The Garden of Eve 4

...chapter 4...

 

Matters of the Heart

“I wouldn’t have made it so easy for him,” Morgana told Eve in their first period class on Monday morning. “He should have had to beg and bribe you,” she said and Eve just laughed.

“I know he didn’t mean it and I don’t want to ever have to think about it again,” Eve replied. Morgana just wasn’t that forgiving, if Mario cheated on her she wasn’t sure she would forgive him. While they had a lot in common she and Eve were still very different people.

“Of course he didn’t that skank knew he wasn’t thinking straight, I get what you say about him punishing himself though. Still you could have tortured him a little; I’m not forgiving like you. My normal thing is to get out once they get too attached, you and Neil are soul mates,” she said.

“What about you and Mario? You worked your magic and he’s fallen for you,” Eve said.

“I didn’t think I would get so attached, but now that I am I guess I have to stick with him. We have fun and he’s not like my typical college guy, but we aren’t saying all that love crap like you and Neil. Ya’ll are way beyond abnormal, but it works for you,” she said.

To her all the love stuff was just weird, almost as weird as Molly dating her brother and her and Eve dating brothers. A lot of things in her life were weird these days, especially the whole boyfriend thing. Under normal circumstances she didn’t ever get attached, but this was anything but normal. Dinner the other night at the Jay house made that perfectly clear to her. She knew Mimi and Gordon because she had been friends with Corrina. Back then she’d been a different person and she dressed very different. Nowadays she had more of a dark gypsy kind of gothic look. When she was friends with Corrina and Libby and the other girls, she dressed like them in their trendy clothes. Then one day she grew a mind of her own and decided to be her own person. That was why Libby and her friends hated Morgana and because she knew them. They hated the fact that she wasn’t afraid of them and she knew things about them that they didn’t want people to know.

Morgana was starting to realize just how much she had changed lately. Playing with boys use to be a hobby or hers, now she had a boyfriend? She’d never had a real relationship because she knew what that attachment stuff did to people. But there was just something about Mario that made her break all of her old rules. Maybe this time it was just right. That was a problem for her, the more time she spent with him and the more attached she got it made her vulnerable. Being exposed like this made her feel more defensive and the whole thing was just hard. Eve kept telling her to just take it a day at a time but she knew she couldn’t have done what Eve did. There was no excuse for cheating that was a one way ticket far away from her. But she knew Eve was in love and that both Eve and Neil had all kinds of serious issues. Compared to them she actually felt normal, which was funny because she’d been an out cast for the last 3 years.

Mario wasn’t what he seemed to be; at first glance you might think he’s just your average player. But she learned quickly that he wasn’t like that, he focused more on his studies than girls. There were a lot of times when they spent time together studying and doing homework. He was so focused and driven and he was helping her to be a better student. These days she and Eve didn’t skip school like they use to. Her parents loved him because they thought he was a good influence on her. His parents however weren’t the same as hers. She knew Mimi didn’t want her anywhere near him, it was pretty obvious. But it was funny because Mimi adored Patrick and she seemed to almost like Eve. It wasn’t that she really cared what Mimi thought, it was just amusing to her. Mimi Jay wasn’t a nice person and Morgana didn’t want her approval. In fact she didn’t want anybody’s approval; she just didn’t care what other people thought of her.

“So Joan said she’ll pick us up tomorrow so we can get something for the benefit,” Eve told her and she nodded.

“Your mommy is amazing, treating us both to outfits, can she adopt me too?” She asked Eve and she laughed. They were walking down the hall to the bathroom after class; Morgana felt the need to play with her make up.

“How different would both our lives be if I had grown up here with you?” Eve asked she sat up on the window ledge like always.

“Well maybe I wouldn’t have been friends with our favorite haters, but whatever you live and you learn. I guess we both needed to live the lives we have so that we can be inseparable now,” Morgana said.

“Let’s get to class make up monster before we are late again,” Eve said hoping down. They walked down the hall arm in arm, to their next class.

“You remind me of Corrina,” she said when they sat down. “I know I never really talk about all that, but she was my best friend. Until I met you I didn’t realize how much I actually liked having at least one friend,” she went on.

“Aww is my baby Morgana being sappy? So cute, I love you too sweetie, we will be besties forever,” Eve said leaning over to hug her. Before their conversation could continue the bell rang and it was time for class to begin.

 

 

“I love you too,” Eve said smiling before Neil kissed her again.

“I’ll see you later,” he said kissing her one last time before he followed his cousin James out of the cafeteria.

“PDA much?” Morgana said when they were alone and Eve rolled her eyes.

“If Mario was still in high school I bet you’d be off doing him in his car,” Eve replied and Morgana hit her arm.

“So says the girl who was messing around with Neil in front of me and Mario,” Morgana said matter of factly.

“Let’s forget that one,” Eve said and they both laughed.

“You didn’t listen to me,” a familiar and annoying voice came from behind Eve.

“Hater alert,” Morgana said and Eve laughed. Neither of them even turned to really acknowledge Libby.

“Neil wants me, he proved that when we were together the other night,” Libby said. They knew she hated to feel ignored and they’d known she was going to try to make a scene.

“In case you hadn’t noticed he’s still with me,” Eve said. She sipped her iced tea through her straw and still didn’t turn.

“He sure wasn’t with you Friday night,” Dawn said. Of course Libby’s followers were with her and they hated to be ignored too.

“Actually he was,” Eve said matter of factly. It was humiliating that he’d cheated on her with Libby, but she was determined to make it seem like she didn’t care. Besides making Libby mad had become a sport for her and Morgana.

“Lib, get over yourself Neil never wanted you, grow up,” Morgana said. They tried to keep straight faces why keeping their back turned.

“We had a magical night and he told me how much he really wanted to be with me, but he feels bad for the poor orphan girl,” Libby said.

“Uh yeah sorry still not offended,” Eve said coolly. Why get upset? Clearly Libby had a serious self esteem issue, that’s why she felt the need to try to put others down. The trouble was that she couldn’t get to Eve and Morgana so it made her mad. To them it was the most amusing thing in the world.

“Magical? That’s not the way I heard it more like he was drunk but clearly not drunk enough to actually touch you. Great work with that big mouth of yours,” Morgana said and Eve almost laughed.

“Libby,” someone called and they all turned around.

“Hi Neil,” Cindy greeted a little too happily.

“What happened was a mistake and you know I don’t want you,” he said. It was the coldest Eve had ever heard him speak, but he was obviously annoyed. She was surprised that he’d come back he’d been going to the gym for some meeting.

“But Neil,” Libby said in this sad whinny voice. Eve almost felt bad for her, but not quite enough. This was after all the girl that was trying to steal her boyfriend and make her life hell at school.

“No buts skank, keep it moving,” Morgana said.

They left without another world. Eve was glad that they were gone, but she knew this wasn’t the end. Libby didn’t seem to be able to get over the fact the Neil wanted to be with Eve. She’d encountered all types of situations and all types of people, but never had Eve been in something like this. She never really had to deal with stupid girls like this, mostly because they were scared of Claira. There were haters for time to time but nobody ever really said anything to her face. The whole thing with these girls was annoying enough before Neil just had to go hook up with Libby. Now it only seemed to fuel her, when Libby walked away she looked like she was crying. In her new simple life Eve hadn’t anticipate this and she didn’t want to live like this. But there was nothing she could really do; Libby wasn’t going to just go away.

