Evangeline

“i could go today but i think ivan might be getting here atany given moment.” she sighed, forcing a sad smile upon her lips. soph feltlike she had lost so much. her mom was gone, and eva was living away in newyork. all she had was ivan. he was family at this point and she couldn’timagine him leaving too. “thanks, eva. you have no idea how much i miss you.”as selfish as it was to think, soph wished she would’ve had more time with eva.they spent their entire lives together and now it felt like a huge part of herwas missing out across the country. it didn’t feel right and she wanted herbest friend back. “i wish we could zap back in time and do it all again. youand me, before we were all forced to grow up.”

“talk with him, soph-make sure you’re honest with him.” eva advised her, wishing she had taken her own advice within the past couple of years. “i miss you too, things aren’t the same without you around.” being lonely was definitely a new for eva. she always had her best friend and now, there was physical distance between them only making it harder for her. “who are you telling?” she chuckled a bit before speaking again. “used to be so much easier when we were kids, just us against the playground.” she smiled, memories flooding her. 

“well i missed my period and i’ve been feeling dizzy. i don’tknow if that’s because i don’t sleep or because i’m pregnant.” she shrugged,tapping at her computer lightly to ease her nerves. ivan wouldn’t like this onebit. they had just recently settled things down and decided to be a coupleagain. it was likely that this could cause some trouble between them, that hemight want to leave if he got too frightened. “but yeah…positive.” she pursedher lips together in thought. “i’ll get more tests tomorrow just to make sure.maybe get a blood test done too? just to be sure. then I’ll tell him if i am.”

listening to all the information that was given, she nodded as soph continued to speak. “yeah-just get a couple more done, be sure of it..” evangeline suggested to her best friend. who would have thought the two would be in these kinds of situations. they were young, supposed to be living life, not worrying about such things.. or maybe they were grown and eva just had to let go of such childhood thoughts, and learn to grow up. “soph, if you are or aren’t, you know you have my full support and i will help out in anyway that i can, okay? your best friend is here for you always..”

“good. that’s all that matters.” even through a computerscreen, soph could tell with her best friend was lying. the look on her facesaid it all, her eyes slightly gleaming with sadness. the thing was, however,that soph refused to call her out on it. they weren’t those types of friends.whenever eva felt comfortable telling her the truth then she’d be open tohearing her. until then, she had no intention of adding fuel to the fire.interfering sometimes is the worst someone could do. she learned that much fromivan and dylan. “i took one,” she huffed, cheeks burning with embarrassment asshe revealed what had been tormenting her for the last few days. “i can’t tellivan, can i? he’ll freak out.” the girl buried her face in her hands as shetook a deep breath. really, she was more scared that he’ll decide to leave herat a time like this. “i’m so scared.” she mumbled, finally looking up towardher computer screen.

“yep, all that matters.” she sighed to her best friend before plastering on another smile. keeping quiet and letting her vent, the girl could feel nerves settling out through her body at soph’s confession. playing with her hair, she attentively turned towards the camera. “and it was positive? you’re having symptoms?” she tried questioning, wanting to understand every full detail of the situation. “you’re going to have to tell him though.. i mean-it’s not something you’ll be able to keep hidden soph..” eva tried for her to consider, knowing it wouldn’t be such a good idea. “i know.. but-you’ll figure this out..” the brunette tried. 

“yeah, well, hot shot or not he better be making my bestfriend happy,” soph warned. if there was one thing the girl cared about it waseva’s happiness. after all that’s happened, she couldn’t imagine her friendfacing yet another great deal of heartbreak. she didn’t deserve any of it. “maybeyou should get a puppy. those are great company.” she suggested, shrugging hershoulders nonchalantly. her smile faltered the moment the other girl had askedhow she was doing. what could she possibly say? there had been so much goingthrough her mind, and eva suddenly brought her back to it…to the scary reality.“i’m pregnant,” she blurted, staring straight into her computer screen, afraidof what the other girl might say. “i think i am. ivan doesn’t know and i’mscared to tell him.”

“we’re great, soph. everything is great.” she lied, knowing her brand new marriage was far from it. being a happy wife and living a happily ever after was far from what eva was living at this point. just loneliness, to be quite honest. “i think i might to be quite honest, i’ll take you with me, well on facetime.” she chuckled, forgetting that they weren’t physically near one another. with the sudden news, her eyes went wide staring back into the camera, her expression completely shocked. “........wait, what?” she asked trying to process everything. “have you taken a test, soph?” 

“good because i was starting to think you’d forgotten about your old pal.” she couldn’t help but giggle as well. she was happy they were still best friends despite the distance. after what hapened between ivan and dylan, she was sure she never wanted something like that to go down between them. “i miss you too! where’s your boy toy? i presume he’s off busy doing work related things.” she rolled her eyes. soph had never been a fan of kyle. something seemed so off about him, and she couldn’t help but suspect that those two weren’t good for each other.

