A Rollercoaster Kind of Rush

While the other girls were completely ecstatic, I was upset. The snow in Grand Forks was short lived, only giving us a sneak peak of what was to come closer to winter. Apparently when it snows early in November, it’s bound to not last too long at all. All the snow and ice had melted away entirely, leaving it only cold enough for hoodies and jeans.

This was actually my favorite weather, the typical autumn crisp in the air, but once the snow fell, I got excited for it. Winter was always my favorite time of the year. I loved playing in the snow, and drinking hot chocolate to warm up. Everything about winter reminded me of Christmas.

I rolled my eyes as Danny tried to make some lame joke while we all walked into the front entry way of the Marto household located just out of Grand Forks.

It was Thanksgiving Day here in the states, and because the boys have a game tomorrow, all of us girls decided to stick around for the holidays so our boyfriends wouldn’t be lonely. Since very few of us had family here in the university in town, the Marto’s were sweet enough to invite us all over for dinner.

Since there was 20+ of us, we decided to split up, half coming here to the Marto’s and the other half traveling across town to the Lamoureux household. Obviously the only guys who went over there were the ones who wanted to mack on the Lamoureux girls. I mean really, what guy didn’t love blond haired, blue eyed twins?

Evan’s fingers were securely wrapped around mine as he smiled down at me while I slipped out of my Uggs at the door. He carelessly kicked off his black Velcro Nikes, not letting go of my hand to pull them off easier. I rolled my eyes, realizing that he hadn’t even bothered to Velcro them up at all before we left the house.

But then again, this is the boy who is currently wearing green sweatpants tucked into his black high top Velcro Nikes. There’s obviously something wrong with him, but I have to admit, he looks good. Evan Trupp could be wearing a Santa suit, topped off with the hat and beard and still look irresistible in my eyes.

“Could you like, not have bummed it out for once?” I giggled, raising my eyebrows at him. He grinned, ducking his head down as he gripped my waist. Evan’s hot breath swept over my neck just before his teeth sank into earlobe delicately. My eyes snapped shut as he tugged lightly, my breath catching in my throat.

“Ew,” Ben commented, pushing Evan from behind, causing him to fall into me. Stumbling backwards, I glared at Ben who winked at me and skipped into the kitchen. Evan laughed, kissing my neck just once before he pulled back.

The Marto’s were a sweet family. All of them looked exactly like Jake, with blond hair and blue eyes and a very defined face. His sister Lily, who was just turning nineteen, has everything it takes to be a super model. Lily’s eyes shone bright blue, her long, blond hair outlined her face perfectly, and she was as skinny as you could be and still look healthy. The youngest of the three children was Suzie, who was just short of age four. She had curly blonde hair and the same bright blue eyes as her sister.

Though Lily’s eyes seemed to wonder around the group of hockey players and ultimately rest upon Evan, I ignored it with a twisting knot in my stomach. I just bit my lip and held onto Evan’s hand tighter as she was sizing me up. He didn’t seem to notice her actions as he smiled down at me, kissing my hair just once.

Out of the corner of my eye, it was impossible to miss the shared look between Mika and Phoebe, but I also chose to ignore that. In my mind, I reassured myself over and over that I had absolutely nothing to worry about. Things are different now.

The boys all settled into the living room with Jake’s father to watch whatever Thanksgiving football game was on. Lily, of course, being the huge sports fan she was decided to watch also, squeezing into the minuscule open space on the couch between Evan and Chay.

I took a seat at the dining room table with the rest of the girlfriends who had tagged along. Of course, I made sure I could see exactly what was going on in the living room at all times from my seat.

As the girls talked about the upcoming holidays and what they planned to get for their respective significant others, I hardly paid attention. My eyes flickered back and forth between the television and where Lily’s hand creeped only and inch away from Evan’s thigh. Involuntarily, I glared towards her.

“So, Avery, what do you plan on getting Evan?” Darcy’s girlfriend, Zoey asked, leaning up on the oak wood table on her elbows. I simply shrugged, before my eyes scanned the living room one more time.

“Maybe you should get him a leash,” Lisa suggested under her breath. I examined the blonde, who was Chris VandeVelde’s latest girlfriend of the week, as her eyes floated past me. I sighed, turning around just in time to see Lily grinning up at my boyfriend. He turned his head towards her, smiling before he turned back to the game. I let out a long breath, shaking my head as I turned back in my seat. Mika shook her head, pursing her lips the way she always did when she wasn’t exactly happy with something.