 

 

“It’s not getting better and I did something that I regret,” Neil said. After school on Tuesdays he had an appointment with his psychiatrist. “When I’m around her I have vivid sexual thoughts and I can’t act on them. Then the other night I went to a party and hooked up with this other girl because I was drunk. I’m not excusing my behavior and I feel terrible every time I think about it, but I can’t change it,” he went on.

“Did you tell Eve what happened with this other girl?” Dr. Cyrus asked and Neil nodded, that had been so hard for him.

            “Yeah and the other girl she’s been in love with me since she moved here in third grade,” he said shaking his head. “She’s been trying to cause trouble for Eve at school and yesterday she said something about what happened. It was more like she was causing a scene about it,” he said.

            This was a big mess that he’d gotten into and he didn’t want Eve to have to suffer because of his mistake. He’d been coming to see Dr. Caleb Cyrus every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon for the last six months. After Corrina died he came everyday and gradually the sessions decreased to just the two. It had taken a lot for him to just be down to two sessions. Today in school he had to avoid Libby and her followers all day, they seemed to be everywhere. Why couldn’t she understand that he wanted to be with Eve? Never had he seen someone act so desperate, he felt terrible about the whole thing. He knew how Libby felt about him and he knew this whole thing hurt her too. But she knew he’d been drinking and was upset and she’d taken advantage. Why did it have to be her? If it was a stranger maybe he wouldn’t have to feel as bad.

            His brothers told him it wasn’t that big of a deal, especially since Eve forgave him. To him it was because cheating was wrong. All of this couldn’t have come at a worse time; tomorrow was the anniversary of Corrina’s death. She died the day before thanksgiving just three years ago. He’d been trying to figure out what he was going to do. Going to school wasn’t an option, people would just act weird. Staying home was a definite no with Mimi there. Of course she would be there all day acting like she had hard work to do for their thanksgiving dinner. There had to be somewhere to go where he could be alone and not have to deal with other people. He just hadn’t thought of it yet and he was hoping it would come to him soon.

            “Girls are vicious you know,” Dr. Cyrus said. That was an understatement if he’d ever heard one.

            “Sure are,” he replied. “They are complicated too, I probably shouldn’t say anything but Eve told me something,” he paused a second. He was still having trouble processing what she’d said. “Her crazy ex boyfriend held a gun to her head and raped her in front of her mom and sister,” saying it aloud made him feel sick. After this he needed to talk to Eve, it had to have been hard for her to tell him about that.

            “Wow,” Dr. Cyrus said, clearly he was in shock. “And that’s why she doesn’t want to have sex with you? That explained a lot,” he said.

            “Yeah it does, I feel bad cause I said some mean things to her about sex when I was drunk. I keep thinking how I was with Libby then half an hour later I was getting in bed with Eve trying to have sex with her,” Neil said. He really wanted to see Eve, but he knew she was out shopping with Morgana and Joan. “I don’t know what to do about this sex stuff, I’m usually not like this but I can’t stop thinking about her in that way. How can I control myself? Ever since the night in the park I’ve tried so hard not to get in that type of situation but I find myself thinking of ways to try to get her alone and things I want to do to her. My sisters think the whole kitchen thing was funny and that night on her back porch. Her friend and my brother were there,” he shook his head. What was wrong with him?

            It was completely normal for a teenage boy to have sexual thoughts, but he didn’t feel normal. Nothing about the way he’d been feeling since he first start hanging out with Eve was normal. He spent most of the time that they spent together trying to restrain himself. No other girl ever made him feel like this, he felt so out of control. And ironically he couldn’t have sex with her. Maybe it was some sort of test or punishment, whatever it was it was becoming harder and harder. After she’d gone home Saturday night he sat and thought about what she’d told him. How could somebody do that to her? What kind of person would do that type of thing? Now more than ever he felt the need to protect her, he wasn’t going to let her get hurt like that again. The thing he hated the most was that he knew there was probably more to it, more bad things probably happened to her and she didn’t want to tell him. Before her his life was boring and uncomplicated and he hated it. With Eve everything was great and she made him happy, he wasn’t going to hold her past against her. It was complicated and sometimes unreal, but he loved her.

            “I know it’s not normal for you, but it is normal. You’re just very attracted to her and obviously you’re frustrated. It’s hard but try not to think about it so much, you do have a lot of other things going on in your life.” Dr. Cyrus paused a second looking down at his notes. “So you’re parents are home right? How’s that going?” He asked and Neil wanted to laugh, it was the weirdest it had ever been.

            “Mimi is moving back home and I’m considering moving out cause I can’t deal with her. Mario wants to get his own place so maybe I’ll live with him or my grandparents. We had a family dinner and we all brought dates on Saturday, Mimi pretty much left us with no choice. She performed very predictably when she found out about Damien and Juliet expecting a baby and Chris and Aiden’s engagement. It was really embarrassing and she just said some things that made me want to hate her. She doesn’t care about Corrina at all,” Neil told him.

            Church yesterday was almost as bad as the dinner, Mimi was ridiculous. His grandparents actually had a talk with his dad about her. Grandpa Paul always tried to be nice but with the way she was acting he suggested having her put away in a mental hospital. The funny thing was that Mimi went to a therapist most of the time, even when she was away. Everybody in her family knew she had a serious narcissistic personality disorder, it almost explained her behavior. Neil had always known his mother was rather crazy, but ever since she came home this time she was worse than ever. Maybe she’d finally realized that she lost a daughter. Nobody understood why Mimi was the way she was, but usually she was almost normal out in public. The reason she was coming back home was starting to become very clear. Something had to be wrong with her and even though Neil didn’t always like her he hoped it was nothing too bad. She was after all his mother, even if she didn’t act like it most of the time. He rally did love her, but it was easier to love her when he didn’t have to deal with her everyday.

            “I guess I shouldn’t even ask if it would be ok with your parents for you to move out, you do seem to be allowed to do as you please,” Dr. Cyrus said.

            “Things are weird right now so I don’t know; Damien and Juliet do stay at the house. Chris was considering moving out with Aiden once, but she feels the need to mother us. Basically since we all live at home I don’t even know if they would let Mario move out. The rules could change with Mimi there and if my dad is home too then he’s the strict one,” Neil told him. He did like having the freedom to come and go as he pleased without worrying about curfews and punishment.

            “Will Damien and Juliet move out now that they’re expecting?” Dr. Cyrus asked, that was a good question.

            “I don’t maybe if Mimi gets on their nerves too much; before she came back they were looking at the guest room that’s right across the hall for a nursery. Anything can happen now,” he replied. That was something he hated, when his life was predictable and boring he hated it. But with Mimi home now everything was so unpredictable. His family was close and everything flowed naturally when it was just the sibling.

            “Did you ever notice that you refer to your mother as Mimi but you always refer to your dad as your dad?” Dr. Cyrus asked, Neil considered him a moment.

            “We all do it, when we were younger Damien and Chris started this whole thing where we would call her mom to her face. But if we talk about her she’s Mimi because until she actually acts like a mother. There are times when we call her Mimi to her face and she doesn’t seem to notice a difference. I personally think she would prefer it if we didn’t call her mom,” he explained and Dr. Cyrus nodded. In the three years he’d been coming her Neil was surprised that anything he said about his family still seemed odd to Dr. Cyrus. There were a lot of odd things about his family that just became normal to him, whether he liked it or not.

