Chapter 1

Chapter 1

“Criticize the act, not the person.”

" Mary Kay Ash

Mayville, Michigan " September 13^th, 2010

The room was open and dark. Men were looking in her direction"most likely because of her promiscuous ensemble. The shirt was starting to cling to her chest from sweat and the skirt was too tight in a way that made her uncomfortable, but she couldn't let that show. She needed money to pay for her bus ticket and a warm meal, which wasn't going to happen if she didn't have confidence. She sat at the bar and the bartender looked her up and down. She smiled at him as he walked over.

"What can I get for you miss?" his buff posture made the girl inwardly cringe. She didn't find it attractive in the least.

"I’ll just have water for now," she said. The only thing that was free in America: water, and it was only beverage she ever ordered when she went into these types of places.

He gave her a particular look, one that said he knew she was there for more than just a drink. What she couldn't tell was if he thought it was a good or bad thing. She never really could when people looked at her in that way. She knew he thought she was up to some sort of mischief, and she didn’t care.

A man came up behind Evelyn and whispered something in her ear. She couldn't quite understand his words but she did hear "beautiful" and a drunken burp, which was good enough for the time being. It made it much easier to take a man's things when he was drunk. She turned around and looked at the man. He was most likely in his mid-twenties and had a scruffy beard. He looked worn, like getting drunk was something he did every occasion he could. That helped her even more, considering he might get so drunk that he couldn’t remember anything from that night.

It wouldn't matter if he did remember, though. She would be leaving the town soon enough and going to some other insignificant place, loaded with men who don't know how to treat a woman, and women who liked that sort of thing. Evelyn couldn't help but think of home as the man sat next to her and she flirtatiously smiled at him. Home was something she didn't think about often. And she hated that this drunk man was the one resurrecting all of her memories. She quickly forced them out of her head by concentrating on his slurred words.

"I asked what your name was," he said, throwing her a wave of bad breath. She forced herself not to cringe.

"Oh, it's Janna," she lied in response. He smiled and moved his hand to her knee.

"Where are you from, beautiful?" he asked in a drunkenly playful way. She smiled, and not because she was flattered.

"Does it really matter?" she asked.

"Point taken. So, what is a pretty girl like you doing in an old town like this?" The color of his eyes was revealed as he looked deeply at her. They were brown but striking"they reminded her of someone, but she couldn't explain it.

"I could ask you the same." She always did this"dodged their questions. She didn't want anyone knowing anything about her. And in some situations, avoiding questions seemed more flirtatious.

"And I wouldn't be able to answer you honestly. Not if I want to take you home." He smiled and leaned in for a kiss. She dodged it.

"Why don't we go somewhere a bit more private?" As she spoke a smile grew on his bearded face. She couldn't help but think that, aside from his obvious daily alcohol consumption, he might be a good guy. She couldn't think that way though because she knew it would influence the outcome of the night. 

"That sounds like a good idea to me," he replied taking her hand.

She looked back at the bartender one last time. He was bluntly staring at them. She felt an odd pull in her chest, like she owed him some sort of explanation that she didn't have. The man pulled her out of the bar and a startling twist erupted in her stomach. She felt like that every time she left a bar with a stranger. It was just way more intense this time. A jerk of her arm brought Evelyn back to reality. The guy was pulling her towards an alley, which would frighten most girls, but she couldn't care less. Her stomach felt empty beyond pain, it felt numb, and her head had been hurting for the last 16 hours. So she wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible.

Evelyn was pushed up against a brick wall. The breath that had once repulsed her now felt normal and welcoming. She smiled at how ironic that was as he kissed her. It was almost pleasant. Almost. He grabbed one of her legs and put it on his hip then he grabbed the other, picking her up. He was surprisingly steady for someone so 'drunk.' She took a mental note of that while giggling for effect. Keeping her eye on the prize, she put her hands in his back pocket, hoping the wallet would be in there. And it was.

His mouth moved down her neck. She took the movement as an opportunity to pull the wallet out of his pocket while pressing herself harder against him. He didn't seem to notice the action and she took him moving back to her mouth as initiative to put her feet back on the ground. With the wallet still in her left hand, she pushed him away with her right. His breathing was hard, unlike hers. She didn't feel anything. He gave her a questioning look as she bent down to pick up her bag. She slipped the wallet in it and looked back up at him.

"You done?" he asked with a vulnerable face.

