Harbour Lights

"Billy, what's going on?"

"Evie, it's – " Will stammered and sat up in bed, gently pushing Marilyn off of him. "It's not what it looks like."

"Who is this?" The girl's eyes were glistening with tears as her gaze darted between Will and Marilyn.

"This is, um," Will chanced a glance in Marilyn's direction, "just an old friend."

"And is it a habit for you to make out with old friends?" she inquired.

"No, Evie, she was just – "

"I was just leaving," Marilyn cut in and made her way towards the door.

Evie stepped in her way, however, and blocked her in. She wasn't going to let Marilyn leave until this was finished. "Who do you honestly think you are?" Evie asked. Her voice wasn't snippy or bitchy, as Marilyn would have expected it to be. Her tone was calm and quiet; she was hurt. For a fleeting second Marilyn wished that Evie would just throw a fit and go on a screaming rampage, like any other betrayed girlfriend would have done. Marilyn could handle yelling and verbal abuse – but she couldn't handle the fact that she had hurt yet another person. "He's my fiancé," Evie said softly and gave Marilyn an earnest look, "I love him."

Marilyn cast her eyes to the ground. She couldn't think of anything to say. Sorry would just make things worse. And telling the truth certainly wouldn't go over well.

"How could you?"

"I didn't mean to do anything," Marilyn finally said. She peeked over her shoulder to look at Will. He was still sitting there, silent, unable to think of anything good to say. His eyes met hers and a look passed between them. Evie watched as it happened.

Something flashed over Evie's eyes as she seemed to realize what was going on. "You're her, aren't you?" she asked Marilyn in a whisper, almost fearfully. Her hurt had been fully replaced by some other emotion, though Marilyn couldn't quite identify what it was. "You're the girl."

"What girl?" Marilyn asked.

"The girl."

Marilyn suddenly knew exactly what she was talking about. The only thing she could think to do was to nod slightly. At that, Evie's eyes filled with tears.

"Oh god," she whispered and ran a hand through her hair. "Oh god, oh god..."

"I'm leaving now," Marilyn said in a small voice. This time Evie did nothing to stop her, and Marilyn was out the door and out of the hospital in less than a minute. She got in her car in a flash and the engine purred to life, but she didn't move. She just sat there and rested her head on the steering wheel.

You're her, aren't you?

Yes. Marilyn was the girl. The girl that broke Will's heart. The girl that Evie should really be looking out for. The girl that could destroy Will's current relationship with a pucker of the lips and a sway of the hips.

Marilyn knew that this was all too true. She knew that Evie practically feared her because, truth be told, Evie wouldn't have a chance if she tried to compete with Marilyn. But Marilyn had no desire to do any of this. She didn’t want to ruin anything else; she had already caused enough damage as it was.

She had to back off. She had to let Will get married and live his life. She couldn't be steal him from Evie – that would be selfish. And she didn't deserve Will, anyway, not anymore.

He's my fiancé. I love him. The phrase was like an echo in her mind. Marilyn put on the radio and turned it on full blast in an attempt to block out these thoughts, but it didn't work. Evie's words kept on replaying over and over in her head and it was driving her insane. I love him, Evie had said.

"That’s the worst part," she mumbled to herself, fully aware as to why Evie's words stung so much, "because I think I love him too."

And Marilyn Day knew for a fact that this officially made her an idiot.