 

 

 

            “Hey, I’m not going to school today so can you get Joan to take you?” Neil was saying into the phone on Wednesday morning to Eve. He’d been out all night and she was the only person he’d talked to since his session with Dr. Cyrus the day before. When he woke up that morning he realized that he’d slept in his car in the park and had turned off his cell phone. So much for not acting strange or acting out, he wasn’t even sure how it happened.

            “I’m actually not going to school,” she said to his surprise. “Joan thought it would be a good idea if I tried to spend time with you today. We aren’t doing anything in school, so if you don’t wanna be alone I’m all yours,” she told him.

            “Are your parents home?” He asked, it was funny he had wanted somewhere to go and she was offering.

            “No, Will had work and Joan had some papers to do at school and an office visit,” she replied.

            “I’m on my way,” he told her. Originally he didn’t want to deal with anybody today, but he’d rather spend the day with Eve than his family.

            “Ok, I’ll see you when you get here,” she said.

            “Ok, bye,” he said then hung up and threw his phone on the passenger seat. It occurred to him after the fact that he didn’t tell her he loved her like he usually did. Since he wasn’t far from her house he decided not to call her back.

            When he pulled into the driveway at Eve’s house he hesitated for a minute before getting out. He’d never been alone with her at her house before. When he came over they were usually in the living room or sitting at the kitchen table and her parents were always home. The few times he’d been in her bedroom Morgana was with them. Pretty much the most real alone time they had at her house was that night awhile ago when they messed around on the back porch. So he was about to enter her house and be alone with her, this wasn’t good. Even sitting with her parents at dinner he had explicit thoughts about her. But since someone was always there he couldn’t act on any impulse he had. At his house there wasn’t any real adult supervision, while his siblings were all older than him and supposed to be adults none of them told him what to do. If he wanted to have Eve stay over he could, if he wanted to have her in his room he could, he could do anything he wanted. So going to her house with parents there all the time was weird, there were a lot of times where nobody was at his house at all.

            “Hey,” Eve called from the doorway, she waved. Now he had to get out of the car because she’d seen him. Why did she have to be standing there in short shorts and a tank?

            “Hey beautiful,” he greeted when he got out of his car and headed up the walk way. He kissed her before entering the quiet and empty house.

            “Want anything to eat? I can make you breakfast,” she offered. Her words seemed to come from far away; he was mostly focused on staring at her.

            “No thanks,” he replied trying to gain control over himself. “I love you,” he said and she smiled.

            “I love you too,” she said. “Let’s go up to my room, I need to figure out what I’m wearing to dinner tomorrow,” she said and he followed her. She was having dinner at Joan’s parents’ house and she was nervous never having met her foster parents’ family.

            “Wish I could get out of Mimi’s dinner party,” he said. Once inside her room he sat on her bed and she went over to her closet. Apparently she’d been going through he clothes when he called her, there were clothes hanging over her desk chair.

            “Be nice to your mother,” she told him and he laughed.

            “You won’t be saying that once she’s on your nerves,” he told her.

            He laid back and closed his eyes a minute, laying in a bed was way more comfortable than sleeping in his car. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad, maybe he could control himself. There was a chance that her parents could come back at any time and he didn’t want them to think he was sex crazed. He liked her parents they were normal and loving and caring, it was obvious why she was so happy with them. His parents were completely different, they liked a hands way off approach to parenting. The Ferris’ were so involved in Eve’s life it reminded him of his grandparents, but even they weren’t as involved as Joan and William. When he opened his eyes again Eve was taking off a shirt she must have been trying on, this was bad.

            “How am I supposed to dress to meet these people? I don’t even know what they know about me,” she was saying. His mind was else where trying to distract himself from her bra and shorts.

            “You worry too much, I thought you didn’t care what people thought of you?” Neil asked her, she turned and he could see that her lacy bra was a little see thru. He tried to think of something else like church, but all he could think of was that Eve looked hot at church on Sunday.

            “I don’t, but first impressions are very important,” she replied then turned back to her closet. When she bent over to look in the bottom of the closet at her shoes he was done. This had to be a test and he was failing badly. Dr. Cyrus said this was normal, right? There couldn’t be anything normal about what he was thinking and feeling.

            “Come here,” he said to her and she turned and crossed the room. When she crawled onto her bed he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

            “You miss me or something?” Eve asked smiling, he loved her smile. “I didn’t hear from you last night, so I was surprised when you called,” she told him.

            “Oh I needed to do some thinking,” he said. The truth was he didn’t even remember what happened between leaving Dr. Cyrus’ office and waking up in his car.

            “Understandable, I’m glad you called though,” she said while crawling on top of him. She was on his lap facing him; he was done trying to control himself it seemed pointless.

            “I always love to see you,” he whispered. He kissed her and they made out for awhile.

            Making out with her only made him want to do more with her. Even though he knew he shouldn’t he went for it, she would stop him once she was uncomfortable. It surprised him when she pulled off his shirt and was kissing his neck. Wasn’t it him with the problem? Why was she all of a sudden into this again? He wasn’t sure if he would be able to handle it once she stopped him. Especially since she was undoing his belt and his jeans. Today seemed to be a good day to visit Eve, she was all over him for a change. When she was on top of him and they were kissing, she started to pull his jeans down.

            “Eve,” he whispered, but she kept kissing him. It wasn’t that he wanted to stop and her assertiveness was a turn on, but this had to be a dream.

            “Don’t say anything, let’s just roll with it,” she told him.

            There was no telling him twice, he’d been ready and willing to do this since he’d first saw her over the summer. But his aggressive side couldn’t let her be in control so he penned her down on the bed. He pulled her shorts off and found out she wasn’t wearing any panties.

 

            Eve tried to stay still; she knew Neil liked to be in control. For some reason today she wanted him so bad. She always wanted him, but today just seemed to be a different kind of day. They were alone at her house and she’d known when he called her over to the bed that he wanted to do something. He kissed her all over her body and she couldn’t remember why she hadn’t wanted to do this sooner. She had planned on giving him some pleasure, but he did her instead. They’d touched each other a few times, but nothing major.

            When she moaned it just seemed to encourage him, she couldn’t believe they’d never done any oral stuff in all this time. As she felt her pleasure peaking, she knew she had to have sex with him. There wasn’t a choice in the matter, she really had to. It wasn’t because she thought if she didn’t she would lose him. The reason was that she just wanted to know what it felt like again and she really wanted to know what it was like with him. After he stopped she sat up and kissed him, they made out for a few minutes. It was all hunger and passion, it just had to happen. Never before had they gotten this close, they were both naked and the sexual tension was burning. Before she knew it he was inside her and she screamed.

 

           

She opened her eyes and smiled when she realized it wasn’t a dream. Neil was holding her; they’d fallen asleep and were both still completely naked. The whole thing seemed so surreal, after all this time they finally did it. All of her issues and the past didn’t matter anymore. If this was what it felt like to be over everything, she wanted to be over it everyday for the rest of her life. Her body felt different, it felt amazing. She tried to think of what she might have felt like in the past when she’d kind of liked sex, but nothing came to mind. Nothing was like this; she turned over to kiss him. He opened one eye and kissed her forehead before pulling her so close to him that their bodies could have become one.