"Yeah, I'm done," she said back. She put the bag over her shoulder and walked away.

He didn't try to stop her like some did. She wished he would have though. She always felt better about taking a man’s money when they did some action to deserve it. It made her feel awful when they got completely victimized. Her sympathy wouldn’t last long, but she certainly didn't like the feeling pulling at her gut while she walked out of the alley way.

The moon and stars shone bright that evening. Evelyn’s shoes made clicking noises on the road. The town was so small that she wasn't worried about walking the distance to the motel. She needed to get all of her things before she bought the ticket out of there. In all fairness, the town did have its charms. Roads were formed from cobblestone. The grass neatly cut in some places and wildly green in others. Surrounding the town was nothing but forests for miles. Before she left home, this would have been the perfect place for her to settle down.

She reached the motel and walked to the door that led to her room, making a mental note to stop thinking about what could have been and what was. Unlocking the door to the room had been the biggest pain ever since she had arrived there. She had even cut one of her fingers on the key, which would only happen to her. Suddenly, a blur reached down and took the keys from her hand. Evelyn turned around ready to face the attacker. It was the bartender. His hand was dangling the keys up in the air, waving them in a taunting way. She glared at him.

“Why did you follow me home?” she asked, not bothering to try retrieving her keys because she knew that she would never be able to reach them. He was at least a towering six foot five while Evelyn was only five foot four.

“This is what you consider home?” he shot right back.

“Don’t degrade my intelligence. It’s my home for the time being. What do you want from me?” she glared at him.

“I want to know if you have seen my friend Jacob,” he said, lowering his hand. He still didn’t make a move to give the keys back though.

“I don’t know who you are talking about. I don’t know any Jacobs around here. Now, may I please have my keys?” she asked flinging her hand in his direction. He still did not make any sudden movements.

“The man you were with at the bar? The drunk. His name is Jacob. I saw him leave with you, but then he came back inside to pay his tab only someone stole his wallet. So he left. I thought maybe he was still with you.” His voice no longer had a mocking tone to it. He was getting upset.

“Obviously he is not with me.”

“Did he tell you where he was going?”

She didn’t have time for him to keep bombarding her with questions concerning a man she had already forgotten. She needed to get her things and leave. “Listen, I don’t know where your friend is. Last time I saw him he pushed me off him in the ally way by the bar you work at. I left feeling rejected and came here. Can I please have my key back?” If he didn’t give them to her, she was prepared to take them from him, using all the force she was capable of.

“Why are you being so uncooperative with my questions?” He demanded, his eyes flashed like hers did when she was angry. Evelyn took a step back from him, suddenly scared.

“It is not intentional I assure you. I just have to catch a bus early in the morning and if I don’t wake up in time it is going to cost me that much more money that I don’t have. I would love to help you out but I have a schedule that is formed by the money that comes my way. And it is telling me to leave this boondock town.”

“Listen, are you sure he tell you about where he might have been going or"” She cut him off.

“If he did, don’t you think I would have said something by now? Look I already told you I didn’t know where he was. What else could I do to help you? You know the guy better than I do and I know you did not have enough time to thoroughly look for him while stalking me on my way home. So why don’t you just go look somewhere that doesn’t involve me?”

            “I know you stole his wallet,” he confessed, staring straight at her. She rolled her eyes.

“So that is what all this is about? Oh. Okay. That makes more sense. Why didn’t you just say so in the first place?” She reached into her purse and grabbed Jacob’s wallet that only held three dollars, an expired license, and a coupon for a barbeque joint. It wasn’t the greatest find. She handed him the wallet which he took immediately, his eyebrows pressing together.

“So you just give it to me? That simple?”

Evelyn shrugged. “There is nothing in it that I want or need. Send it to him with my regards and apologies. I had no idea the guy was such a loser.” She smiled once and grabbed at her keys again, which were held loosely enough in his hand that she obtained them. With a satisfied smile, she stuck the key in the lock and opened the door, quickly going in before he could stop her.

“Goodnight,” she said right before the door closed on him. He was staring at her with a confused demeanor, but didn’t do anything further. In fact, he couldn’t do anything else. He wasn’t a cop. He couldn’t arrest her for stealing. She locked the deadbolt and put the chain on the door as fast as possible, then looked out the peephole. He wasn’t there anymore and for that, she was glad. With a sigh of relief, Evelyn walked over to the bed and fell onto the pillow. The sheets were scratchy and smelled like they hadn’t been washed in weeks, which was disgusting considering how many people had slept in the bed. She flipped over to her back and tried not to contemplate it.

