Shortly after midnight, just when I’d drawn the conclusion that Elle wasn’t coming, there was a light knock at the door. When I opened it, my heart nearly stopped.
She was shivering, standing there with wet hair and tears in her eyes.
“Evangeline.”
“Can I come in?”
“Sure.” I swallowed and opened the door wide. “Please.”
My heart was palpitating as she stood before me.
Her hair was dripping down onto her heaving breasts. “I don’t know why I’m here, Sevin.”
I stood there speechless, in total shock that she was in my house.
Fucking speak, Sevin.
“They said you were spending the night at Adelaide’s.”
“I was planning to, but I started to worry about Daddy’s reaction. I didn’t want the stress of dealing with his yelling tomorrow. I figured at least if I were sleeping in my bed in the morning, he might not punish me as hard. Your light was on. I know I’m not gonna be able to sleep. I didn’t want to be alone up there with everyone sleeping. I just needed to talk to someone. I know I really shouldn’t be here.”
“No, you really shouldn’t be here.”
She started to back away. “I can go. I—”
“Let me finish. You really shouldn’t have come here, but I’m really glad you did.”
“Do you mind if I take off my jacket? It’s kind of wet. I was standing outside for the longest time contemplating whether I should knock on your door.”
“Please.” I took the coat from her. “Sit down. Relax. Can I make you something?”
She followed me into the kitchen and took a seat at the small counter. “Do you even have food here?”
“I dabble in making…” I hesitated and chuckled. “Pop Tarts.”
Laughter replaced her crying as she wiped her eyes. “Pop Tarts! How gourmet of you.”
“You want one?”
“I’d love a Pop Tart, actually.”
I popped two frosted strawberry ones into the toaster. Winking, I said, “Only the best in my house.”
When I handed her a plate, she took a bite of the pastry. “This is the best thing I’ve eaten all day. Is this what you do when you’re alone? Sit around eating Pop Tarts?”
Pouring her a tall glass of milk and sliding it toward her, I smiled. “Sometimes.”
“What else do you do when you come back here at night?”
Besides jerking off to thoughts of you? Well…
“Lately? I’ve just been listening to music, doing a lot of thinking.”
Evangeline took a long sip of milk then said, “Even though you weren’t happy back in Oklahoma, it must be strange starting an entirely new life.”
“Yeah…it kind of is, but aside from my brothers, there really was nothing back there for me. I’m grateful for the opportunity your father’s given me.” Taking her empty plate, I said, “Enough about me. Tell me about tonight. What happened?”
“Adelaide called me crying to tell me that Lorraine had died. It wasn’t a shock. We were all expecting it, but I still needed to be there for her. It was dark out, so biking it wasn’t an option. I knew that Daddy would never willingly give me the car. So, I just felt like I had no choice but to take it.”
“I respect you for that. You knew you’d have to suffer the repercussions of stealing the car, but you did what you had to for your friend.”
“What other choice is there?”
“When he says he’s gonna punish you, what does he mean?”
“Daddy’s never hit me, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“That’s exactly what I wanted to know. I’m glad to hear that.”
“He’ll probably take away my bike for a while, which is actually going to be a problem since I need to help Adelaide around the repair shop over the next few days.”
“I’ll drive you if you need to get there.”
“Thanks, but I don’t want to make trouble for you, Sevin. I’ll figure something out.” She walked over to the old CD player in the corner of the room. “What kind of music do you listen to?”
“My taste varies.”
I still had a lot of my father’s CDs from when I was younger and before Lillian banned any non-Christian music. Evangeline lifted one of them. “Oh my God. I love The Smiths! I didn’t think anyone else listened to this kind of music but me. Which album of theirs is your favorite?”
“Probably The Queen is Dead.”
“No way. Hatful of Hollow.”
“Wow. Impressive.” I walked toward where she was standing. “I swear, Evangeline. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like you in my life.”