“I love you,” he said yawning with his eyes still closed.

“I love you too,” she replied smiling, she couldn’t stop smiling. Suddenly the world seemed brighter and a lot less stressful.

“You seduced me,” he said and she laughed.

“No sweetie you pounced on me, like always,” she said and he opened his eyes.

“How bout if I pounce on you again?” He asked very suggestively, she really wanted to say yes.

“No, it’s after 1 o’clock, somebody might come home. I’m pretty sure Joan didn’t let me stay home just so I could have sex with you,” she told him.

“It’s not sex, its love,” he said and she rolled her eyes at him.

“Whatever you wanna call it, Will isn’t gonna be happy to find us naked and in bed. I’m going to take a shower and then we can go somewhere,” she said.

“I’ll shower with you,” he said giving her a look. There was only one thing that look could mean. It seemed like Neil was desperate for some more. Either she was just that good or he was just that horny all the time they were together.

“Fine,” she said and he got out of bed very quickly. Of course he was expecting more since she’d finally gave it up. “Was it worth the wait?” She asked as she followed him into her bathroom.

“What’d you think?” He replied laughing, he pulled her to him and kissed him. “Baby, I’d have waited for you forever, but I won’t lie I am happy we did it.”

“Seconds?” Eve asked when they were in the shower together with the water running, he just kissed her. So maybe her life really was getting to that completely normal point now if she could be intimate with her boyfriend.

 

 

“I can’t believe I had to go to school and you were doing Neil!” Morgana squealed later that night when she and Eve were in her room.

“Um can you get any louder? I don’t know if your mom heard me down in the kitchen,” Eve replied.

“That boy was beyond stressed out he so needed it,” she said as if Eve hadn’t said anything. Eve laid back on Morgana’s bed and closed her eyes trying to remember that whole day.

“I do wish I’d have done it sooner, I never knew I could feel so good,” Eve told her friend. Who of course start laughing so Eve opened her eyes.

“Those Jays, they are something aren’t they?” Morgana said and Eve nodded. Her first sexual experience with Mario had left her feeling similar. “So which of the three times was best?” She asked and Eve’s face turned as bright red as it could with her golden skin.

“Shower had to be the hottest, he like picked me up and had me against the wall. I had no idea my goody goody church boy was that much of a freak,” Eve told her and they both laughed.

“So is he a Trojan man like his brother? I do tend to prefer that kind,” Morgana said. The look on Eve’s face told her something she didn’t want to know. “Eve Alana De Marco! Are you kidding me?”

“Oh God, I wasn’t thinking at all,” she said closing her eyes and hitting her head with her palm.

“You had sex with him three times without using anything? Should I even ask if he made an attempt to pull out?” Morgana was surprised that Eve would be so irresponsible; it sounded more like something she herself would do.

“I respectfully decline answering that question,” Eve said. “It wasn’t like we planned it, haven’t you ever done anything in the moment? I honestly didn’t think we’d ever do it and then it happened over and over again,” she shook her head.

“Joan loves you and all but I don’t think she’s ready to be a grandma when she just became a mother,” Morgana said.

She wasn’t a judgmental person usually, overly opinionated yes, but she hated to judge. People looked at her all the time and thought certain things, so she hated to be like that. But she didn’t understand how Eve could be so stupid. In her eyes Eve was way smarter than she was. So what if she’d lived in the moment for once in her life. Morgana always tried to live in the moment these days; it was all she knew how to do anymore. When she was friends with Corrina and Libby she never really thought for herself and she did whatever they wanted to do. Today was the day that Corrina died and this year it happened to fall the day before thanksgiving.

“I swear I never thought when I invited him over that this would happen, and then there was no one at his house when we got there. Morgana what am I gonna do? I do not want a baby,” Eve was clearly distressed.

“Give me your phone,” she replied and Eve sat up and gave it to her.

“What are you doing?” Eve asked while Morgana was pushing buttons then put the phone up to her ear.

“No, it’s not Eve and no she doesn’t want to do it again,” Morgana said into the phone. Eve jumped up and tried to take the phone from her but she put it on speaker.

“Morgana,” Neil’s voice came through the phone.

“So yeah I hear you wanna be a daddy,” she said and Eve just stared at her.

“What’re you talking about?” Neil asked, she could hear Mario’s voice in the background laughing.

“You had sex with my best friend multiple times and never thought you might need a condom,” she said.

“Oh that,” it was pretty clear he hadn’t been thinking either. “Where’s Eve at?”

“I’m here and I’m just as embarrassed,” Eve said into the phone.

“Evey, if you end up pregnant I’ll take care of you, I’ll always take care of you,” Neil said and Eve smiled.

“Sixteen year olds don’t need babies Cornelius Emanuel Jay,” Morgana told him.

“I know, but it’s not like we can take it back now,” he said matter of factly. Didn’t he get how serious this could be?

“Neil, I’ll call you later,” Eve called pulling the phone away from Morgana.

“Ok, love you Baby,” he said.

“Love you too,” Eve said.

“Gag me,” Morgana said as Eve was hanging up the phone.

“You never had sex without a condom?” Eve asked, she crawled back on to the bed and lay down.

“Besides the point, it happened with Mario before but unlike you I’m on birth control. I’m just looking out for you best friend of mine,” she told her.

“I’m so gonna get Joan to take me to the doctor on Monday so I can join club bc,” Eve said leaning over the bed looking down at Morgana.

She was sitting on the floor typing on her laptop, she was a dedicated blogger. It was weird that people actually read it and cared what she had to say. The life of a half Chinese half Black suburban girl for some reason interested people. Though she felt like back in her playing with boys era, there were more things to write about. Tonight she was complaining about school like usual and how she had to go over to her Nana Karen’s tomorrow for dinner. It was a bunch of loud and crazy Asians and she didn’t want to deal with them. Everybody had an opinion on her life and it was annoying. Her mother who encouraged freedom of expression had bought her a pink dress to wear. The favorite topic for the family was why did she have to dress like she did? Perfect Tessa didn’t dress in all black; she dressed in the latest fashions. Morgana had decided on wearing a silk Chinese style dress in black with cute matching ballet flats. Her mother approved and loved the idea; she knew somebody would have something negative to say.

“You better,” she said to Eve. “Did you decide on an outfit to meet the family with?” She asked, she knew Eve was reading the screen over her shoulder.

“That’s what I’d been trying to do when Neil showed up,” Eve said rolling on to her back. “I think I’m just gonna go with my tunic baby pink sweater and my dark jeans with the draw string at the bottom and flats of course. I do love my flats,” she said.

“I noticed, you will look great though,” Morgana replied then she turned to look at Eve. “Mario might stop by Nana’s if he can get away from Mimi; he actually wants to meet those crazies. They love you though, everybody adores you,” she sighed.

“That’s because I don’t belong to them, I love you so who cares what people think. If you would quit with your tough girl act then things would be a lot different. I know you wanna protect yourself, but the haters can’t touch you, I’ve been know to kick some tail,” Eve said.

“What if I told you that they are so evil that they tormented this girl until she almost killed herself?” Morgana asked, Eve turned over and stared at her.

