EVA.    "Do you want me to take you?" Emerson asks as he emerges from his room and I shake my head in refusal to his offer. "No, I don't. Do you have a death wish? I'm heading home, Ford. "   "So?" He raises his brows in questioning and I give him a dumb look. "So I'm going to meet my father, who hates the very sight of you. "   "I know that, Carson. I'm not stupid; I was going to drop you a few blocks away. " He suggests and I narrow my eyes at him, "And why would you do that?"   "Because I want to?" He says in more of a question than an answer. We stand still after Emerson's words, just staring into each other's eyes before I break the gaze and look away from him as I say, "No, Ford. I don't need your help. "   Emerson doesn't say a word as I twist my body in the other direction and begin to make my way out of the room.    "I was generous enough t

EVA.    "Where are we going?" I ask Emerson and he spares me only a glance before gazing ahead of him. "You'll know when we get there. "   Rolling my eyes at his response, I grab my phone from my side and turn on the screen to be met with new text notifications— Dan and Aliya.    I open Aliya's first and a laugh falls from my mouth at the words across my screen.    ALIYA: Hey bitch, just a reminder but did you tell Delilah you were the one who told me not to come with and check on her beautiful face?   ME: I didn't. I told her you were being an ungrateful bitch, and what are you on this morning? You sound excited, and that's saying a lot because I can feel it from here.    With the click of the send button, I scroll to Dan's texts, which will be the first ones I have had from him since I left school.    DAN: I'm d

EVA.    "Are you ready?" Mom asks as I walk into the living room with my backpack and I nod before taking my gaze to Dad who's standing behind mom with his car key in hand.    "You don't have to drive me down there. I can take care of myself. " I tell him, and he shakes his head in refusal as he steps forward, and says, "Yes, I have to, Princess. I can manage to take a break for a few hours; you don't have to worry about me. " He assures.    I part my lips, but before I can speak; mom beats me to it, agreeing to his words. "That's right. You should let him take you. "   Knowing there's no stopping them after that, I nod and move forward to hug my mother.    "Thank you, baby. For showing up. " She says as she strokes my back and I pull away with a smile on my face, "Let me know if anything happens, yeah? Don't hide it from me, mom. Ever. " I narrow my eyes and

EVA.  "Eva. " Dan calls next to me and I look away from Emerson's gaze to him. He's staring at me with confused eyes. "Is everything alright?"   With another glance at Emerson, I see the rest of their friend group behind them and I look back at Dan with a small smile. "Yeah, sure. Everything is. "   "Do you want to go back to the seats?" Dan asks again and I nod before he leads us away from the crowd. Just as he's about to take a seat, he presses his hand to the back of his pants and pulls out his phone.    "Give me a minute. I need to take this. " Dan says, and I nod, assuring him I'll be fine before he walks away.    I adjust in my seat and stare in front of me as I wait for Dan's return, and just out of curiosity; I twist my head to the space where Emerson previously occupied with Paige, only to find it empty. I crease my brows as my eyes begin to move across the room, only

EVA.   I make my way inside the bathroom and Emerson walks in through his side at the same time. His gaze drops down my body and without a word, he moves out of the room.    A sigh leaves my mouth as I turn to the sink. It's been a week since that morning on his bed, and things have turned wholly bad for both of us. There have been no snarky comments from him, no looks of annoyance and no mocking words just to taunt me; no form of interaction at all and the only time he speaks to me is when he's buried inside me. Whatever came over him from that day, he's following strictly with our arrangement and I'm aggravated to admit that I miss the other side of him. I told him to follow the rules, only to discover following the rules rigidly might not be so fun after all.    Pulling out of Emerson's thoughts and stripping out of my clothes, I walk through the glass door and move under the shower. I turn it on and place m