’s door. The men both stood with their mouths parted.
“Wow, you look amazing,” Brandon breathed out, walking over to Evelyn.
“Thanks a lot,” Melissa said jokingly. “I guess I’m chopped liver.”
“No, you look amazing too.” Brandon smiled at her charmingly, but Melissa didn’t buy it.
“Yeah, yeah, save it, Romeo. You’re not fooling anyone.” Melissa looked over at Stephen. “Haven’t seen you in a while. How’ve you been?”
“Okay, I guess. I see your little group is going out tonight.” Stephen looked back over at Evelyn. Shyly, she looked down. Something between Brandon and her ex had happened earlier. One minute they were drinking coffee, the next, they excused themselves and rushed from her apartment. It was enough to make her head spin.
“Yes, we’re going out, and we’re going to be late. Ev, you ready?” Melissa was already heading down the stairs.
“Yeah, I’m right behind you. You boys have fun tonight. Don’t party it up too hard.”
“Who, us? No, we’re just going to sit here and drink. Should we save you one?” Brandon asked, smiling down at her.
Damn, he’s gorgeous,
Evelyn thought. “No, I don’t expect to be home tonight. Thanks, though, I appreciate the offer.”
Brandon’s smile faltered. “All right, well, have fun tonight. Don’t do anything too crazy. I don’t feel like bailing you out of jail.”
“That’s me, the crazy law breaker. All right, bye, guys.” Evelyn took one last look at Stephen, and her heart dropped. She turned quickly and headed after her friend before she did something as unbelievably stupid as throw herself at him.
Melissa was waiting for her by her car, tapping her foot. “Damn, you took forever. Why are you even going out? There are two guys up there right now ready to devour you. Did you see the way Stephen was practically drooling over himself? He still wants you.”
Evelyn didn’t answer; she just stepped up into Melissa’s truck and stared out of the window while letting the words sink in. At hearing the loud exhaust, Evelyn drifted into her thoughts even more, letting the sound of the soft music flow through her.
The darkness helped her focus on the plaguing problems. Why were Stephen and Brandon hanging around each other? Stephen had other friends, didn’t he? He always had before when they were together. They used to joke and call themselves “the pack” because there were so many of them. What had happened? Had helping her out of the car that day brought them together? Or did Stephen truly not have anyone else left?
The pack… Why was that so familiar?
Damn it, there was something to that statement that bothered her, just like with the damn soap she used. It had a pulling sensation on her mind, as if she should remember something about it. Fuck, this feeling was getting annoying.
Before Evelyn knew it, she was so consumed with trying to remember her lost memories that Melissa had to call her name twice to let her know they were there.
“Are you feeling all right? It’s like you’re in another world lately. Where’s the fun, crazy Evelyn I know?”
“She’s here, no worries.” Evelyn climbed out of the truck.
The bar was packed like always. The girls weaved through people and made it to their booth, where Sarah and Julie were already waiting. Everyone was wearing black but Evelyn. They all noticed at the same time and laughed.