“Are you serious?” Eve asked and she nodded, it was time to let the secret out.

“Corrina and I were getting away from them but then there was the trip the Jays invited all of us on. My mom wouldn’t let me go and Corrina never came back. That girl she just wanted to be our friend, we never said anything. The jokes seemed harmless at first, we just wanted to belong. I didn’t know half the stuff they did to her until it was too late,” she said. Thinking about it was painful even now three years later. “Corrina wanted to tell the truth but Libby convinced her not to. They didn’t know we were just gonna stop talking to them after the trip; at first I couldn’t do it alone. Before Christmas break I severed my ties with them and when we came back the rumors started. But I was strong and they couldn’t break me no matter how hard they’ve been trying.

“The saddest thing is Corrina had to die for me to become my own person. I’ve often wondered if maybe they killed her or if she was reaching out for help and they just laughed. Libby is an evil b***h, but I know she can’t get to you because you’ve been through too much and you’re too strong. I’ve never really talked about this before; I talked to Tessa and my mom a little. After that I decided I didn’t need friends because I couldn’t trust anybody, until of course you came into my life,” she explained. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted and she could finally move on.

“You just gave me a new reason to wanna smack that hoe,” Eve said. She got up off the bed and hugged Morgana. “We have each other now Mo, and we have great guys and great families and you know our exact two other friends. Who says them skanks are something special? We are multi-cultural hot chicas and they are wicked witches who karma is gonna take under. I know Corrina is proud of you for following through,” she said and Morgana smiled.

“I wish you got to meet her, you’ve healed her broken brother and best friend. Pretty much Evey you’re like our hero,” Morgana told her.

After Corrina had died Morgana came alive. At first the black was because she was in mourning, she’d gone so far as to dye her clothes. Then the black just became her thing, she liked dark colors and to be different. The girl that Libby and the girls drove to a suicide attempt moved away and nobody ever saw her again. Nobody knew that Morgana had written her a long letter and mailed it to her the summer after Corrina died and she actually got a response. Nora was doing much better and she appreciated Morgana reaching out to her. But that was it there was no keeping in touch or anything, it was closure. Libby had thought she won with Nora and with Morgana, but she couldn’t possibly see that they were both doing way better than she was. Telling Eve her deep dark secret made her feel free, now she understood why Eve told Neil the truth about everything. But this wasn’t something she could share with Mario, or really anybody else. There was no reason she should let her paranoia and her issues with Libby and the others interfere with the way everybody thought of Corrina. Besides there was no way that Libby was evil enough to actually kill somebody, the thing with Nora had been an accident. Or so she’d been telling herself because the alternative wasn’t something she could believe or accept. But anything was possible.

 

 

“You finally got some didn’t you?” Molly asked when she entered his room; Mario was sitting in the chair laughing.

“Why is my sex life your business?” Neil asked his sister, he was lying on his bed. There was a lot on his mind, but he was in a really good mood.

“Everybody knows you haven’t been getting any from Eve,” Mario said.

“Little brother you have been beyond stressed the last couple of months, you needed to get some. I swear ever since you’ve been with that girl you seem to be cooling down a bit. Finally you can be normal again,” Molly said. She laid on the other side of his bed. “Now I’m nosey so I want details,” she said.

“There’s really something wrong with this family,” he replied.

“Molly, our little brother was getting freak nasty today,” Mario said and she giggled.

“You tell him but not me? We don’t have secrets little brother,” Molly said acting like she was offended.

“Are you gonna describe your sex life for us then?” Neil asked, though he was pretty sure he didn’t want to know and that this all was pretty weird.

“Simple, I’m practicing celibacy,” Molly said as if it were nothing. Both Mario and Neil were cracking up laughing.

“Since when?” Mario asked he didn’t bother to hide the disbelief in his voice.

 “I’ve realized that I don’t need sex to make me happy and that I can have a successful relationship without it. Patrick agrees with my decisions and he is remaining celibate with me,” she told them.

“What’s going on in here?” Damien asked when he walked in the room, Mario and Neil were yet again laughing hysterically at their sister.

“Cornelius was about to share the details of what he’s been up to today,” Molly told him.

“How do you even know it was today?” Neil asked and Molly laughed.

“You didn’t come home last night, but you happened to be here this afternoon with Eve. Sorry little brother you weren’t home alone today but my source didn’t know what you were up to,” she said matter of factly.

“So you finally got some?” Damien asked, Neil rolled his eyes and Mario and Molly laughed.

“Yeah I did,” Neil replied. There was pretty much no way to get out of telling them what happened. Though thinking about it made him want to call Eve up and do it again, he was addicted.

“Wait, Chris should be here for this,” Molly said scrolling through her cell phone. Of course she would text Christianna who was only down the hall so that they could all invade his privacy.

“Family affair,” Mario said in an amused tone. Everybody was amused at Neil’s expense and it wasn’t surprising.

“Does this make us dysfunctional?” Chris asked when she came in and closed the door. She took a seat on the floor with Damien.

“Probably,” Damien answered. “But Neil is dying to tell us,” he said.

“No, I’d rather ya’ll stay out of my business,” Neil said. They all gave him the look he knew too well that meant that they didn’t care about his privacy.

“I hear little brother is freaky,” Molly said.

“Only cause I just said that,” Mario replied.

“So tell us, how did this happen?” Chris asked she was sitting next to his bed looking up at him; they were all looking at him.

“I went over her house today and it was the first time that we were alone there. We were up in her room and she was picking out clothes and we start messing around. Then we just did it and we slept a little while then did it in the shower. After that we came here and did it again, happy now?” Neil said he’d expected them to all laugh, but they looked shocked. Even Mario who he’d already told this all to earlier.

“I’m jealous, I don’t think I’ve ever had sex three times in one day,” Damien said shaking his head.

“All in a couple hours too? Wow Eve is like my hero now,” Molly said.

“Like I said, little brother is a freak,” Mario said.

“So you used protection right?” Chris asked, that was what he’d been hoping no one would ask.

“Not exactly,” he said closing his eyes because he knew she was staring at him. He wasn’t an irresponsible person but it hadn’t been planned. In fact he never thought about it till Morgana called to yell at him. And since he didn’t tell lies, he had to be honest with them.

“Cornelius! Are you serious?” Molly asked sitting up and punching his arm.

“He didn’t plan it he lived in the moment,” Mario said trying to defend him. But there was no defense with Molly and Chris.

“What if she had an STD?” Chris asked, that made him open his eyes, he stared at her.

“Are you kidding me?” He asked, how could she even say that?

“I’m being realistic, I know you love her but you barely know her. She could have ‘lived in the moment’ before and caught something. People catch diseases and don’t even know and then pass them on,” Chris said.

“Come on Chrissy, you’ve never done it just once?” Mario asked and she glared at him. Of course she hadn’t, Christianna was little Miss perfect.

“What’re you gonna do if she gets pregnant? You’re way too young for that and you’d throw your life away like that?” Molly asked, he’d known that he shouldn’t have talked about this with them.

“He will be responsible and take care of her and his child,” Damien said surprisingly. He stared at his oldest brother, why wasn’t he lecturing him?

“It was stupid but Eve isn’t diseased and if I got her pregnant I would do what I have to. Stop worrying so much,” Neil said as if none of this bothered him.

