EVANGELINE"Where is he!?" I shouted again, and Asher was looking just as perplexed as I was. I turned to him. "Haven't you seen him since you got here?""I haven't, Evangeline," He responded tersely. "They didn't let me.""What do you mean they didn't let you?" Axel intercepted. "You haven't seen him, then why are you even here? What did the doctor say?"Asher huffed, "Well, I guess I should have barged into the fucking room then! They didn't let me see him! It had barely been fifteen minutes since I got here. All I know is the ward he is!""Can you two shut up and just show me the ward?!" I shouted as I walked down the hallway at an increased pace and they followed me. This was the worst time for them to be arguing. Asher overtook and led the way, then pointed to a ward as he continued down the hall. "This one."Oh god! Oh god! I was panicking, and my entire body shook on its own. What did the poor child do to deserve something like this happening to him? What exactly happened? Ho
EVANGELINE.Asher and I were on the same hospital chair, waiting for the results from the blood transfusion. Axel was still in, and waiting for him was the most tortuous thing I'd ever had to deal with.We sat in silence. I was so overwhelmed with sadness, and it gnawed at my chest. Asher, being a person who always read the room, stuck with the silence. My legs wouldn't stop shaking, and I couldn't seem to stop shedding tears either.My palms were pressed together in a prayer. I broke the silence by speaking first. "They said…it was on the football field…""Hm-hm," Asher nodded, his gaze was fixed in the empty space."He—" I took a pause to catch my breath. "He slipped and fell and—" hit his head. I was supposed to add that, but my mouth wouldn't make the words. I couldn't seem to believe that it was Marcus and he'd ever go through something this terrible."I…called him the night before," Asher said, "And…we had this…chess tournament after which he told me…"Do you think I should try
EVANGELINEMarcus was now conscious. I was the first person he saw and recognized after he opened his eyes yesterday. There was no greater joy. The moment I realized that he was fine, half the stress I had been feeling melted into nothing.Now, he was asleep, and I was back to the unfortunate hospital chair, swallowed by my thoughts again. It wasn't a bad thing sometimes. I couldn't help but imagine what I'd have been like if Marcus hadn't opened his eyes.I was dotting my 'Is' and crossing my 'Ts,' doing everything that needed to be done before I began a new chapter. Closure might seem far, but it was worth the try.I informed Harper about the accident last night but told her not to bother coming since Marcus was getting better. I could handle that much by myself now. I already sent the brothers off yesterday, seeing as their presence did my heart more harm than good.Asher was more reluctant to go, judging from the kind of relationship he had with Marcus, and I couldn't blame him.
ASHER.It's been a few days. The doctors only told me that Marcus had been discharged although when I reached out to his teachers, they confirmed that he hadn't resumed school yet, which meant he was with Evangeline here.I wouldn't blame her if she didn't want me close to him, but I did want to know how Marcus was doing. We had left the hospital in a hurry on Evangeline's request, so I didn't have the chance to be there for him the way I wanted to, and that hurt so much. I dropped my suitcase on the chair and fell onto the couch. It was a long day at work today and it was even worse because I couldn't concentrate on the things I had to do. It was almost as though I had detached from the world around me. It terrified me so much.It hadn't been up to a minute since I walked in when the door opened again. The low creaking sound forced me to open my eyes, and I saw Mercury and my mother walk in. I sighed tiredly, already frustrated by the discussion that hadn't even begun yet.I didn't
AXEL. (Final)Asher would get married tomorrow, although it doesn't seem like he's planning on it. He'd vanished into the thin air, and our parents had been worried for a few days.It wasn't like they hadn't realized he really didn't want to do it. He'd told them several times. Now, I was charged with the responsibility of finding him, but to no avail. I barely even knew where he used to be, not to talk of successfully guessing his hideout.I had one last place in mind, and I'd made it my last because a part of me never wanted to believe that it was possible. He couldn't be with Evangeline, right? She'd specifically told us not to contact her anymore.I still did, as frequently as I could, to make sure she knew I was still waiting. I didn't know what to do, and I very much wanted to respect her decision, too. It would be so wrong of me to intrude. Still, I thought about her every day.Every minute, she was on my mind, and I kept wondering how she was doing. If she was fine, if she ate
EVANGELINE MILLER.The ray of light slapped me in with a blinding whiteness, and I groaned at the burning feeling of the sun on my face. I finally fluttered my eyes open as I rolled off the bed. Crashing into the rather cold floor, I still had sleep in my eyes but not enough to keep me from noticing how different the ground felt.I had a soft rug glued to the ground. Why, then, did I crash into cold tiles, and on top of that, Harper's bed was not within my reach? I stood up abruptly, studying my surroundings as I forced my eyes open.A gasp escaped my throat as I realized I wasn't in my apartment. This place was anywhere but. For starters, no clothes were lingering around, and I couldn't see Harper's underwear dangling by the door handle. It was the complete opposite of my apartment. The wall was stainless white with furnishings to match. Everything was white, including the bedsheet I had wrapped around my waist.I gasped yet again, sounding like a pig this time. I had a bed sheet w
EVANGELINE MILLER."Fuck!" I cussed out loud as I remembered what led me into this situation of indescribable terror. Somehow, I still couldn't remember the details of it. My mind went completely blank after accepting Harper's dare to get the stranger's phone number. My mouth was still hung open in awe. "So you....you mean I was all over you? How would I know you're n-not lying?" I questioned, embarrassment flushing my face while I managed to look him in the eye. What kind of girl doesn't remember having sex with a stranger?! A smirk planted on his face as he took a few steps away from me. A glint of mischievousness in his eyes that he didn't bother hiding. I released a breath I didn't know I had been holding. "Well," he shrugged, his rich accent breezing into my ears. "More or less. You even picked out this hotel and said we should be 'quick' about it." I was beyond appalled, and I knew my traitor face showed it to him well. He chuckled as if he had just remembered something."
EVANGELINE MILLER."Asher! Over here!" Before I could begin the ask questions, I heard a voice call out from behind me, and both our heads snapped in that direction. Asher. Asher. Asher? I recited in my head. I didn't know any Asher except-It couldn't be him; I concluded, still confused.I groaned at the sight of Mercury, my boss, as she walked closer with an ear-to-ear grin on her baked face. Her clanging heels echoed through the entire room, the skimpy skirt she had on showing off her typical model legs.Mercury was beautiful in a maleficent kind of way, with red lips, seductive siren eyes, and a jawline that could cut paper. Every stride she took was coated in confidence and charisma. Mercury acted as though the world was her runway, and she owned it. A perk of being the daughter of one of the biggest fashion brands. The Uber driver, who is certainly not an Uber driver, waved to her as she neared. Words were caught in my throat, and I was in the middle of finding an excuse to