“Why are you so worried?” Kristy, Jake’s girlfriend asked, running her fingers through her gorgeous dirty blonde hair. “He’s so sweet,” she said. It was obvious that she was newer around here. She didn’t get to see the sophomore year blow me off Evan in his glory days.

“That’s the Lily!” Phoebe exclaimed at a whisper, leaning up on the table with wide eyes. Both Kristy and Lisa raised their perfectly shaped eyebrows in confusion. I sighed, now raking my fingers through my hair as the feeling of jealousy and hurt laid heavily in my stomach.

Phoebe cast me a look, as if asking if it’s okay to let out the information. I just nodded, my eyes trained on the autumn theme centerpiece of the table.

“Last year, Jonathan Toews came back to North Dakota for one of his yearly visits,” She started, glancing into the living room as if she was making sure if any of the guys were listening.

“So as usual, there was a huge party thrown in his honor. Half way through the party, Evan and Lily disappeared. You can only guess what they were up to,” Mika finished, sending me eyes filled with sympathy as I felt like someone had punched me in the gut.

Getting cheated on with some random girl and being cheated on with a girl who could pass as a super model are two entirely different things. For months after, and apparently even to this day, it makes me feel insecure. I don’t think I’m incredibly ugly, but I also know I’m not extremely beautiful like Lily is.

“Were you two dating then?” Lisa asked, tapping her perfectly manicured nails on the finished wood. I sighed, nodding a bit. “I didn’t know you two have been dating for that long.” I once again only nodded. It seemed as though my voice was trapped inside of me.

“They’ve been dating for almost two years. Not including their three month break up this summer,” Mika answered for me just as Jake called for Kristy form the kitchen where he was helping his mother with dinner. She gave me a small smile before she stood from the table and fled.

It was only a few seconds later when Jake and Kristy came through the doorway, both carrying a large tray with what looked to be at least one hundred jello shots on each. Mika squealed, grabbing a blue one from Jake’s tray without a second shot, grabbing a purple one for Phoebe while she was standing. The two downed them before anyone else even realized what was going on.

“Here, I think you’ll need these,” Kristy winked, setting six different colored jello shots in front of me just before Jake yelled for the boys, telling them that there were indeed jello shots out here. Of course, just as expected, most of the guys rushed in.

Evan grabbed a red one off of Kristy’s tray that she had set down on the table, and stood behind me, placing a kiss on my cheek before he downed his own jello shot, struggling to get the jello out of the small plastic container. I laughed, rolling my eyes before I downed my own much easier than him, getting it out cleanly.

“Skill, obviously,” I informed him with a smirk as Brett and Davey argued over the last blue one. I rolled my eyes at the two. There were at least fifty sitting on the table in other colors, but they just had to fight over the last blue one. So typical.

“Chill guys, there’s more in the kitchen,” Kristy told them with an eye roll. They both nodded, dashing off towards the kitchen.

“How is jello shots a Thanksgiving tradition?” Lisa asked, playing with her half eaten green shot. Her boyfriend shrugged.

“It just is for us. I think Osh started it his freshman year,” Chris stated, stealing the remains of Lisa’s shot, knowing she wasn’t going to finish it and did it for her. Chay nodded, confirming Chris’s thoughts.

While everyone else talked, I had learned it was half time now, I toned them out and down another one of the shots. They were stronger than we usually make them. The vodka was really prominent in the flavored jello, but I wasn’t complaining. Some alcohol was just what I needed to keep my mind off of what Lily and Evan had done a little less than a year ago.

After I had finished my sixth, following a shot for shot race with Phoebe and Mika who were downing them just as quickly as I was, I reached for another one, but a hand caught my arm.

“I think you’ve had enough, Av,” Evan spoke in my ear. I raised my eyebrows and turned my head to face him.

“Excuse me?” My stomach had started to feel warm and fuzzy a few shots ago, and my head was starting to feel light. Whatever alcohol percentage they put in these jello shots was sure getting to me. And that’s exactly what I wanted to happen.

“Avery,” his voice warned. I just rolled my eyes, shrugging him off as I grabbed another one of the many shots still remaining and clanked the plastic against Chay’s and used my finger to get it out easier. I heard Evan sigh and walk back into the living room. Not really caring about Evan’s little fit, I just rolled my eyes and grabbed another, deciding I would stop after this one.

The boys all took the shot with me, including Mika and Phoebe. All the other girls figured it would be best to only take some. I guess the three of us live on the wild side.

Looking back in the living room, with all intent to go talk to Evan to see if he was mad at me now, I glared. Of course Lily would jump on the chance of a lull in happiness in our relationship. She sat close to him on the empty couch, speaking up at him with wide eyes. He grinned down at her, nodding every few seconds.

