Chapter 28

Sebastian

“I know somewhere we can go. Hide for a bit. But only if you want to.”

The words are out of my mouth before I can catch them, falling into her lap like her tears. I pull my face away from Evelyn’s, dropping my hand from her chin. I look for something in her eyes but can’t seem to find it.

I’ve never shown anyone this place, but I can see the desire to run away. It’s the look I know I have when I want to do the same.

Still crying, she manages to give me just the tug of a smile and ask, “Are you kidnapping me, Sebastian?”

My heart burns at these words, so glad to hear the Evelyn I know making her way through her tears.

I give her my signature smirk and wink. “Only if you ask nicely, Princess.”

She nods her head, wiping her nose on her sleeve. “Let’s go.”

I put the car back into gear, and I set out for our location.

Showing Evelyn this place, a place no one knows about in my life means a big fucking deal to me.

I try not to question what exactly the meaning is. That I trust her? That I want to make her happy?

“How about that you can’t stop thinking about her?”

My brain is persistent today. But even I know that it’s not right to tell her exactly how I feel. If this is more than just an infatuation, how am I supposed to tell her that?

If this is…the emotion I’m thinking…do I even know how to show it?

Because I’ve never felt that before for a person. Not once in my life. It’s only ever been me and Gregory, and nothing more.

I’ve only felt that for racing. For the wind in my hair and the speedometer growing faster and faster till I felt as though I was floating through this shitty world.

“I’m sorry,” Evelyn’s voice squeaks, distracting me from my ever-annoying thoughts. “For worrying you.”

“You can tell me what happened, you know,” I say, letting my hand go from the steering wheel down to the center console. “As long as you’re honest.”

“It wasn’t a date,” she sighs. “Ava and I ran into him today, and he invited us to go bowling with his friends. I thought you were going to be there.”

“And why’s that?” I ask.

“Because he’s your roommate? You’re friends?”

I huff out one laugh. “Right now, we are most certainly not friends. In fact, William’s either going to wake up in the middle of campus buck-naked, or I’m going to kill him. It’s simple as that.”

“You’re not going to kill him,” she sighs again.

“You don’t know that. For all you know, I’d never hurt a fly, and then BAM William ends up in the East River.”

“You wouldn’t sacrifice your racing career, Sebastian, I know that.”

I look at her for just a moment, raising an eyebrow as if to question her authority. Then, I turn back to the road. “Why?”

“Because that’s not who you are. You’re really the guy who goes around and beats up others for hurting your sister?”

“Step-sister,” I correct. “And no. I’m the guy who doesn’t want to watch you crying your eyes out because of some stupid bullshit my asinine roommate concocted.”

“I thought he was being nice, inviting us because you would be there, and I was willing to go if it meant I got to see you outside of the rest of the world’s views. Just Sebastian and Evelyn. Not siblings, just two people.”

“I see you at parties and on campus constantly,” I argue back.

“That’s different. That’s when you have to be ‘on’ for everyone. I thought you would be laid back, and just…you.”

“Who am I?” I question her, still not looking away from the road.

“You’re more than what you claim to see yourself as.”

Her response is so simple that I nearly stop the car in the middle of the road to get more information. But, I don’t do it, and I just continue the drive.

I am exactly what I see in myself.

I’m the man who can’t have what he wants.

We arrive at our location not much later, and I pull into a parking spot nearby.

“Now I really think you weren’t kidding about that kidnapping bit,” Evelyn says, looking around through the windshield. “Where are we?”

I open my door. “We’re hiding,” I insist.

“That’s not enough information,” she throws back as I slam the door to my truck.

It takes a bit of coaxing to get her out of the truck, but when she does, she immediately begins to shake. I reach into my backseat and grab a forgotten sweatshirt, putting it over her shoulders so she can hold it against her skin.

I grab one more thing from the backseat and slide it into my back pocket.

“Live a little,” I say to her, leaning down to meet her eyes. “And trust me.”

She sighs but comes along with me.