She stared at the ceiling wondering why she was doing all of this. Why she was running. Why she didn’t just face the consequences like a normal person. Of course, Evelyn was anything but normal. She thought she knew what normal was once, but it all was thrown back in her face. She remembered the day she turned eighteen. She had the entire day planned out, from start to finish. She had organized it a week before. Everything was going to be perfect. But there was one detail that she didn’t plan for. One detail that ruined everything.

¯�'¯

On Saturdays, there was a routine around her house. They whole family woke up at ten, her mother made breakfast, and then they went on with the rest of the day. That Saturday was nothing like the others. Evelyn woke up at two o’clock in the morning with a sharp pain radiating throughout her entire body. She stopped herself from crying out, so she wouldn’t wake the house. It was hard not to though. Her skin felt like it was on fire. Hot flashes came and went every eleven seconds. Shivers crawled under her skin like an angry parasite trying to obtain hold of her body.

            Finally, she couldn’t take it anymore. She screamed. It was a loud, hard, blood-curdling scream. It hurt her throat just to let it out, which made Evelyn want to scream more. Tears ran down her face as her parents came running in, followed by her older sister, Katalina. Her father’s large hand went to her forehead immediately. It felt cool compared to Evelyn’s burning flesh. After a second he looked to his wife, Karmina, and they exchanged an understanding glace. Katalina had tears in her eyes as she watched, shaking her head like she didn’t want to believe what was happening to her baby sister. She took Evelyn’s hand and squeezed it once before she left the room sobbing. Evelyn was so confused"she had no idea what was happening.

“What’s"going on?” she managed to mumble through barred teeth. Karmina sat down next to her daughter, trying to remain as calm as possible.

“Your father and I hoped that this would never have to happened to you, Evelyn. So, we tried to protect you from it. You didn’t need to know this world.” Her voice broke on the last word.

“What are"are you talking a"about?” Evelyn whispered. Her father put his hand on his wife’s shoulder, stopping her from speaking.

“Evelyn,” he started calmly, staring at her with level eyes, “you’re a Lycanthrope.”

¯�'¯

Evelyn woke up to the sound of the people next door. They were being way too loud and obnoxious. I know it’s a motel, but, I mean, seriously, keep the sex noises down to a minimum, she thought with a roll of her eyes. She got out of bed, cracking her neck in the process. Immediately, she looked at the clock. It was almost seven in the morning. She shook her head at the people next door and went into the bathroom, grabbing her toothpaste and toothbrush.

Turning the shower knob all the way to hot, she brushed her teeth, waiting for the water to heat up. When steam was rising and fogging up the bathroom mirror, she decided to hop in. Stripping off her clothes, Evelyn stepped in to the searing hot water. It didn’t bother her"the hot water. If anything it felt a lot cooler than it seemed. That was one of the things that came with being a Lycanthrope"temperatures didn’t really bother them. Their normal body temperatures stand between 104 and 110 degrees Fahrenheit. It just depends on the person and time of year.

She washed her hair and body with the complementary tiny bottle of shampoo that smelled like a mix of lavender and the beach"which made absolutely no sense seeing as she was nowhere near the beach. She scrubbed the weird smelling conditioner out of her hair and stood there for another few minutes before she got out. The water pressure was terrible, but it still felt good on her back. Turning off the water, she grabbed a towel from the rack and wrapped it around her body. It was thin, and scratchy like the sheets, but at least it was clean. Thankfully, when she got out, it was quiet, but the bad part was that she was totally awake. She went back into the bedroom and opened her bag, fishing for a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. Hanging them on the back of a chair, Evelyn began blow-drying her hair and neatly styling it. She even put on makeup"something that was rarely needed.

When she was all dressed and ready, she stood in the bathroom staring at herself in the mirror. Her skin was a pale ivory that lost all of its tan from spending too much time inside. Her blonde hair was somewhat dry from such bad styling products. She was getting a lot skinnier from cutting back on meals to save my money. Her cheek bones were seemingly more defined and her once tight jeans hung loosely on her hips. It was almost a sad sight, but she pushed it away because she couldn’t get away from those factors. They were the outcomes of running away.