So instead of going to talk to him, I just turned in my seat to face a grinning Danny Kristo who was holding out a red shot for me. I grinned, tipping mine towards his before I dumped the loose jello into my mouth.

I sighed, watching Mika as her eyes floated into the living room and her lips once again pursed. I didn’t bother to look back as all the boys migrated back into the living room, taking the rest of the jello shots with them.

Suddenly the alcohol wasn’t having such an effect. The feeling of jealousy and annoyance took the place of the warm and happy feeling that was supposed be there. My head, though, was still fuzzy, and every time I turned my head to fast, the world would spin. And that’s all I need right now.

Of course by the time that I got to the living room, all the seats were taken. Lily was once again beside Evan, squished between him and Chris. I rolled my eyes before I spotted a seat open. I grinned, plopping down beside Brett, who had his iPod plugged into his ears.

He smiled, pulling the left one from his ear, keeping the right one in. I picked the bud up off of his chest, placing it in my right ear, smiling as I heard Taylor Swift’s voice flowing from the small speakers. Closing my eyes, I let my head rest on Brett’s broad shoulder as The Way I Loved You played, reminding me of exactly what my life was like. Taylor Swift had a habit of writing my life into her songs.

As the song switched, I opened my eyes just in time to see both Evan and Ben laughing at something Lily had said with a large grin. A sigh escaped my pale pink lips as I leaned further into Brett out of habit.

Evan’s laugh was always like the sweetest melody to me. It wasn’t too high pitched, it wasn’t too low that it boomed, and it wasn’t over done. It was just perfect. And although nothing about Evan was really perfect, I knew he was perfect for me.

I watched as Lily stood from the couch, swaying her hips in the way that only girls who wanted something did as she walked across the room to talk to her brother and father. I took this as my opportunity to be with Evan, and pulled the headphone from my ear, handing it back to Brett before I stood up and made my way towards the other side of the room.

Sitting down beside Evan, I turned my head to the left, casting him a smile. He hardly returned it before he faced the television for the first time that I’ve seen since he came back into the room. I sighed, shaking my head. Chay gave me a shrug, before patting my thigh his hand. It was impossible for me to miss the glare that Evan was giving me, so I stood from the couch once again and left the room.

Tears were prickling at the back of my eyes but I refused to let them appear. I could never deal with it well when Evan acted cold towards me. It always hit me hard when he acted like this. And let me tell you, when Evan Trupp felt like being a dick, he could be the biggest asshole on the planet.

I made my way towards the kitchen, knowing that Mrs. Marto had joined everyone in the massive family living room previously. But I stopped at the doorframe as I saw someone moving around. Ben Blood, in all his glory opened the oven as the buzzer sounded. His massive hands were occupied by navy blue oven mitts as he reached in, sliding the turkey out of the oven.

He let out a gasp as the thirty pound turkey tumbled to the floor, landing just in front of the counter he was going to set it on. Though his back was faced towards me, I knew his eyes were wide as he held the empty turkey pan in his hands. My jaw dropped as he crouched down quickly, lifting the turkey back into the pan and set it on the counter.

I had to put my hand over my mouth so I didn’t laugh out loud. Shaking with laughter, I turned on my heel.

Biting my lip harshly, I heard Ben tell Mrs. Marto that the turkey was done. I shook my head, realizing that Lily still had not taken her seat back. So I tried once more, sitting down beside Evan.

This time, he actually smiled at me before he was whisked off into conversation by one of the guys. Sighing in content, I laid my head on his shoulder, loving the strong smell of his cologne that was permanently sewn into the fabric of his hoodie.

Just as I closed my eyes, Evan stood abruptly, not giving me a second look as he walked towards where Lily was sitting. I groaned, letting a long breath out of my lungs. Leaning my head back onto the couch, I shook my head, letting my eyes flutter closed.

Only minutes later, we were called into the dining room for dinner. I took a seat exactly where I had been sitting before at the massively large table. The Marto’s sure were loaded.

Evan took a seat beside me, even though I hadn’t expected him to. His eyes scanned over the food that was stuffing the table hungrily, as he ran his fingers through his almost black hair.

“Are you eating?” He asked me, only looking at me for a second. I looked at him oddly.

“Of course she’s eating,” Chay laughed out, taking the seat on the other side of me. I sent him a grin, watching as Mrs. Marto made her way around the table with a plate of sliced turkey.

“How many pieces of turkey do you want, dear?” She asked, smiling down at me. Biting my lip, I glanced over to Ben who was looking around nervously.

