Sunshine

“Evelyn!”

A large figure approached her and she immediately had the urge to run, though she knew he wouldn’t hurt her. He stopped running a couple feet in front of her and bent over his knees, trying to catch his breath. He held up his hand signaling ‘one minute’ and huffed and puffed while she sat under her tree, watching him curiously.

“You sound like me, Matt,” Evelyn commented.

“I don’t have asthma like you do.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

He gave her a dirty look. He meant it to be playful and Evelyn knew that, but it still made her afraid he was going to snap and punch her at any moment.

I don’t think I’ll ever get over my…fear of Matt.

“Jimmy’s looking for you.”

Evelyn tilted her head to the side, “What’s he need?”

Matt shrugged, standing up straight. He was still a bit out of breath, but had recovered considerably.

“Wants to ask you something, I guess.”

Evelyn stood up and looked around, trying to spot her infamous ‘Tree Buddy’. It was now the last day of school, and every day up to that point since the first, Jimmy had sat under the tree with her. It was weird without him here. She hadn’t realized how important his mere presence was to her until now.

“Evie!”

Jimmy, in all his orange bathrobe clad glory, came sprinting towards Evelyn. He shoved students out of the way and screamed at them if they were an obstacle of any sort. Matt chuckled and stepped clear out of Jimmy’s line of fire and opened the path to his target: Evelyn.

Her eyes widened as he tackled her to the ground, football style, and hovered over her. He had never done this before, and it made her greatly confused.

“Hi?” she offered meekly.

“Guess what?” he asked excitedly. Kids gave the two grossed out looks and Matt sent glares at them, instantly causing the offenders to pull straight faces and walk away as fast as possible for fear of Matt getting angry. It was a well known fact on campus that you did not get Matt Sanders angry. It was a giant no-no.

“What?” Evelyn asked, trying not to show her discomfort with the physical contact. She wasn’t used to people being close to her in that sense.

Jimmy jumped up, pulling Evelyn with him. Being her graceful self, she fell right into him, but he caught her and held her in his vice grip.

“It’s the last day of school!”

He let go of Evelyn, sending her stumbling backwards into someone. Jimmy danced around excitedly, singing about summer and hot weather and girls in bikinis on the beach.

Evelyn chuckled and turned around, thinking that Matt was the one who caught her. She was surprised to find Zacky there instead, a warm smile on his face.

He lifted his green eyes to Jimmy, who was doing some kind of unusual tribal dance, “He enjoying himself?”

Evelyn turned back to face Jimmy with a sweet and knowing smile, “Always.”

Matt gave Zacky a pat on the back, “How’s it goin’, Zacky?”

Ever since the first time Evelyn had called Zack…well…Zacky, the guys would not let him live it down. Jimmy wouldn’t allow Zacky to call Evelyn ‘Evie’ in his presence either, and Zacky was constantly teased for it. Even so, he continued to talk to Evelyn and be nice to her, earning both of them respect. Matt now spoke to her as well, along with Meredith and Val. Brian still didn’t like her.

Some things just don’t change.

Zacky rolled his eyes, “Great, Matt.”

“Evie!” Jimmy appeared from nowhere, grabbing Evelyn by the shoulders and holding her awkwardly close to him. She noted that the closer she got to him emotionally, the closer she got to him physically.

“Yes?”

Jimmy stared at her blankly for a minute, Evelyn mirroring his expression. The only movement was the two of them blinking.

“I wonder about them sometimes,” Matt mumbled to Zacky.

“You’re coming with me and Brian to the spot tonight, right? We have to celebrate!” he yelled, breaking out of his trance.

Evelyn shook her head sadly, “You know I can’t, Jimmy, not with softball. If I get caught drinking, I’m out. Literally.”

Jimmy knew all too well how softball was a huge part of Evelyn’s life. He had heard her Ma and Pa, as she called them, talk about it all the time. He had seen the pictures of her playing since she was in diapers. He’d seen pictures of her with her various medals and awards and the tickets from her trips across the states to play. He couldn’t take that away from her just because he wanted to have a drinking party.

“After softball season?” Jimmy pouted. She broke into a smile, not being able to resist his guilt trip.

“We’ll see.”

Jimmy cheered and squeezed her in a tight bear hug, picking her off the ground and swaying her back and forth. Her laugh was strangled and Matt had to pry her from Jimmy’s grip.

Zacky sent her an amused smile, which she returned. Jimmy caught her and gave her a ‘you will explain this to me later’ look, to which Evelyn replied with an expression full of confusion. Matt felt out of the loop.

The bell rang, signaling students to report to their next class for the last final of the day, and of the school year. Jimmy did multiple fist pumps and shouted his goodbyes to everyone, skipping off to class. Matt laughed and shook his head, nodding to Evelyn and Zacky before sauntering to his own class. Zacky tilted his head in the direction of the nearest door, gesturing for Evelyn to follow him. She obliged.

Evelyn and Zacky didn’t gain too many looks in the hallway, since it wasn’t uncommon for them to walk to English together. Still, it also wasn’t a common thing for them to do, and Evelyn wondered why people left her alone now. Jimmy told her he had heard what a ‘fucking good’ softball player she was, mimicking Zacky’s words. According to Jimmy, the entire school knew how valuable she had become to the team and left her alone. Zacky wasn’t picked on during baseball season for the same reason.

Evelyn would never understand the minds of her fellow teenagers, no matter how much Jimmy tried to explain it to her.