She had come to the town in search of something. Redemption maybe, but she couldn’t bring herself to try to be forgiven. She was past the point of forgiveness from anyone. The entire trip there had been a mistake and she was ready to be gone.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door that broke Evelyn out of her daze. She went to it and looked out the peephole. There stood the bartender from the night before with an envelope in his hand. Her eyebrows pressed together as she looked at him. He seemed calm, but a little flustered about something. She unlocked the dead-bolt, but left the chain on as she opened the door.

“What?” she asked him immediately, catching him off guard. He looked down at Evelyn and handed her the envelope.

“Here,” he said, slipping it through the small crack in the door. He leaned against the door frame. She gingerly took it and looked back at him.

“What is it?” she wondered aloud. It seemed a little thick, but she didn’t know what she was dealing with. Is he trying to sell me drugs or something?

“Open it.” His voice was kind. He put his hands in his pockets and nodded once, as if offering some type of encouragement. Hesitantly, she did as he said. She opened the envelope and was flabbergasted to what she found.

Money. And a lot of it.

Her eyes immediately went to the guy standing in front of her door. “What? Why are you giving me this?” she whispered.

“Because I know what you’re doing.” He shrugged. “I know that you need money, but you’re doing wrong things to get it.”

“What do you think I’m doing?” she asked him, trying not to sound too suspicious. She looked down at the money again to make sure it was real.

“I think you are running away.”

“What makes you think that?” she crossed her arms, though she knew he probably couldn’t see.

“Well, for one, you are living at the worst motel in the entire town. Two, you stole my friend’s wallet then gave it back immediately after I outed you"a true criminal or drug addict wouldn’t do a thing like that. And lastly, you’re skinny as hell and you look like you are going to pass out at any second.” He gave her a concerned look and raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to admit to it all. With a brief hesitation, Evelyn shut the door on him and undid the chain so she could let the strange man into her room. She opened the door all the way and put her arm out for him to come in. He nodded once and entered, looking around.

“So, when did you figure me out?” She asked as she closed the door behind him.

“Ten seconds after you gave me the wallet.”

She nodded and took a seat on the bed. “And you are giving me this money because you feel sorry for me,” she stated, staring down at the envelope. There had to be over a thousand dollars in there.

“No and yes. I'm giving you the money because I was in your situation once. I left home with some money saved, but as soon as all that money ran out, I started doing stupid stuff to make an extra buck. Sold drugs, robbed people. Ended up in jail. I wouldn’t wish that life on another person. So, when I saw you"I don’t know I guess I wanted to help.” He sat down in one of the two chairs at the kitchen table located conveniently across from the bed.

As Evelyn stared at the man, she wanted to cry. She wanted to thank him for his generosity and hug him. But she didn’t. She just sat there staring at him blankly. She didn’t know what to say"or better yet, how to say it. Her mind was still in a state of shock. She blinked her eyes a few times then looked away from his probing light gray-blue eyes.

“Thank you,” she whispered, her voice cracking.

“Don’t worry about it. I only want to help.” He sat there for a moment with his hands folded in front of him, staring at the floor, contemplating something. He sighed a few moments later and looked back up. “Look, if you want, I have a friend who has an extra bedroom if you want to crash there for a while so you can figure things out.”

“Whoa! No, no. I couldn’t do that.” She stood up on instinct and walked over to the kitchen. She placed her hands on either side of the small sink and leaned on the counter. “That"that just wouldn’t work. I mean I"I'm leaving uh, today and that"”

“And what? Where are you going this time? You’re in the middle of nowhere. There is nowhere else to go from here. Are you going to the city? Because that is a thousand times more expensive than this stupid motel,” he argued, standing up as well. She turned to look at him.

“I know that,” she said defensively. She paused before she asked, “What exactly am I supposed to do if I stay with this friend of yours?” She didn’t look at him as she spoke the words.

“Well, I'm thinking that you could maybe get a job"at least for a while, so you can save up some money then do whatever it is you need to do after that.” She glanced over to see him shrug again. “It’s just an idea.”

“And your friend would just let me stay there rent free?”

He nodded. “All you would have to do was help do chores now and then. Nothing big. Think of it like a halfway house, but instead of being a recovering drug addict, like myself, you are a impecunious runaway.” He seemed pleased with his analogy. Evelyn stood there for a moment weighing the pros and cons in her head. The only con she seemed to come up with was that she would be staying in one place for more than four days. And that didn’t even seem like too big of a deal.

“And look,” he added, “if you don’t like it, you can leave. It’s all up to you.”

