ALIYA. She's shaking. She's shaking too fucking much from all over and my heart is jumping in my chest in fear for her. In fear of what might happen to her. "Deep breathes, Eva. Deep breathes. " I try my best to calm her down, but the sobs don't stop and the trembles only increase, till a point where I'm fucking scared she has no control over it either. "Please, Eva. You need to take deep breaths. " I tell her again, rubbing her back to try to provide some warmth and her head only presses harder against my shoulder, her grip on me getting tighter as no words fall from her mouth other than cries, and my heart both hurts and shakes for her. I know the extent of Eva's love for Emerson, and I'd have thought of everything, but this. They might have misunderstandings and fight when the time comes for it to happen, but never would I have thought that Emerson Ford would take the big step of leaving her. Not this way. Not with her like this. We remain in the position and after several minu
EMERSON. "This place still looks the same. " I say to Eli as I walk inside the house and he lets out a chuckle as he closes the door. "You know I hate having different things often. ""Except women. " I mumble as I turn back to meet his eyes and he's loosening the button by his wrist. "Now come on, brother. Just because you got lucky to find one woman you love doesn't mean you weren't once like me. "I smile and look away from him, my eyes moving across the couch, and I see myself walking inside my living room with Eva sitting right there. My smile drops and I look away. Elias notices the change in my mood and he furrows his brows at me, "What's wrong?" "Nothing. I just remembered something. " I tell him and he hums before he strides into his kitchen while I follow behind him. He opens the fridge and what I see is her in her shorts with a smile on her face as she opens the refrigerator to get one of her favourite flavours of ice cream. She's here. She's everywhere. Every small actio
EVA. "Baby. " The voice echoes around me and a groan leave my lips as I turn my head to the side, only for it to come again. "Eva. " My chest drops and I slowly open my eyes to see him hovering over me with a smile on his face. "Hey, babe. " He grins at me, lifting his hand to my face to tuck a strand of my hair away and I shake my head, struggling to believe the sight of him. "You're here. How can you be here?""I'm here for you, baby. " He whispers, leaning forward to brush his lips against my temple and the familiar shudder rushes through my body. A breath of relief leaves my lips as I speak, "You're here. You're really here. You're here with me. ""That's right, Eva; I'll always be here with you. " He responds and a small smile graces my lips as I raise my hand and let it cover his. "I can feel you. You're here. ""I'm here. " He repeats, and I hum. "Kiss me. ""You need to go back to sleep, baby. " He says instead and I shake my head, "No, I don't want to. I want you to kiss me
EVA. "You're awake. " She smiles at me as she stands with her back to the door and I move up on the bed, pressing my palms into the soft mattress with a groan leaving my mouth. The instant headache and coldness kick in; reminding me of the struggles from the previous night and I shut my eyes for a brief second to pull back together. "Are you feeling better?" I open my eyes to her voice and raise my head to her. I don't give her a response as my eyes move across the room before I open my mouth, "Where's Aliya?""She had to go home. " Mom informs me and I hum, looking away from her. Silence takes its residence around us before she speaks again, her voice drawing closer and I know she's coming near me. "Baby. " True to my instincts, she's right above me and I still as she settles at the edge of the bed, her hand moving across the sheets to cover mine. "Please talk to me. "I angle my head to the other side and gently remove my hand from under hers. "Eva please, " her soft voice floats
EVA. "Hanna?" I call out her name and she sighs. "Eva, I'm so glad you're here. " I step to the side and she hurriedly walks inside.When I turn to her, I say, "What are you doing here and–" I don't get to finish my words before Hanna closes the distance between us and wraps her arms around me, her head moving against me as she whispers, "You're fine. You're fine, aren't you, Eva?"I pull her away to stare into her eyes, my voice breaking as I let out the words. "Did he ask you to come here?""Emerson?" She calls it out for me and she shakes her head when I hum. "No, he didn't. I– I just wanted to make sure you're alright. ""So you know he's gone?" I ask her and she takes a step away, guilt covering her expression as she looks down. She raises her head again after a while and starts to speak, "I can assure you that he didn't tell me. I only know because El—""I don't want to hear it. " I whisper and she closes her mouth, a sad expression covering her face as she bends a little to gr
EMERSON. "Why did you leave?" I let out a groan at the sound of her voice and when I turn around, Hanna is standing in front of me with a glare attached to her face and her arms crossed to her chest. "What did I say about coming into my room without my approval?" I raise my brows at her, ignoring her previous question and she drops her hands as she steps closer to me, not removing her eyes from me. "Why did you do that, Emerson?""Since when do I have to explain myself to you?" I ask and she says, "Since it includes you leaving the damn state without notifying anyone. ""Don't raise your voice at me. " I warn her before I turn to the side and stalk towards my bed. "I don't have to give you reasons for my actions, and you shouldn't expect any from me either. "A scoff leaves her lips as she follows after me. "Really, Emery? Are we still playing the cold big brother game?""Hanna, please, " I sigh. "I really don't have it in me to argue with you right now. I left because I needed to;
EVA. "I can't let you hurt me again, Emerson. I can't handle you breaking my heart again. " I whisper to him and he shakes his head several times before he opens his mouth, "I won't. I promise you I won't, baby. I— I love you, Eva. Baby, please. ""You said those same words once, and look where we are. " I remind him of his once made promise and he says, "I told you, Eva. You'd never be in the pain alone. Look at me, baby. Does it seem like I find joy in this? " "I can't, Emerson. I just can't. ""Yes, you can. " He persists, his head falling against my thigh again, and he buries his face in it. "You can, baby. You have to forgive me. You have to give me a chance to make it right again. You— you have to. Please. This will never repeat itself. I promise you that every decision I make for the both of us will be by the both of us. I'm willing to do anything, Eva. Just don't take this away from me. Don't take this away from us. "I bite down on my lips to stop the sobs that urge to brea
EVA. "Hey, why did you want me to come meet you here?" I call out to Aliya as I stroll toward her and she smiles when our eyes meet. "Hey, you. Why are you dressed that way?" She asks when I stop in front of her. "Because it's cold, Lia. Why didn't you want to come in?" I ask her my previous question and she throws me a wink before she steps to the side, revealing a new presence to me. My furrowed brows drop when my eyes catch Josh's gaze, along with Sage by his side. "Um... Hi, guys. What are you two doing here?" I ask awkwardly as they move forward and Sage is the first to speak, "We were worried about you. Since you and your boyfriend decided to disappear without notice, we thought we'd come to you, if you wouldn't come to us. This guy here especially refused to stop disturbing me about you. "I let out a small laugh. "Sorry about that. The last time we saw, you— " Sage doesn't let me finish my words before she closes the gap between us and wraps her arms around me, her head res