The truth was that he hoped that she wouldn’t end up pregnant. He didn’t want a baby right now; he just wanted to be sixteen. When he thought about what happened he was amazed that it had. It seemed like a dream when it happened; he’d had a lot of dreams about being with Eve. It seemed unfair though that they were all talking about his relationship, when Corrina was gone. He felt guilty that he’d been making love to Eve all day instead of even going to visit Corrina’s grave. What kind of brother was he? The one day he wasn’t thinking about Corrina and how he wished he could’ve done something, happened to be the day she died. It was pretty ironic, his whole day was ironic. Maybe it was just a sign that he was finally moving on. Dr. Cyrus had told him that it was ok to let go and live again. Why did he have to start really coming alive on this day of all days? It was Eve she changed everything about his life.

“Just be safe we worry about you,” Molly said in a softer voice. “You haven’t been the same since we lost Corrina.”

“We’ve all changed,” Mario said.

“I think we’re all finally healing but I still think of her all the time,” Chris said. Rarely did she show much emotionally weakness, but even she was human.

“How bout if we take a drive,” Damien said suddenly. “We never all go out to visit her grave together,” he said.

“Let’s go,” Neil said getting up from his bed. This was something they all really needed to do.

It was funny that one minute they were talking about his sex life and the next minute they were going out to see Corrina. He could almost hear her laughing about him and Eve. She would have told him that he should marry her if he trusted her that much to not use protection. And she’d think the idea of a baby was fun especially since Damien and Juliet were having one too. Pretty much Corrina could make anything sound a lot better than it was, that was her gift. She made everybody smile and she was friends with everybody and the most loving person in the world. Neil hated that she was gone because she was a part of him, his other half. But he knew God had his reasons for taking her away and he was finally able to accept that she wasn’t coming back. And if he didn’t get on with his life it would be an insult to her memory.

“You’ve changed a lot,” Damien told him. “Don’t worry about this whole thing with your girl, everything will be alright,” he said. Neil just nodded; he knew it was true, because no matter what he did still have amazing brothers and sisters left here with him. And Corrina was there to be his guardian angel. Maybe it was time for him to go off his meds for good.

 

 

“This is an official SOS,” Morgan whispered.

“Are you hiding?” Eve asked laughing, she knew her too well.

“Bathroom, Mario is here,” she replied. “He kissed me in front of um everybody and Nana has him cornered talking to him,” she said.

“Mario is a great guy, you worry too much,” Eve told her. She herself was waiting out on the porch of Joan’s mother’s house for Neil to arrive. He called her that morning saying that he wanted to see her. Joan was the one that suggested that he should come over and even gave him directions.

“Ok tell me quick how are things there?” Morgana asked, Eve smiled at the question.

“Great, they are really nice and welcomed me right into the family. Joan told everybody that my amazing boyfriend is coming over and they actually want to meet him. Random right? I just can’t seem to get out of the twilight zone,” she said and Morgana laughed.

“I’m so there with you,” Morgana told her. “Guess I will go, but I know Nana doesn’t believe that I should be allowed to date and Mario is almost 20.”

“Just breathe and text if you need me,” Eve told her.

“Ok, I’m off,” she replied.

“Good luck,” Eve said.

“You too,” Morgana said.

It was cold out and since she thought Neil was close she’d come out without a coat on. Joan’s family consisted of her brother and his wife and 3 children, mother, father, adopted sister and her son and 2 of her cousins. They were all welcoming and wanted to get to know her, it was weird. Joan’s mother insisted that Eve call her grandma when she found out that Eve didn’t know any of her grandparents. She didn’t tell them much about her family, just that she had a sister. Like a proud mother Joan told them how well she did in school and how blessed she felt to have Eve around. The whole experience was overwhelming but it further made her want to stay here. With every passing day she knew Claira had to be getting closer and closer to finding her.

Finally Neil pulled up in the black SUV he’d traded one of his brothers for. All of the Jay siblings had their own cars and he’d told her that occasionally they liked to switch. He parked on the street and walked up towards the house with a big smile on his face. When he got to her he pulled her into his arms without a word and kissed her. Kissing him made her think about what happened between them the day before. She’d actually been thinking about it a lot and was wondering if it really happened. The whole thing was so surreal; actually her whole life was these days.

“I can’t stop thinking about you,” he whispered. There was this look in his eyes that she couldn’t quite read because she’d never seen this look before.

“Is it only because of what happened yesterday?” She asked and he stared at her like she was crazy.

“I love you and yesterday was amazing but I loved you before we ever did that,” he said and she smiled.

“So how did you get out of the house? I thought Mimi wanted everybody home,” she changed the subject. If they talked about sex then she knew she might want to do him right then and there.

“Oh, she performed and acted crazy like usual and made my grandparents mad. They left and my dad and Mimi got into a fight and she locked herself in their bedroom. The rest of the family and guests were dying to get out of there. It was weird though cause usually she’s most crazy in private and since she’s been home she’d been out in public acting up,” he told her. For once it seemed like he might actually be worried about his mother.

“Well are you ready to meet everybody?” She asked and he shook his head.

“Not yet, I wanna be alone with you,” he said before he kissed her. “I wish we were older, I wanna wake up seeing you every morning,” he said. Why did he have to be so amazing?

“Do you want to spend the night at my house? Well more like a weekend, it’s the parents’ anniversary in two weeks and they’re going away,” she told him. This was probably wrong and she didn’t want to be sneaky and lie to her adoring parents, but love was making her want to do crazy things.

“Seriously? You’re in trouble Miss De Marco,” he said pulling her closer to him. “You know you’re so hot tonight,” he whispered in her ear. The sexual tension was building between them and suddenly it wasn’t so cold out anymore.

“You know you never did bother to ask me to formal,” she said turning away. Changing the subject might keep her out of trouble, maybe? They couldn’t have sex here; she was trying to be a good daughter. But he came up behind her and pulled her against him and she could tell that he wanted her right now.

“I’m dumb you know that,” he whispered in her ear. “Eve will you please go to formal with me? I can guarantee a night you won’t forget,” he said in a slow seductive voice. It took all her strength not to drag him back to his car and do him right there in front of the house.

“Of course, a girl likes to be asked you know,” she said trying to play it cool.

“Don’t worry Baby, you’ll get it tonight,” he whispered. When she turned to look at him he kissed her. “Now let’s go meet the family,” he said taking her hand and heading to the door. She wondered what he meant but could guess, it seemed so crazy that her perfect good boy boyfriend was suddenly so sex crazed. It wasn’t that she minded, it was more like it seemed to be contagious. And this just wasn’t the place for it.

 

 

“You’re family loves me,” Mario said, finally they were alone.

“I’m surprised, you’re older than me and you kissed me in front of Nana. Those are big no no’s where she is concerned,” Morgana told him. Also she’d been allowed to leave with him which was also not a normal thing.

“So I wanted to talk to you about something,” he said. The tone of his voice worried her; she hated to be paranoid though so she tried not to think about it.

“Ok I’m listening,” she said turning to him. To her surprise they were driving through his neighborhood, she hadn’t been paying attention.

“Wait till we get inside,” he said.