I take her through a short brush of trees and bushes, finding the path I’ve made with all the times I’ve walked this way, guiding her carefully. As far as I can tell, no one has ever found this place. If they have, I’ve never seen them.

After I push aside the final branches, we are greeted by the view of a relatively small lake.

There’s almost no light out here, so we allow the full moon and my phone flashlight to guide us.

“What is this?” Evelyn questions again, moving her head around to study the area.

Ahead of us is a small sandy spot next to the lake. There are no chairs or seating, but I never need that, anyway.

“It’s my spot,” I reply. “Where I go to run away.”

She looks back up at me, wonder seemingly imprinted in her eyes. “You come here a lot?”

I shrug, pulling the item out of my back pocket. “When I need to.”

I shake out the blanket I’d grabbed, laying it down on the small sandy spot for us to lie down and watch the stars.

She stands there, crossing her arms as I stand back up from fixing the blanket. “What?”

“I’m just trying to figure out how you found this place,” Evelyn replies.

“That’s a secret itself,” I tease. “Gotta get to know me a bit more before you get me to spill that one.”

I gesture for her to sit down, and it doesn’t take much protesting before she does.

I join her, lying back to look up at the sky. The stars are twinkling tonight, and the full moon casts thousands of shadows every which way. It’s been a minute since I came out on a full moon like this.

“When life is overwhelming, I run away and watch the stars.”

Evelyn slowly lays down next to me, keeping some space between us.

“When Gregory tries to tell me what life should be, I’m here. When it’s no longer an option to put on the persona everyone knows, I disappear. When I need to be alone, I always find a hiding spot. Lake Davey just so happens to be my favorite.”

“You don’t seem like you would need to hide often,” Evelyn notes.

“What one sees and what one knows are entirely different, Princess,” I reply. “I’m sure that you can relate to that.”

I turn my head to look at her, her thick curls cascading around her like a pillow. I can still make out the red eyes and the tears still on her cheeks, but I don’t say a word. She looks like she’s lost in a faraway land, and I don’t want to take that away from her.

“I can relate,” she whispers. “I really can.”

The wind picks up momentarily, and her hair brushes up against her cheeks as she continues to watch the sky. I can hear the sadness in each word she gives me, and it makes my heart ache just a little bit more.

But I can’t be honest about that part.

There’s so much I truly will never be honest about.

I lift my arm up, Evelyn’s eyes returning to my body. She seems to pick up on my gesture, and she scoots in close and lets her head fall to my chest.

It’s been so long since we were like this together. Since that faithful party where I slept with a woman I barely knew. But as I keep having to remind myself, we’re not those people anymore.

“You are more than people give you credit for,” Evelyn whispers into my chest. The vibration of her voice feels funny, but I let it move through me.

“How so?” I tease back, running my hand up her arm slowly.

“You’re not some playboy type, for one,” she says, lifting her head to make eye-contact again. “But I don’t know why you still act as if that’s who you are.”

“Can’t reveal all my secrets, Princess, you know that.”

“Yet you always seem to surprise me with one.”

I sigh, continuing to stare into those beautiful dark eyes. “Maybe there’s something about you, then.”

She snorts. “There really isn’t.”

“Says you,” I retort. “But I’m inclined to believe you’re more than meets the eye.”

I let my fingers keep moving, but Evelyn pulls her eyes away to look back up at the sky.

“You can stay here as long as you’d like,” I tell her, enjoying the warmth against my body. “I promise no funny business. For tonight, at least.”

She breathes out a laugh, but she moves closer to me, wrapping her own arm around my stomach and holding tight.

“I’ll keep you safe as best I can,” I whisper in the darkness. “I mean it, Princess.”

She doesn’t answer still, but I don’t mind.

Bringing her to my stop, to my place where I usually find myself alone, makes me feel safe in my own way. Not that I’ll admit that anytime soon.

Her heart, however, seems to be saying something that only I can hear.

I hope it means she feels the way I have and will continue to feel.

Like there’s no one else in the world.