The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows

When I woke up the next morning, Evan was still there, fast asleep like you would have been. I felt sore, my hips and legs and hands all aching from the previous night’s activity. We did it twice, both where I was beneath of him, his calloused hands caressing me gently. I managed to scratch his back from holding him close to me so tightly and he managed to accidentally give me a hickey on my shoulder, a bruise on both of my hips, and a slight bite mark on my chest. These were all pretty coverable spots, so I wasn’t too worried, I just thought how good it felt to get them and I wondered if you would’ve done the same. I don’t know why I was thinking about you when I was naked in bed with another guy. It’s not like we ever did what Evan and I had, and it’s not like you would find out.

“Hey, Dex,” I murmured once the black cat jumped up on my bed. His little collar jingled and I ran my hand down his spine like I always did. I kissed him when he put his nose up to my face and he arched his back, a smile on my face. He jumped on top of Evan and started kneading his side, the dark-haired guy twitching slightly. “No, no, Dex, shhh… Here, I’ll give you a kitty treat. Come on downstairs,” I whispered. I then lifted the cat up and set him on the floor, pulling on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt and wandering downstairs. It was ten o’clock, so my dad was at work and Margo was moving about the house. I looked at the sky out of the window that was wide open, and yawned.

“Ella, good morning sweetie!” The cheerful blonde said, walking over to me to hug me. Her engagement ring shone in the sunlight and left sparkles all over like a fairy.

“Good morning’, Margo,” I replied, easing out of her grasp. “Sorry I was gone out so late and didn’t get to say goodnight… Evan and I hung out after Joey uh, left,” I lied and bit my bottom lip. She nodded in reply and ran her hand over her sweating forehead, a grin on her face still.

“Oh, don’t worry. It’s gonna be ninety today! It’s gonna get hot,” she stated. I laughed and shrugged, walking to the fridge to get a bottle of water and then to the medicine cabinet to get four Advil. “So, better go swimming in the lake or something,” she added with a slight giggle. I nodded and tilted my water bottle toward her, slightly waving before I headed back up the stairs and into my room. Evan was awake, eyes open and hands behind his head. I smiled slightly and sat down next to him, crossing my legs and offering him the water.

“I brought a couple of Advil for you incase you want some if you have a headache,” I murmured to him. He looked at me and held his hand out gently, but not for the Advil. He rested his warm hand on my thigh and rubbed it gently, a soft smile coming to his face.

“You’re so sweet, El…” Evan said, sitting up and pulling me to him. He wrapped my arms around his bare chest and chuckled quietly, taking the blue gelled capsules and popping them in his mouth, followed by a sip of water from the bottle. “Thanks,” he murmured. I shrugged and ran my fingers through my hair, popping the pills into my mouth and having a sip of water after him.

“It’s gonna be hot today…” I pouted, looking down at his arms, a few freckles laying upon his skin in random places. “Evan, look, if you’re… If you… I’m sorry about acting like I did last night and I just don’t want you to think less of me,” I whispered, not wanting to make eye contact with the him. I felt him chuckle, his stomach moving beneath my side.

“El, why the fuck would I think less of you?” He asked, tucking my hair behind my ear and kissing my forehead. “I’m… I don’t think less of you, I think less of Joey for not even waiting for your explanation. And I think less of him for fuckin’ ditching you for the devil that is Miranda Huel,” he added. I just shrugged and exhaled deeply, looking into his hazel eyes.

“You should probably go,” I explained to him. I straddled his lap and wrapped my arms around neck, kissing his cheek. “But I don’t want you to leave,” I whispered with a frown. After the night before, I felt more connected to Evan which wasn’t much of a mystery. I was lonely and he was there, you were gone and I needed to replace the void. He was it, and he made me feel great.

“I… I can stay, if you want me to, El,” Evan replied with a slight grin, running his hands down my back. “I just need to get my clothes back on and you need to not give me a boner,” he chuckled.

“Sorry, sorry. Just go out through my window and knock on the door and I’ll let you in,” I replied, crawling off of his lap. Evan got up to move, but then he turned to me and smiled crookedly, raising his eyebrow. “What?” I asked, tilting my head with a slight pout.

“You know you can’t let me go now, right?” He retorted, biting his bottom lip with his still-white teeth. I looked at him curiously, opening my mouth to speak, but he cut me off with a sweet and soft kiss. After that, the dark-haired teen got dressed and slipped out through my window and quietly climbed down the giant oak tree that you climbed up so many times. I sighed, running my hands down my face and then groaned, looking up at the ceiling.

“What the fuck did you get yourself into, El?” I asked to myself, sighing again before I walked back down stairs and watched as Evan walked up to my front door and knocked on it. I put on a smile, opened the door and looked up at him. “Well, hey Evan!” I greeted. Margo peeked out from the doorway to the kitchen and rose her dark eyebrow, head tilted.

“Who’s that?” the blonde lady asked, walking to us.

“Margo you know who this is. This is Evan,” I laughed, rolling my eyes.

“Oh, right, shoot. He’s gotten a bit taller and a lot more filled out since the last time I actually saw him. Hey, Evan. Where’s Joey?” Margo eyed him, waiting for an answer.

“Uh, well, he’s sick. He’s sleeping it off so, I don’t know. Yeah, we’re normally hanging out all the time,” was Evan’s reply, accompanied by a shrug.

“Ah, well, make yourself at home. We have plenty of food in the kitchen. El, why aren’t you dressed?” Margo giggled.

“I don’t wanna change,” I murmured. I pulled out the hair-band in my hair and put it around my wrist, looking at Evan with a smile. I was beginning to notice certain things about him each time I looked at him, like a shape-shifter changing into a more developed thing each time you spotted it. I guess it was because I was used to looking at you for certain periods of time, but I knew your facial features well. I knew you well, this was different. Was this the big change I was getting a gut feeling of? I wondered that if I called you later, would you answer? I wanted to talk things out with you, but you and I both knew something bad might happen so I figured we should give it at least another day or two; besides, I wanted to see how things laid out between Evan and I.