They were pulling into his driveway, but instead of parking in front of the house near the garage he drove around the side of the garage and parked. She got out and followed him around back to the guest house out by the pool that had been converted into a lounge. Once inside he locked the door and turned on a lamp. Morgana sat down on one of the couches trying to not think about what he might say. Was it because Eve had talked her into asking him if he’d go with her to winter formal? He’d said yes but why would he want to hang around a bunch of high school kids? She tried not to even think about all the college girls that wanted him and he could have them. This was exactly why she didn’t like getting attached, stupid irrelevant emotions like jealousy could pop up. There was no way she was going to be all jealous and paranoid, it wasn’t her.

“What’s up?” She asked him when he finally sat down next to her, he looked nervous. Was he a cheater like his brother? Why else would he be nervous?

“We’ve been together awhile and I don’t usually do this relationship crap, especially not with some high school girl,” he said looking down at the ground.

“Want me to make it easy for you? We’re over right?” She said it matter of factly like she didn’t care, but she did care a little too much. The look he gave her was surprising then he laughed.

“That’s the thing about high school girls all that drama,” he said then took her hands. “I was gonna say I think I hit my head or I’ve been hanging around my lil brother too long cause I think I’m in love with you.”

“What?” She asked, she knew she had to have heard that wrong. When guys professed their love to her it usually had something to do with sex.

“Yeah I don’t usually say this stuff; it’s ridiculously embarrassing right now. It’s worse cause you’re looking at me like I’m crazy,” he said looking away from her again.

“I love you too Mario,” she said. When the words came out she couldn’t believe she said it, this was a first.

“So awkwardness is over right? I don’t talk about my feelings,” he said and she kissed him.

“Like I do? Let’s avoid this emotional crap,” she said.

“Great idea,” he said and he kissed her.

Morgana laid back on the couch while she was making out with Mario, this was how their relationship got started. It was in fact right here on this couch that they’d started making out and ended up having sex for the first time. By doing that she’d gone against all her rules and it seemed to really have paid off. She’d never fallen for a guy like this and never told a guy she loved him. The whole love thing was a red flag that was when she usually pulled out. But this time was different; Mario wasn’t like all the other guys she pretended to date. She didn’t want to mess with his head and play her usual game. Maybe love was what she was after, but she wasn’t sure how long this whole thing would last. For now she just loved being with him not that she could actually admit that.

“Do you think we have sex too much?” She asked him and he considered her a moment.

“Probably, does that mean you don’t wanna do it?” Mario asked he sat up and so did she. He leaned back and she crawled on top of him.

“I never said that,” she said. His response was taking off her dress and she let him. Their relationship was very sexual, but that wasn’t all it was about.

“Mario!” They heard a screech and they both turned to see Mimi standing in the doorway. Morgana rushed to try to cover herself, Mario handed her his shirt.

“Mom, what’re you doing out here?” He asked while pulling on his pants up.

“I saw the light on,” she said. “Mario she’s 16, you can’t be doing this.” She sounded like she was in shock, Morgana just wanted to scream.

“Not a big deal, my parents know we go out,” Morgana said, she was annoyed.

“It is not legal, I forbid this,” Mimi said. Morgana was trying very hard not to laugh, but Mario actually did it.

“Who are you to forbid anything? You’re never around, you aren’t a real mother and really you’re a joke,” Mario said. Both Mimi and Morgana stared at him; he wasn’t the type of guy that talked back to his mother.

“Mario!” She squealed then started rambling on in French, Mario just looked more annoyed at her.

“Get dressed Mo, I’ll take you home,” he said getting up and disappearing into the bathroom.

“I know you’re type girl,” Mimi said when she was alone with Morgana.

“And what type would that be exactly?” She asked, even when she was friends with Corrina and was normal, Mimi was never her favorite person.

“You want to be with my son because we have money,” Mimi said shaking her head. “Trying to get yourself pregnant so he will want to marry you, I knew before when you use to sniff around here. I won’t let you ruin my family you little s**t,” she said. As far as Morgana was concerned it was game on, so much for trying to be nice.

“Let’s see you didn’t care or notice that your daughter died, you like to abandon your children and you’re crazy. Sorry Mimi just because you hooked up with Mr. Jay for his money, doesn’t mean that all girls are like that. I know you were poor French trash before you met him, everybody does,” Morgana said.

It was probably wrong, but why on earth would she try to get pregnant? She was only 16 and babies weren’t a great accessory to bring to school, she had plans. She got up and pulled off Mario’s shirt and slipped her dress back on, the fact that Mimi was standing there didn’t even bother her. When Mario came out of the bathroom he still looked pissed off, he grabbed his keys off the table and handed Morgana her coat. He walked pass his mother without saying a word and Morgana followed. Neither of them said a word when they were back in his car driving away from his house.

“Mario,” Morgana said trying to break up the silence; they were almost to her house. There was no way she was going to let Mimi ruin her night or her relationship.

“I hate my mother,” he said. He parked his car in front of her house, her family still wasn’t home.

“Come in for a minute,” she told him and he stared at her.

“Mo, I’d love to but I’m not in a good mood right now,” he said.

“I didn’t ask, it was more of a command,” she told him and he gave her a half smile. One thing she could always do was get her way with boys.

“Fine, only to make sure you get in safe,” he said and she nodded.

“You got me all worked up and I got no action,” she said opening the door and getting out. She turned to see him watching her in a bemused sort of way. “I’ve never had sex in my bed before,” she said causally then closed the door and headed up the walk way. It took all of two seconds for him to get out and put her arm around her. Making guys forget things and focus on her was a talent she’d long since perfected. But she didn’t forget about Mimi, pretty much war had been declared and Morgana wasn’t a loser.

 

 

“So we’ve been hearing that you’re an athlete,” Mr. Meyers was saying. He happened to be Joan’s father and he’d been asking Neil questions since he’d come in.

“Yeah I play football and baseball,” he said and Mr. Meyers nodded.

“Is that what’s going to get you into college?” Mr. Meyers asked, Neil almost laughed at the question; he looked at Eve out the corner of his eye.

“Maybe, but I’ve been working on other ways as well,” he said but clearly elaboration was needed. “I’ve been a straight A student my whole life, I’m on the newspaper and yearbook staff at school and I’m vice president of the student counsel. I’m on the youth group panel at my church and teach Sunday school. There’s a reading program I work with that helps young children and I do a lot of volunteer work,” he said.

Everybody seemed to be impressed, he just felt like an overachieving nerd. Yeah he was probably going to be the captain of the football team next year and he was being honored at his church for all of the volunteering he did. None of it really was to impress anybody, it as more like to keep busy. Eve smiled at him; he kept thinking how beautiful she was. Her new family seemed to fit her perfectly; he knew she was longing to belong somewhere. And he was happy these were the people that had become her family, and he was jealous. Why couldn’t he have a normal family life? After dinner with Mimi he was hoping that either she was going to leave or he was going to have to move out himself.

“We couldn’t have hoped for a better young man for our Eve,” Joan said proudly. It was weird that someone else’s mother was more proud of him than his own, then again Mimi would have to notice him first. This wasn’t the time to think about his issues with his mother, he just wanted to be with Eve.

“I doubt a better one exists,” Mrs. Meyers said smiling at him.

“So if you don’t mind me asking, what exactly is your race?” Ebony, Joan’s sister asked and her mother hit her.

“That’s rude,” Mrs. Meyers said. “Cornelius you don’t have to answer that,” she told him but he shrugged. It wasn’t a big deal to him, he loved being different sometimes.