“None, thank you, I don’t like turkey,” I said politely. She only nodded, making her way towards Evan now. Ben looked at me with wide eyes. I winked back, once again feeling Evan’s eyes on me. But when I looked over to him, he looked away, shoveling stuffing onto his plate.

Dinner went exactly like that. Evan would ignore me, Chay would talk to me, Mika would throw pieces of corn and me and Danny and Phoebe would moan discreetly as the other’s hand creeped a little too far up.

I hardly ate anything, and Chay figured it was necessary to make a spectacle of it. So I excused myself and stood from the table, and sat down on the couch in the living room.

It was only another few minutes before everyone else filed back into the room. Everyone was stuffed and collapsed onto the couches, just like they always did. Evan sat beside me, lacing his fingers with mine as my eyes stayed closed tightly.

I wasn’t feeling well. Maybe it was the jealousy taking over from seeing Lily eyeing Evan hungrily all dinner. Or maybe it was because I could just picture the two laying together in bed. Whatever it was, I didn’t like it.

It was easy for me to fall asleep quickly. I always got tired after alcohol intake, and even though I didn’t drink enough to get drunk, it always made me sleepy. In my half asleep state, I cuddled into Evan’s side, not realizing that he had been acting cold towards me.

He instantly stood, almost making me fall flat onto my face. As he walked away, my brain and body began to coordinate, waking myself up as I ran my fingers through my hair.

As I heard the front door shut, I followed him out of the room, ignoring the feeling of Lily’s piercing blue eyes burning a whole into my retreating form.

Pushing my feet into my Uggs, I hugged Evan’s Penticton hoodie closer to my body as I stepped into the chilly air. Evan stood with his back to me. He leaned up on his arms on the railing that outlined the porch, hunched over a bit considering the height difference.

I stood silently for a moment, not sure what to say. Evan didn’t bother to turn around, or even acknowledge my presence.

“Ev,” I started softly, “Why are you so mad at me?” My voice was as vulnerable and discouraged as a young child’s. I was scared for the answer, and how he would react. Evan had never really been mad at me for something like this. He only ever got mad when we were fighting, and even then he would never dare to act this way towards me. The only time I could recall that he acted coldly towards me was at the beginning of our relationship when he thought I was flirting with one of his teammates.

Evan didn’t answer. After a few minutes, I gave up the hope that he was ever going to and sighed. Leaning against the house, I watched the clouds of my breath appear in front of me in the cold night.

Just thinking about the winter weather, I started to shiver. My teeth chattered quietly as I once again pulled the over sized hoodie closer to me. I instantly regretted wearing just this massive hoodie and grey leggings.

“Evan, this is so dumb,” I complained with a groan, still leaning all of my weight up against the red brick home. Evan sighed loudly, nodding his head as he still looked out into the street.

As I watched him and wondered if he was ever going to turn around to look at me, he finally did. He pulled his beanie down over his ears as he spun, looking me straight in the eye.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled, gripping my waist and pulling my body into his easily. Hesitantly, I leaned into him instead of the house, feeling all of the cold leave my body as soon as he made contact. He held me tightly as my eyes closed and he pressed two consecutive kisses to the top of my head.

“Sorry for what?” I asked into his warm chest. “I don’t even understand what’s wrong,” I breathed out, feeling the warmth of my breath being absorbed by the hoodie that hugged his chest. He pulled away suddenly, keeping me at less than arms length while his left hand cupped my cheek.

“I was just being stupid,” he spoke softly, looking down into my eyes with his dark ones. “I’m sorry, baby,” he whispered, leaning his forehead against mine. My eyes closed instantly, feeling his heated breath wash across my nose. I just nodded very slightly, loving the feeling of his hands gripping my waist protectively.

“I love you so much, Av,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. A smile stretched at my lips and I kept my eyes shut.

Just as I was about to reply, the door opened, casting light across the porch. Evan took his head off of mine, craning his neck to see the door. Following his gaze, I almost glared.

“I’m not interrupting anything am I?” Lily started with a sweet smile. “Sorry, Mom’s cutting the pie.”

“We’ll be in in a minute,” Evan told her, making it perfectly clear that he wanted her to go. I smirked at her as she closed the door.

Evan instantly pulled me back into him, and held me close to him as we stood in the cold, late November air.

And though things were good now, seeing Lily lit a fire in me. I wanted to fight, I wanted to scream, and I wanted to be angry with Evan. I needed the rush that I got from getting him so angry that he slams doors, punches walls and throws glasses at the floor. But for now, I held it back.