Chapter 42
Chapter 42
Evelynne:
Exactly three days after I returned from Boston, I sat down on a couch in my apartment, eyes closed and mind pondering about what ifs.
The soft sounds of bird chirping was nothing but a distant murmur in my ears as my mind had constantly been raging inside me since the night Rhysand walked out of the hotel room–exactly three days ago, and I haven’t set my eyes on him
since then.
Worrying about him should be less of my concern, but that was at first, when we were in the airplane, he wasn’t there and I reminded myself that Rhysand was a grown up, and his whereabout shouldn’t be any of my business.
Day one after I returned, I didn’t care to inquire about him. On day two, same thing, but now on the third day, a worrisome feeling clawed at my chest.
And the worst thing was the fact that there was no one I could ask about where he was. Last time I saw his assistant was in Somerville airport where he led me to a car waiting outside for me, and after that, I had no idea where he headed to.
I took a slow breath, willing myself to stay composed. Three days. Just three days of silence, and yet it felt like something was unraveling inside me. My mind kept drifting back to that argument–the way he looked at me, as though he was trying to strip away every lie I’d ever told.
My eyes fluttered open after a while, and I remained on the couch, staring at the ceiling as thoughts swirled in my head.
I had kept so much from him. And in return, he had held back, too. But why should that surprise me? We were both hiding things–things we weren’t ready to share.
Still, that didn’t explain why his absence gnawed at me, why I felt like a part of me was on edge, waiting for him to return, to break the silence.
My gaze fell on my phone which was placed on the table. For days now, there have been no texts nor calls and that was very unusual of him, so it only intensified my worry.
“Stupid,” I muttered under my breath, my voice the only sound in the apartment. “It shouldn’t matter.”
But no matter how many times I told myself that, the sinking feeling in my chest didn’t go away. I had built walls around myself for a reason, but Rhysand had come too close to scaling them. The thought of him getting any closer, of him finding out the truth I had buried so deeply, terrified me.
My head jerked towards the table I placed my phone when I heard the sound of my ringtone.
My heart jumped at the sound, and I reached for the phone with shaky fingers, praying against logic that it was Rhysand. That he had finally decided to break the silence, to let me know where he was. I glanced at the screen.
Elli.
And for the first time ever in my life, a wave of disappointment settled in my chest like a weight when I saw it was Elli calling, but I quickly pushed it down and answered the call.
“Elli,” I muttered down the line in a weightless voice.
“Evie, how are you?” his voice was warm and familiar, and I took it as a welcome distraction, even if it wasn’t the person I had hoped to hear from.
Chapter 42
1 sighed, leaning back into the couch, trying to force a smile he couldn’t see. “I’m fine”
“You sure? You don’t sound fine? He pushed, and I could hear the sound of keys from the offer end.
There was silence for a while, and he immediately asked, “Does your mood have anything to do with the Higha of the pack you are presently staying at?
My heart dropped to my stomach at how easily he was able to access the situation and how done to the point his assumptions were.
Before the silence could span long enough to be taken as a yes, I immediately spoke out, “No, this have nothing to do with
him.”
There was a slight pause of movement from the other end, like he wasn’t convinced of my words, but then he simply said “Okay,” and I appreciated that he wasn’t pushing it.
Pushing myself from the couch, I walked over to the window where I could see the house directly opposite to mine, and my eyes lingered on the environment for a while, “How’s mom?”
Sound of a hissing boiling water in kettle filled my ears and I took it that he was preparing to go to work
“Ah, mom’s fine. She’s been holed up in her place for days now. She barely talks to me when I go over, she doesn’t even open the door of her room to step out and talk to me when I’m there.” He paused, “But it’s safe to say, she seems to have cut off on her constant in take of cigarettes.”
Elli’s voice grew quieter, more somber, and I could tell he was just as worried about her as I was. Our mother had always been a distant figure, but recently–ever since the mating ceremony where I had rejected Desmond–something had changed. She’d retreated further into herself, her bad habits taking a darker turn.
If Elli was noticing it, then it was serious.
Releasing a deep breath, and keeping my eyes on the house across the street, I muttered, “I’ll call her,” I said softly, though we both knew it wouldn’t make much difference.
She never answered when I called.
Elli made a sound of agreement but didn’t push the subject. Instead, he asked, “Are you sure everything’s okay with you, Evie?”
Hesitation clawed at my chest, and I traced my fingers across the window lines, “I’ll be fine, heaving a breath, I said, a poor attempt at reassurance.
Elli didn’t reply for a moment, the silence stretching in the line before he sighed, “Alright. Just… call me if you need anything.”
“I will.”
“Good. I’ll call you some other time, trying to make breakfast right now and leave for work in the next couple of minutes.” He told me.
“Okay, bye” the call was just about to end when Elli suddenly asked.
“That reminds me, how’s the progress of your books?” The moment he asked, my heart beat skipped.
Shaking my head to push away unwanted thoughts, I replied, “Going alright.”
10:08 de, 11 Feb
Chapter 42
“If you need anything, just remember you can always call me.” Elli reminded me, and a small smile pulled up my lips at his words.
“I know.”
I appreciated the fact he didn’t go further to ask anymore about my ongoing book project, as he finally ended the call.
As the call with Elli ended, I stood by the window, lost in my thoughts, staring blankly at the house opposite mine. My mind kept bouncing between my worries about Rhysand and my mother, the weight of everything pressing down on me.
I stared out of the window again, aimlessly watching and wondering. And it was then that I noticed a familiar black car slowly driving into the driveway of the house across–his house.
My heart skipped a beat.
Rhysand.
He was back.
My eyes remained on the car, half expecting him to step out. But the car door stayed closed, and there was no movement. It made me feel even more unsettled.
Tearing my gaze away from the window, I walked away from there after he didn’t step out close to five minutes later. At least he was back, and safe, that was all I needed to know.
Brushing my fingers through my hair, I made my way into the kitchen, trying to distract myself by preparing a cup of tea. A little while later, the kettle hissed softly as it heated up, but my mind was elsewhere.
For some indescribable reason, I couldn’t keep the thoughts of Rhysand out of my head and it bothered me more than it should.
At that moment, the sound of the doorbell echoed through the apartment. My heart leapt into my throat.
Without thinking, I abandoned the kitchen and hurried to the front door. With my pulse quickening with each step, I paused for a moment, taking a deep breath to steady myself before I finally opened the door.
And there he was.
My gaze fell on the man outside.
Rhysand stood in the doorway, his tall frame taking up most of the space. His dark eyes met mine, unreadable and intense. After days of silence, his presence felt overwhelming to me.
We stood there for a moment, neither of us speaking, as though we were both waiting for the other to make the first move.
“Evie,” he said finally, in a low and serious voice that had me raising a brow at him.
Fixing my expression, I looked up at him, “You are back.”
Rhysand nodded, eyes subtly moving down to my lips, before he glanced back up. The silence between us was loud.
I could see dark circles under his eyes and it took everything in me to not ask him what happened. He didn’t look like he had an ounce of sleep in the past few days, yet he was standing on my doorway the moment he returned.
“We need to talk.” He said after a while, breaking the silence between us with four words.
Kis
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Chapter 43