“It’s fine,” he said. “My mother is French and as I hear it comes from a long line of Parisians, but she lost her family in a fire when she was young. My father’s side is more complicated my grandma is Puerto Rican and Japanese and my grandpa black and Greek. I’m a big rainbow of cultures,” he told them.

With his short black curly hair, light brown skin and almond shaped hazel eyes people often wondered about him. He’d inherited different traits from his multiple cultures and liked being unique, only his siblings resembled him. How many other people in the world had that exact mix? Being of a mixed race wasn’t so uncommon these days; in fact it was pretty normal. And how perfect was it for him to find multi-cultural Eve? His sisters thought it was funny to tell him that they would have pretty babies. After what happened with Eve the day before made them quit with that joke. They’d even gone as far as to buy him a bunch of condoms, put them in a box, gift wrapped it and left it on his nightstand. To him it wasn’t funny, and they swore that they were trying to be helpful. In his opinion they were too over protective and needed to stay out of his business.

There was conversation buzzing around the room, but he didn’t feel like talking much. Eve sat there next to him not saying much either. He slipped his fingers over hers and they locked them together. They stared into each others eyes, for a minute he forgot there were other people in the room. Never in his life had he felt like this about a girl, all the other times he thought he could be in love had to be wrong. There was just no feeling in the world that could match what he felt for her. The very first time he’d seen her was over the summer, she was with Morgana getting ice cream in the park. She was wearing a pink tank top and grey shorts and her hair was in pigtails, he remembered everything from that day. And he’d been able to find out who she was by going onto Morgana’s Myspace page; he’d snapped a picture of her with his cell phone. It was the single most stalkerish moment of his life and he was glad that he’d done it.

“I bet Eve would like it if she could ride back home with you,” Joan leaned over and whispered in his ear. “We’re heading home soon, so why don’t you two go ahead of us,” she said and he nodded. Neil was pretty sure at that moment that Eve had to have the most amazing parents ever. He was considering asking them to adopt him too.

 

 

 

“We are bad girlfriends,” Eve said to Morgana who shrugged.

“Not really, you’re being a great best friend and girlfriend by keeping me away from Mimi. I swear I was about to kill her,” she replied. They were hiding at the hotel lounge; it was the night of Corrina’s benefit dinner.

“I can’t believe she said you want Mario for his money,” Eve said shaking her head.

When Morgana had come over Friday afternoon ranting about her run in with Mimi the night before she almost couldn’t believe it. Tonight however made it painfully obvious that Mimi Jay was out of her mind and out to get Morgana. It started when she arrived late and caused a big scene about why they started without her. Then she complained loudly about her son’s under aged girlfriend. Worse yet was when she accused Juliet of cheating on Damien and said that she needed a DNA test for the baby and called off their wedding. Juliet’s parents were furious and they took her home with them, Damien left a little while later. Even though Mr. Jay talked to her and tried to calm her down, Mimi kept acting up. Mostly she said things about Morgana and that was when they decided to take a break from her. It was also when her husband removed her and had to literally drag her away to have some words with her. Other than Mimi being insane the event was actually pretty successful and they raised a lot of money. Mario and Neil had gone outside twenty minutes ago and still hadn’t returned because Mario wasn’t happy.

“That w***e is lucky my parents are here, otherwise I might have smacked her,” Morgana said.

“I thought Ana was about to get up and choke her,” Eve said and they both laughed. Morgana’s mom was all about non-violence, but Mimi could make a nun slap her. Everybody wanted to excuse Mimi’s behavior because she lost her daughter, but further insensitive comments made that hard.

“Chris and Molly did an amazing job and their witch mother tried to ruin it, they held everything together so well,” Morgana said and Eve nodded.

“So Joan said she talked to your mom about going dress shopping this weekend,” Eve said changing the subject.

“I’ve never been to a high school dance and you drag me to winter formal. I’m going soft,” Morgana said.

“You think I’ve been to a dance? I’m surprised I passed in my classes cause I was never there,” Eve said and Morgana shook her head.

“Before I met you I thought I skipped school a lot, guess not,” she said and Eve glared at her.

“I’m excited even though yeah it’s nerdy but I wanna wear a pretty dress,” Eve told her. In her head she already was picturing her perfect dress, and she was wishing that the dance wasn’t three weeks away.

“Your man’s already got plans for an after party and a limo; he’s the type of guy that’s probably been to all the dances,” Morgana said. It was true Neil was that involved with school functions type of person. “I don’t think I’ve ever been to a high school party,” she said thoughtfully.

“Neither have I, we’re dance and party virgins,” Eve said and they both laughed.

“Where is my son,” Mimi’s voice came from behind them.

“Which son? In case you hadn’t noticed you have three of them and they all probably hate you by now,” Morgana said without even turning around.

“You’re probably trying to seduce all of them, you stay away girl,” she said. To Eve, Mimi sounded like she was both drunk and out of her mind.

“They aren’t here its just us two,” Eve said trying to break up the tension.

“Don’t think I don’t know about you,” Mimi said to her. “I found out your secrets filthy girl, you’re using my sons,” she said.

“Mimi,” Mario called, he was clearly pissed. He and Neil were just walking over and they must have heard Mimi. She started talking to them in French and Mario shook his head. “I have nothing to say to you,” he told her.

“Ladies, why don’t we go?” Neil said, Mario started to walk away and he gestured to follow his brother. Without a word both girls followed Mario down the hall, but at first Neil didn’t follow.

“My baby boy, you don’t know what you’re getting into,” Mimi said to him. “Those girls are trouble,” she told him.

“I think we’re gonna stay our grandparents’ tonight, maybe you can figure out what’s important to you by tomorrow. Right now you’re on your way to not having a family at all,” Neil said calmly then walked away. Eve was waiting for him; Morgana had gone ahead to calm Mario down.

“Are you ok?” She asked him, he put his arms around her.

“My mother is insane and we’re gonna try to move out,” he said. “I’m sorry she said something to you,” he told her.

“Honey, I’ve heard way worse things then pretty much anything she can think of,” she told him.

“You don’t speak French,” he said and she laughed.

“Sure don’t but trust me, she can’t scare me away from you. I have no secrets from you, you know me,” Eve said and he nodded.

“Did I tell you that you look amazing?” He asked and she smiled and shrugged.

“Once or twice maybe,” she replied. She’d worn a simple baby blue baby doll dress and her long hair was pulled up in a bun with curls hanging down.

“I was thinking of getting a room and taking you up, but I figured your parents wouldn’t like that,” he said.

“You have a problem Mr. Jay,” she told him. They had been doing a lot of messing around since they started having sex. He was like an addict and she felt like she was getting addicted too.

“I’m hooked on you, Mrs. Jay,” he said and she laughed.

“Don’t see a ring on my finger,” she said.

“Give it some time and you will,” he said. Instead of further elaborating he kissed her, when he kissed her she usually was distracted enough not to ask more questions. That was obviously his plan so she figured she would just let it go for now. There was enough going on that night anyway and she knew more drama with Mimi was to come.

Author's Note

..if you've suffered through the first 3 chapters with my bad grammar, typos and occasional misspellings then this shouldn't be too bad.. please tell me what you think.. i value your opinion and its greatly appreciated.. thanks!