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
EMERSON. A frown takes over my face. "It's you. "I leave the door open and turn back into the house with Jaxon's voice echoing behind me. "That's so rude of you, dude. I thought you'd be happier to see me. ""You aren't exactly the face I was expecting. " I tell him as I drop on the couch. But again, she was determined to break up with me that night, why the hell would she show up now? You truly love to get your hopes up, Emerson. "And let me guess the face you were expecting. " Jaxon's voice pulls me out of my thoughts and he's settling next to me. "Blue eyes and quite different hair. ""Shut up. " I tell him and he laughs before he says, "Are things better between the two of you now?""Not quite. They're far from being better. " I say and he lifts a brow, "Why not? I thought you said your brother was going to help with it?" "I said he was going to help with the father's issue. I didn't say he was going to help with the girlfriend issue. " I explain and he nods, "So the other iss
EMERSON. "Are you threatening me, Carson?" My head spins at those words from her and she smirks, "Does it feel like a threat, Ford? I'm just letting you know what you would be missing—" With one long stride, I close the small gap between us, wrapping a hand around her throat and silencing the rest of her words. "You dare mention fucking other men in front of me?" "Am I not allowed to?" She raises a brow and I move a hand between us, slipping it under her skirt to where her wetness awaits me, and goddamn, she's soaked. "Oh, " she utters lowly as I close my palm over it and I say, "This is mine. Did you get that, Eva? You'll not fuck nor will you mention fucking another man, because this fucking belongs to me. " She raises her head high. "Then prove it. " "What?" I mutter and she presses her lips to my temple. I close my eyes to the feel of her lips on that skin again, only for Eva to take it away and say, "Prove it, Ford. Prove that it's yours. " When I remain still, she contin