Please Don't Make Me Beg
Chapter 14: Westbound Sign
*Andi's POV*
I didn't realize how tired I was until I fell asleep on Stevie's bed beside Evan. It felt so good to be in his arms, to feel safe and loved and protected. I trust him completely, and I know he'd never lie to me or hurt me. He's the one person in the world who's completely on my side.
He told me that my mom had called while I was sleeping to make sure I hadn't taken her credit cards, but when he told her I was taking a nap and asked if she wanted him to wake me up, she yelled at him and hung up. Fucking drama queen...
He also said she had some guy pretending to be Billie Joe Armstrong call and curse him out for not letting her talk to me. How stupid does she think I am? The guy used her and she let him do it, but no way will she ever see him again--if she did, he'd pretend he'd never seen her before. I can't understand what's making her act like this; it's like she's in her second childhood or something! I just can't deal with talking to her right now...maybe I'll call her after we get to Berkeley.
*********
Stevie eyed Evan steadily as Andi padded down the hall to the bathroom.
"You want to tell me exactly what the hell you're doing?" she said, her voice low and harsh.
"I'm taking care of Andi, what does it look like? She needs someone to stand up for her right now, and I'm going to be there for her."
"And what happens when she finds out you lied to her, too? That's exactly why she left home in the first place. She needs to at least know her mom was trying to reach her, and it's not your place to stand between them."
"Look, her mom is the one who let her down, not me. I'm not going to let anyone hurt her again, not even her mother."
"Evan, it's not your decision to make! That's the only family she has left, and you have to respect that! If you don't tell her the truth, I'm going to have to--"
He crossed the few steps between them in a fraction of a second, and she found her arm twisted behind her back, straining the ligaments in her elbow and shoulder. He leaned close to her ear and hissed through gritted teeth, "Try it and see what happens. This is not your business, Stevie, so don't get in the middle of something you can't handle."
He let go of her arm, and she stared at him for a moment, shocked. "I'm not afraid of you, Evan, so don't threaten me."
"What makes you think it's a threat?" he purred, in an oily and unpleasant voice. "Just don't try to come between Andi and me. I'm warning you."
They both turned as they heard her footsteps coming down the hall. Stevie looked back at him, mouthing the words "This isn't over" before ducking out the kitchen door to head to work.
"Did Stevie already leave?" asked Andi as she opened the fridge to get a bottle of water.
"Yeah, she was running kind of late. Hey, how would you like to head over to Dan's to finish packing our instruments? He could probably use a hand."
She thought for a moment. "Sure, that's fine. I'm going to have to go by the house at some point before Tuesday, though, so I can pick up a few more clothes and some of my other stuff. We're going to be out there for a while."
"Do you want me to go with you, babe?"
"I'd really like it if you could. It's not that I can't handle it, but with everything else going on, I'm just not ready yet. I need a little more time to think."
"You can always borrow some of Stevie's clothes. And my brother says there are lots of vintage clothing places around Berkeley where you can pick up great stuff for nearly nothing."
"Nah, I'll try to sneak over there while she's gone to work. I've got my key, so I can get in an out in a few minutes."
"You know I love you, right?" he said, pulling her closer to him. He leaned down to take her lips in a gentle kiss, brushing her cheek with the backs of his fingers. He pulled away and looked into her eyes with a look of adoration. "I'd do anything for you, anything at all. Don't ever forget that, okay?" His voice was husky with emotion.
She tucked her hands into his back pockets. "I won't forget. You're everything I've ever wanted, Evan."
"Don't forget that either," he said, and kissed her again, holding her tight enough to take her breath away.
I didn't realize how tired I was until I fell asleep on Stevie's bed beside Evan. It felt so good to be in his arms, to feel safe and loved and protected. I trust him completely, and I know he'd never lie to me or hurt me. He's the one person in the world who's completely on my side.
He told me that my mom had called while I was sleeping to make sure I hadn't taken her credit cards, but when he told her I was taking a nap and asked if she wanted him to wake me up, she yelled at him and hung up. Fucking drama queen...
He also said she had some guy pretending to be Billie Joe Armstrong call and curse him out for not letting her talk to me. How stupid does she think I am? The guy used her and she let him do it, but no way will she ever see him again--if she did, he'd pretend he'd never seen her before. I can't understand what's making her act like this; it's like she's in her second childhood or something! I just can't deal with talking to her right now...maybe I'll call her after we get to Berkeley.
*********
Stevie eyed Evan steadily as Andi padded down the hall to the bathroom.
"You want to tell me exactly what the hell you're doing?" she said, her voice low and harsh.
"I'm taking care of Andi, what does it look like? She needs someone to stand up for her right now, and I'm going to be there for her."
"And what happens when she finds out you lied to her, too? That's exactly why she left home in the first place. She needs to at least know her mom was trying to reach her, and it's not your place to stand between them."
"Look, her mom is the one who let her down, not me. I'm not going to let anyone hurt her again, not even her mother."
"Evan, it's not your decision to make! That's the only family she has left, and you have to respect that! If you don't tell her the truth, I'm going to have to--"
He crossed the few steps between them in a fraction of a second, and she found her arm twisted behind her back, straining the ligaments in her elbow and shoulder. He leaned close to her ear and hissed through gritted teeth, "Try it and see what happens. This is not your business, Stevie, so don't get in the middle of something you can't handle."
He let go of her arm, and she stared at him for a moment, shocked. "I'm not afraid of you, Evan, so don't threaten me."
"What makes you think it's a threat?" he purred, in an oily and unpleasant voice. "Just don't try to come between Andi and me. I'm warning you."
They both turned as they heard her footsteps coming down the hall. Stevie looked back at him, mouthing the words "This isn't over" before ducking out the kitchen door to head to work.
"Did Stevie already leave?" asked Andi as she opened the fridge to get a bottle of water.
"Yeah, she was running kind of late. Hey, how would you like to head over to Dan's to finish packing our instruments? He could probably use a hand."
She thought for a moment. "Sure, that's fine. I'm going to have to go by the house at some point before Tuesday, though, so I can pick up a few more clothes and some of my other stuff. We're going to be out there for a while."
"Do you want me to go with you, babe?"
"I'd really like it if you could. It's not that I can't handle it, but with everything else going on, I'm just not ready yet. I need a little more time to think."
"You can always borrow some of Stevie's clothes. And my brother says there are lots of vintage clothing places around Berkeley where you can pick up great stuff for nearly nothing."
"Nah, I'll try to sneak over there while she's gone to work. I've got my key, so I can get in an out in a few minutes."
"You know I love you, right?" he said, pulling her closer to him. He leaned down to take her lips in a gentle kiss, brushing her cheek with the backs of his fingers. He pulled away and looked into her eyes with a look of adoration. "I'd do anything for you, anything at all. Don't ever forget that, okay?" His voice was husky with emotion.
She tucked her hands into his back pockets. "I won't forget. You're everything I've ever wanted, Evan."
"Don't forget that either," he said, and kissed her again, holding her tight enough to take her breath away.