Chapter 8
“Where are we going? We don’t have time, Mel.”
“We have time, don’t you worry your pretty little head.”
“We have an hour!”
“God, you can be so annoying.”
The night air was the perfect temperature, and I rolled the windows down so that I could feel the fresh air on my face. I glanced at Evan but only his white teeth were visible in the blackness of the night. I reached down and felt his hand upon the shifter. His finger laced through mine. I could see his teeth smile at me.
“I can’t even see you, Mel.”
“I can’t see you either,” I giggled and realized that the turn I needed to make was coming up sooner than I had thought.
I veered into the right lane and took exit 74. Evan took a sharp intact of breath. I knew what he would say, but I had to take him to that place.
“No, Mel! Stop the car! I don’t want to go there!” Evan yelled, bracing himself against the seat.
“Evan, I want you to face your fear.”
“My fear? This is not my fear. It is my hate. I loathe this place. Turn around!”
But I kept going. Evan did not even know that I knew about this place, but I looked it up because he had mentioned before that he had not seen his mom in about a year. And I knew he missed her, so I had to do this for Evan. He needed to see her. Maybe she was just as sad as he was. Cardinal Street was in sight, I turned onto it, and searched for the house numbered 5606. Evan was curled up in a ball. I could see him rocking himself slowly, and I was suddenly not sure if this was a good idea.
“Evan, hey, we’re here.”
His mother’s new home was a white house that looked massive from the exterior. It had a large front yard and a beautiful little garden near the porch. There was a beautiful porch swing and potted plants. It was a beautiful home. Why would his mother not want him to come here? Why had she never invited him? My idea suddenly seemed wrong. Something was wrong about this whole situation. I stopped my car and backed it up so that we weren’t directly in front of the house. I also shut off the lights and looked out towards the house again. The door opened slightly, and someone hooked up a dog to a chain. I couldn’t see the person very well, but it did not look like Evan’s mother. The small dog that looked like a poodle sniffed around and suddenly looked in our direction. I sank down in my seat. Evan was still not responding to me. Maybe we should go.
Lights flashed down the street. I watched a car pull into the driveway. It looked like the car that Evan’s mother used to drive. I continued to watch as the car door swung open and a woman stepped out. I could only see her back, but it did look like Evan’s mother. Then she turned sideways, and I gasped at the sight. Her stomach was so pushed out that she had to be pregnant. I covered my mouth and cursed myself. How could I have done this to Evan? His mother was beginning another life without him. The person I saw before raced outside. It was obviously a man. He hugged her and rubbed her stomach gently. I could barely look anymore as he raced around to grab her bags.
But that wasn’t the most shocking thing.
Just as they were about to go inside something ran out of the house toward the dog. It was a little girl. She looked about six and she bent down to hug the dog. My stomach turned upside down, and as soon as they all walked into the house, I turned the lights back on and drove away as fast as I could. My heart felt as if it was breaking.
“E-Evan, how could you not tell me what was going on?”
“I’m not very happy with my mother, and I didn’t feel like sharing.”
“But w-we’re… we’re best friends.”
“Who wants to tell anyone that their mother cheated on their father for eight years! That little girl you saw, she’s seven. She’s my half-sister, Bethany. My mother was with Dan for eight years. Eight years!” Evan was shaking uncontrollably.
I pulled over and turned to look at him. He had tears streaming down his face. I reached out and grabbed his hand. I massaged it gently and I could see his body relax a little.
“Remember when you did this for me before a big test. I loved it so much,” I whispered, bringing his hand to my lips.
He nodded and took some deep breaths.
“I am so sorry about your mother. She really shouldn’t have shut you out like that and she shouldn’t have cheated on your father. People do terrible things all the time.”
Evan didn’t reply, but I didn’t need a reply as I felt his body relax.
“Why was Bethany up at like 11:30?”
“Psssh… My mother’s a pushover,” Evan grinned a little and continued to stare out the window.
“Let’s get you back home, shall we?”
“Yes, we shall. I’m tired.” 406Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpJ80yc9fMl
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“Mel, I need you.”
Evan was at my door the next day with a crazed look on his face. I invited him in and watched as he paced around my kitchen. He looked as though he was in deep thought. It took him several minutes before he stopped in front of me. I could see uncertainty all over his face. He reached out and grabbed both my shoulders.
“Mel. You need to come with me to my mother’s house.”
“Wait, what? I thought you never wanted to go back there?”
“You were right, I need to face her.”
“But actually, you don’t have to, if you don’t want to. I don’t want you to get even more hurt than you are now. Think this through.”
“I have thought it through, Mel. I need to do this. I want to face my mother and meet my half-sister. My mother has deprived me of too much.” Evan let go of my shoulders and snatched my hand. Before I could even protest, we were out the door and in his car.
“Maybe you shouldn’t be the one driving, Evan. You look like a nut case.”
“No, no. I am fine,” He said, taking a deep breath. The crazy look in his eyes was still there. I sank down into the seat as he sped backwards out of my driveway.
Soon we were taking exit 74. I looked at the clock and realized that what should have taken us thirty minutes, took us fifteen. I really should have been the one driving. He raced down the street and skidded to a stop in front of 5606. Thankfully, his mother’s car was in the driveway. It would have been a trip wasted if she wasn’t there. Evan got out and slammed his car door shut. I scurried out and had to run to keep up with Evan. He made his way up the vast driveway and walked through the garden. I could see him clenching his fists. I was praying that his mother would be easy on him. He didn’t deserve anything less than easy.
Evan rapped on the door. I stopped behind him and watched as the door creaked open. The little girl, Bethany, had opened it. She looked sweetly up at Evan. His fists and shoulders relaxed.