“But how is he going to be able to afford the both of us? Does he seriously make that much money?” She wanted to roll her eyes, but stopped herself.

“Actually, he came into some money when his father died about a year ago. He was the owner of a big time company. So Gavin is pretty much set for life, if you know what I mean.” He chuckled solemnly.

“Gavin?” Evelyn froze and hoped it was just a coincidence. “What was his father’s name?” she asked slowly, trying to hide the panic in her voice.

“Owen Wyatt.”

She held back a gasp and tried to remain calm. Suddenly a hundred more cons popped up with that name. “Um. I don’t know if it is a good idea…”

“Come on! Will you just meet Gavin? He’s a very nice guy, I know he’s lonely, and he owes me, so it’s perfect. Just"will you please?” he was all but begging her.

She wanted to turn him down and say he was the most ridiculous person on the face of the earth. But there was a part of her that was begging for salvation"a way to make things right again. She knew it was probably a lost cause by now, but she promised herself she would try if the opportunity placed itself. After a few moments of arguing with herself mentally, she came to a conclusion.

“When do I meet him?” Evelyn asked with a defeated sigh.

ù

They got to Gavin’s house about thirty minutes later. When Evelyn thought that the town was in the middle of nowhere, she had no idea it could get any worse. His house was in the middle of the woods away from any source of human life. It was almost scary how far they drove into the woods. She thought Ted was going to try to murder her out there. She found out that’s what the bartender’s name was"Ted. It was kind of an awkward conversation introducing themselves.

After a while though, Evelyn was reminded of home driving through the woods. Her own house was tucked away in a wood almost an hour away from civilization. She loved it. She loved knowing that she was in the wild. She loved when she saw a family of deer running through her front lawn casually. It was peaceful. A small ache developed in her stomach as she pictured the yellow, two story house, but she pushed them away with other thoughts.

When they drove up to Gavin’s home"if you could call it that"her mouth literally dropped open. It looked more like a two story glass mansion. Widows covered the exterior but were tinted so people couldn’t see inside. Everything was very neat and clean cut, looking more like a home one would find in Beverly Hills instead of Michigan.

As Ted and Evelyn walked to the front door, she was overcome with a weary feeling that she couldn’t shake away until the moment the door opened. There Gavin Wyatt stood with a calm, strong demeanor. He seemed pleased to see his friend.

“How’s it going, Ted?” he smiled, showing his straight, perfect teeth. He held out his hand to Ted and the men shook hands briefly.

“I’m doing well. This is Evelyn,” he replied, motioning to the girl. Gavin’s light green almost blue eyes turned to her and he smiled welcomingly. She didn’t deserve his smiles, she thought.

“It’s nice to meet you, Evelyn. Come on in.” He opened the door wider so they could join him. Once the front door shut behind them, she felt closed in, like a boxed mouse waiting to be fed to a snake. Not that Gavin seemed like a snake; actually he seemed rather nice. His smile was genuine, and that meant a lot.

“Nice house,” she commented, looking around the spacious foyer.

“Thank you. Want to take a tour?” There was an emotion in his eyes that she couldn’t pin point, but it made her nervous. 

“Um. Sure,” she said quietly, gnawing discreetly on the inside of her mouth. With a nod Gavin motioned for Evelyn to go to the left, to what she presumed to be the kitchen area.

“I think I'm going to head out, Gavin,” Ted said, making his way back to the front door. Evelyn tried to hide her panic.

“What? Where are you going?” she asked, following him to the door.

“Work. Some of us have jobs.” Ted glanced at her knowingly before he hurried out the door and shut it. She stood there trying her best to keep composure. He just left me with some random person I don’t know. How nice of him, she thought.

“Evelyn?” She turned to the sound of her name and found Gavin standing a few feet away with a concerned look on his face. “You coming?”

After another moment and a sigh, she nodded and followed him to the kitchen. It had dark blackish hardwood floors, white marble countertops, black cabinets, and the walls were painted a silver-like gray. Everything about it was very modern"not really her taste.

“The fridge is fully stocked, the pantry is right through that door on your left, and I give you full permission to look through the drawers if you need some type of cooking utensil.”

And with that note, he exited the kitchen by passing the bar which was on the right. They walked into a living room of sorts that held a huge flat-screen TV, a black L-shaped sofa, and a glass coffee table. The wood floors seemed to travel into the living room as well, but were covered by a large white rug. Again, the room was entirely clean cut and not what Evelyn preferred. She hoped he was up for negotiation when it came to the décor. If not, they were going to have a problem. Everything was too contemporary and monotone.