The entire time Evelyn sat after her final exam, waiting for the bell to ring and dismiss her from her prison for a couple months, she couldn’t help but think back to Detroit. She missed her friends, who had probably forgotten her by now. Most of all, she missed the one person she had left in her immediate family. The worst part of it was that he was never coming back. Ever.

Evelyn was about ready to break down into tears, but held it back as the bell rang. She didn’t wait for Zacky; she needed to get out of here. Suddenly everything she saw reminded her of her father, including trophies like he used to have from his own high school days and school security officers watching kids like hawks. She was supposed to get a ride home from Brian after he got out of his own high school, Fountain Valley, but decided she couldn’t wait and started walking as fast as she could home. She needed to find a place where she could have her breakdown and no one would see.

Evelyn knew this was coming, but she didn’t know when it would hit her. Now wasn’t the worst time for a sob-fest, yet the timing could have been so much better. She was used to things not working in her favor, and this was no exception.

She barely made it out of the front doors and onto the quad, or yard as she called it, before Jimmy stopped her.

“Evie! Come wait for Brian with—what’s wrong?”

She bit her lip and tried her hardest to hold back her tears but to no avail. She tried to sidestep Jimmy, but he wouldn’t let her past. His normally happy and giddy demeanor was long gone, in its place a caring and worried one.

She shook her head, not wanting to tell him. She resorted to running the other direction, but the flow of students and Jimmy’s quick reflexes prevented her from doing so. It had taken nine months to the date for the impact of what had happened that night in Detroit to hit her, and it nailed her like a ton of bricks.

“I don’t want you to see!” she protested, trying to get out of Jimmy’s grasp. She didn’t realize he was so strong, though he did tell her one time he had been playing the drums for years.

“Evie, what’s wrong?”

Jimmy was lost. He had no idea why she was acting the way she was and why it was now, of all times. He wondered if it had something to do with those dreams of hers. It seemed whenever he caught her sleeping or spacing off, she returned with watery eyes. What went on in her head that disturbed her so much?

“Da-dad! Dad!” she cried, still trying to get away.

“Your Pa?” Jimmy asked, trying to make sense of the situation.

Evelyn shook her head harshly, “No, Dad!”

She finally broke down, not being able to fight against Jimmy anymore. Not knowing what else to do, Jimmy held her and gave her pats on the back, trying to comfort her a bit. She bawled into his chest and Jimmy looked around, noticing the strange and somewhat concerned looks from classmates passing by. At HBHS, when someone was upset, it didn’t matter if you liked them or not; it was never a welcomed thing.

Jimmy sighed with relief when he saw Brian’s car and led Evelyn over to it while she continued to cry her little heart out. Jimmy, the genuine person he was, couldn’t stand to see anyone in a state like Evelyn’s, especially when it was…well…Evelyn. His Evelyn.

Brian immediately turned tense when he heard and saw Evelyn crying. Sure, he might not be the biggest fan of the girl, but seeing a girl crying like that made any guy go into protective mode.

“What happened and whose ass do I have to kick?” Brian asked.

Jimmy shook his head, “No one and I have no idea. I caught up with her and she looked like she was gonna burst into tears--”

“Doesn’t she do that a lot, you said?” Brian questioned curiously.

Jimmy shrugged, gently helping Evelyn into the backseat, where she covered her face with her hands and appeared to be trying to calm herself down.

“Yes and no. I just wish I knew what was wrong,” Jimmy frowned.

Brian peeled out of the parking lot and started home, glancing back at the now silent and embarrassed Evelyn every so often.

“It hurts you to not being able to help someone, huh?”

Jimmy nodded. Brian knew him all too well.

“Brian’s gonna take you home, ‘kay, Evie?”

She nodded absently and Jimmy turned back around. He and Brian were both startled when she spoke, her voice forced and scratchy.

“Sorry.”

“For what?” Jimmy asked. Brian continued to share his gaze between the rear view mirror and the front windshield.

“You must think I’m a freak like everyone says. I already know Brian does.”

Jimmy sent Brian a dirty look. Brian looked at the road, slightly ashamed of himself. He had no idea what a tender and sensitive person Evelyn really was until now.

“Brian doesn’t think that and neither do I. I could never think that.”

Evelyn stared at the floor and said nothing. She was too embarrassed of herself for letting go in front of the entire school. She knew she would get so much shit for that next year.

Brian pulled into Evelyn’s driveway for the first time and looked back at her, wondering if he or Jimmy should help. She lifted her head, revealing her tired eyes, showing obvious signs of crying. Both guys noted that her normally bright and inquisitive blue eyes were clouded over and growing bloodshot. They listened intently as she spoke.

“Please don’t tell anyone.”

Jimmy shook his head, “We won’t. Don’t you worry.”

She nodded and stepped out of the car, mumbling, “Bye, Brian. Bye, Jimmy.”

Evelyn faintly heard Brian back out of the driveway and into his own as she slowly made her way up to the house. Maudie and Nikolaus had never questioned her on what exactly happened that night, and she didn’t want to tell anyone, even her grandparents. She stepped into the house and shut the door being her.

“Scout! You have a visitor!” Maudie called.

Evelyn walked into the living room, trying not to get upset again. The task was made even more difficult when she saw just who her visitor was. She knew exactly what he was here for.

To take her back to Detroit for the summer.

“Afternoon, Miss Evelyn.”

“Good afternoon, Pete.”