“Who are you?” Bethany asked. Her voice was a cute little squeak.
Evan knelt down beside her and smiled at her.
“Is your mommy home?”
“Yes… Mama! There’s a guy here to see you.”
“Is it the cable man? I swear they always come at the worst times.”
His mother appeared from around a corner and stopped dead in her tracks as she saw Evan kneeling beside Bethany. It took everything of me to keep looking at the scene that was playing out in front of me. His mother’s hands went immediately down to her stomach and I saw Evan grimace.
“Evan…” She whispered and began to move forward slowly.
“Who’s this?” Bethany asked.
Evan stood up and stared directly at his mother. I could see his hands slightly shaking. Why was I standing back here? I should be up there comforting him.
I made my way up the porch stairs and stood next to Evan. His mother looked back and forth between us as I wrapped my hand in his and gave it a slight squeeze.
“Who’s this?” Bethany said a little louder.
Evan’s mother finally looked down at Bethany and smiled sweetly at her.
“Bethany. This is Evan.”
“Who’s Evan?” Bethany asked, eyeing Evan with suspicion.
“Well, darling. This is your brother.”
“What? Does daddy know.”
“He’s not your daddy’s son.”
Bethany was very confused, and Evan’s mother sighed.
“Evan, why are you here?” She said coldly.
I felt his whole body shake and I rubbed his hand with my thumb in reassurance. He could do this.
Evan ignored his mother, let go of my hand, and knelt by Bethany again. Bethany reached out and touched right under his eyes. Evan didn’t even flinch.
“You have mommy’s eyes,” She whispered.
Evan caressed Bethany’s hand and nodded.
“Yes, I do have her eyes.”
“But your daddy is not my daddy?”
“No, but I am still your brother because we have the same mommy.”
Seeing Evan be so gentle with Bethany made my heart soar. I watched as his mother got more and more upset.
“Evan, get up, and leave.”
“No, mommy, I want Evan to stay,” Bethany said, grabbing a hold of Evan’s hand.
“No, Bethany, Evan has his own home that he needs to get back to. His father is probably worried sick.”
“But you’ll come back, right Evan?” Bethany was still clinging onto Evan’s hand.
“I’m not sure I’ll be back, Bethany.”
“No!”
“Bethany, go to your room. Evan and I need to have grown up talk now,” Evan’s mother ordered.
“No, I want Evan to sta…”
“Bethany Ann! Now!”
Bethany slunk up the stairs and disappeared into a room. Evan’s mother let out a shaky breath and focused her attention back onto Evan.
“Evan, why are you and your…” She paused as she looked at me. “and your friend here?”
“Mother, I am here to see you and my sister. You have no right to keep me away. I am your son, for Christ’s sake. And mother, you remember Mel, right?”
“I remember your friend Mel.”
“No, not my friend, my boyfriend Mel.”
The word cut through the air like a knife and I felt my face grow red. Was I his boyfriend? Was he finally ready to tell people? I could feel butterflies forming in my stomach.
“Who gives a shit about that. You and y-your boyfriend are not welcome here. Now leave or I will call the authorities.”
“Mom! What the hell? What is wrong with you?” Evan screamed.
“Go away!” She screeched, slamming the door in our faces.
Evan was fuming. He stood stock still for what seemed like eternity until he suddenly kicked over a potted plant. He screamed and ran towards his car.
“Evan, wait! Wait!” I yelled, running up to him and blocking the driver’s side door.
“Get out of my way, Mel! We’re going home.”
He tried to shove me out of the way, but I wouldn’t budge. He was in no condition to be driving.
“Mel, if you don’t move, I will punch you. I will.”
A small voice yelled out to him as he balled up his fist. Bethany ran up to him and hugged his leg. Evan looked down at her and all his anger melted away. He wrapped his arm around her and hoisted her up into his arms.
“I don’t want you to go,” She said, tears rolling down her face.
“Bethany, you never even knew about me until today. You’ll forget about me very fast.”
“No, I won’t!” she retorted.
Evan wiped the tears from her cheeks and rubbed her back.
“Bethany! Get away from him!” Evan’s mother walked over to them and grabbed a hold of Bethany.
“You need to leave. Dan will be home shortly, and this will get uglier with him here.”
Then as if by fate, a car pulled up in the driveway. While Evan’s mother was distracted, Bethany pushed herself back into Evan’s grasp. Dan got out of his car and looked upon us in confusion.
“Honey, who are these two?”
“Dan, this is my son, Evan.”
“Son?! He looks like he’s an adult…You were with someone else?”
Evan looked taken aback as Dan said this and interjected.
“Yes, she was with someone long before you. She was with my father for almost twenty years. Then she cheated on him with you.”
“Denise, how could you? How could you not tell me any of this? Is the other one a kid of yours too?”
“No, he’s my boyfriend,” Evan said. My face turned instantly red again.
Dan looked as though he was about to explode. He stormed inside and slammed the door closed. Bethany flinched in Evan’s arms. I couldn’t even imagine what Bethany must have felt like at that moment. I saw her shaking in Evan’s arms. Her family will never be the same after this, and she might even have to live with divorced parents like Evan. Their life would be turned upside down.
“Dan! Dan!” Denise yelled after him. She turned around and you could almost see the steam coming out of her ears. “Damn you! Damn it! Bethany, come over here at once!”
Evan squeezed Bethany one more time and let her go. She ran towards her mother, but before they went inside, she looked back at Evan with tears like a waterfall running down her face.
“Please, come back Evan, please!” She yelled as her mother slammed the door behind them.
Evan fell onto his knees and shook as the tears came rushing out of his eyes. I just stood beside him completely shell shocked.
What the hell just happened?
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