Is white this guy’s favorite color? she wondered silently. “Nice,” she said aloud.

Gavin pursed his lips silently and continued on. She followed him into the spacious hallway that held four doors. Each one was open enough to see inside. 

“The first door on your right is a guest room,” he pointed out with his hand. “On your left, is my room.” He took a few steps then motioned to the next door at the end of the hall. “Down there is the laundry room. And this,” he said, pausing to push open the last door on the right, “will be your room.”

She stepped in after him and was slightly taken aback. The room was exquisite. The walls were a light tan, except for the wall of windows that was covered by dark red curtains that would block out all light. There was a large wooden dresser that looked like an antique, a desk which was a similar style, and a gold settee that sat at the bottom of the kind size bed. The comforter on the bed was gold and was accented with brown and red pillows. She immediately felt at home, and hoped to add a few of her own touches to the room.

“Like it?” Gavin wondered, with his hands in his pockets. He seemed genuinely curious. She looked at him and smiled widely.

“I love it. This is amazing.”

“Good,” he smiled, clearly a little relieved. “You can do whatever you want to it as long as it’s nothing too crazy. As you can see, I'm more into simplicity.” He was correct about that one. Even though the room was lovely, it lacked a personal touch. She nodded at him in agreement.

“I understand. I won’t go over the top.” She turned and grinned at him, unintentionally turning on a flirtatious façade, lightly touching his hand. Immediately, she turned it off, but kept the smile on her face. Gavin didn’t seem to notice. He was too busy staring out the window, a strange look on his face.

“Is something wrong?” she asked him after a moment of silence. He blinked once and looked over at her with his eyebrows pushed together.

“Hmm? Oh. No. I just sort of"spaced out for a second. Sorry.” His eyes flicked around the room once before he turned to leave.

Placing her bag on the sofa, Evelyn followed Gavin back into the living room where he sat down, grabbing a book and pen off of the coffee table. She sat down in the soft chair to his right to maintain some distance. Without another glance at her, he opened a leather bound book and began writing something. He seemed rushed with what he was writing as his hand scribbled along the page. Her eyebrows pushed together as she wondered what in the world was going on.

“Um. Are you alright?” she wondered again, watching him write.

He didn’t answer at first; he seemed to be too busy with whatever he was doing. “I thought of something and I didn’t want to forget it,” he said slowly. Placing the pen in between pages, he set the book back down and looked up at her. “So, Ted tells me you are a run-away, huh?”

“Um…Sort of. It’s complicated. I don’t like talking about it.”

He nodded and held back a smile. “Of course. I understand. How old are you?”

“Nineteen.”

“So, I guess that you’re not really considered a runaway, per se. But still, nineteen is young.” Her eyebrows pushed together at his statement.

“It’s not that young. You can't be but a few years older than me.”

“I'm twenty-seven. I have eight years on you.” He grinned.

“Do you write your thoughts down often?” she asked him, still curious.

“Yes,” he said.

“So you keep a diary? How long have you been doing that?” Evelyn smiled.

“My whole life. And it’s not a diary. It’s just thoughts of mine,” he said.

“Oh,” she replied. She didn’t want to intrude too much, so she dropped it. “I think I’m going to go settle in.”

“Sure, do you want to go eat later? We can get to know each other,” he made a goofy face, which she couldn’t help but smile at.

“Sure, seven?” she asked as her stomach growled loudly, ironically.

“It’s a date. Meet you here then.” She left for her room.

She couldn’t believe out of all the places she had been in North America, places where she could have settled down, she had ended up in Owen Wyatt’s son’s home. Evelyn paced because she couldn’t think of anything else to do. She thought it was a bit odd that they were talking like they had known each other for ages. His demeanor made her focus on her faults. She sensed guilt climbing up her body, starting in her toes. She felt like she could throw it up, but knew that there was nothing she could throw up. Her shoulders hunched over like they did when she walked into bars. She felt like a claustrophobic wave had erupted from behind, knocking her off her feet and punishing her for her many sins. Reality hit her finally, as if often does, and the panic was gone. The numbness she had afterwards was worse than the actual feeling itself. “Come on, Evelyn, pull yourself together.” She got back on her feet and began preparing for her date with Gavin Wyatt.