“i wouldn’t!” she chuckled but quickly grew quiet. eva could pick up on sophia’s tone when it came to speaking about kyle, forcefully placing a small smile on her lips. “uh-yeah, he’s out with the team.. workouts, ya know?” she huffed a bit, knowing her best friend wouldn’t understand at all, ivan always made an effort to be around soph, kyle around eva... not so much. “i’m just here-” avoiding the word home, because it felt far from it, the girl waved her hands around to gesture to the penthouse apartment. “how’s everything over there? how are you?” she asked, attempting to change the subject. 

her lips curled to a content smile when she saw the familiar face on her phone screen. she hadn’t seen eva in a few weeks and every moment felt like agony. not having a best friend around was beginning to take a toll on her, especially with everything she’d been dealing with at the moment. ivan had been more distant than she liked to admit, so she was lonely. “hey you! how’s the big city? please tell me you haven’t already replaced me with a famous socialite.”

sitting on the california king sized bed, eva’s hands ran through her hair as she gave her best friend a smile, finally contacting her through the facetime application on her laptop. it was so uneventful, the marriage life, especially not having anyone to relate to, especially not having her best friend around. “hi! no-no, never soph, c’mon i would never!” she chuckled, shaking her head at the brunette’s ridiculous words. “it’s alright around here but, i miss you so much!” 

dylan was using every fiber in his body to control himself right now. he was tempted to do something he’s never done before and just run off, forget everything and leave the restaurant in the hands of ivan or someone else he trusted well enough. but the moment kyle had opened his mouth and the way he spoke through his actions, dylan knew he couldn’t let eva’s future husband off that easily. he couldn’t confirm it just yet, but he had a gut feeling that kyle had somehow found out about his past with eva. he was too sarcastic, too smug and it was making dylan’s fist twitch with anger. 

instead of resorting to violence, dylan did what he knew how to do best. hurt people with his words. “would you believe me if i told you i dated your future misses in college?” he raised a brow, a small chuckle slipping past his lips. it was a dick move, to just come out and say something he hadn’t been used to saying in years. “i even got a special shoutout of her book, isn’t that right eva?” he crossed his arms as he waited for an answer, but he refused to look at her as he did so. instead, he was intent on keeping his eye on kyle. this was a guy who could knock him out with one punch, but sometimes standing his ground was just worth it. “but enough with banters of the past, am i right? you two lovebirds enjoy your night. the love you guys feel for each other is just radiating through the air!” he said cheerfully as he pointed towards the special table that was ready for them both.

of course, dylan just had to have his way with words. as soon as he began to speak, she could feel her mouth agape, attempting to find words but being left completely speechless. she could tell kyle was left on the same page, hearing him scoff and looking up only to see him biting the inside of his cheek, the smug look fighting to stay up. 

“minor mention..” she said quietly, not denying the fact but feeling like it was thrown at her unfairly. freeing herself from kyle’s grip, she watched dylan intently, her eyes traveling to the direction his fingers pointed towards. if she had known before hand where their rehearsal dinner were to be hosted, she would have faked the flu, a virus, anything just to get out of it. but unfortunately, she couldn’t run. hearing his sarcasm, she forced a small smile, knowing exactly what he was doing but before she could say a word, she was already being guided towards the table by kyle, his hand on her lower back, lowering with seconds as they walked away from dylan, a sign of dominance on kyle’s behalf. “don’t.” she warned him, moving it up.  

dylan readjusted his tie, a small huff slipping past his lips as the guests began to walk through the double doors of his entrance. everything looked perfect for the bride and groom. it was truly a fairytale come to life. dylan knew he could never provide anyone with such royal treatment, much less eva. she deserved the best, that was for sure and he was forced to come to terms with the fact that he just wasn’t it. he ruined her and tried to break her down on countless occasions and now he had no idea what he wanted. he was stupid enough to have let her slip past his fingers and suddenly want her back now that she was with someone much better than him. 

on one corner of the room were sophia and ivan who seemed to have been happier than ever now that they reunited. he was happy for his best friend who was finally letting go of his haunting past. then there was cheering and clapping and before he knew it, he was face to face with kyle and eva. they looked like one of those couples you’d see on the red carpet, making it almost impossible for him to feel confident in himself. he took a few steps forward before clearing his throat. “good evening, please enjoy your night and thank you for choosing arazi’s as your venue for tonight’s event.” he kept it professional and simple, as he was supposed to. there was no more sarcastic remarks, no death glares. he was done with all of that. he knew how real it was this time around. 

eva’s chest grew tight, swallowing becoming harder and her hands clammy at her sides as Dylan approached them. She could immediately take in the familiar scent, the scent she cherished after multiple nights together, the scent she craved in the middle of the night when Kyle was gone. Taking in his features, she remained quiet, letting Kyle speak for them. “Thank you. I’m sure we made the right decision, didn’t we honey?” Kyle questioned, his tone almost sarcastically, as his eyes stayed on Dylan. “Mhmm.” she muttered, her brown eyes looking towards the ground. 

Something didn’t feel right. The way he held on so tightly to her in Dylan’s presence, his tone completely different, his demeanor slightly more possessive. As Kyle took her hand to place a kiss on it, she could pick up on what he was doing, claiming what was his in front of Dylan, showing off the big “rock” on her hand that he hadn’t even picked out himself. But why? she couldn’t understand, and frankly she didn’t want to, her eyes now trailing up to face Dylan. 

he had just started getting back into the swing of things when shit had begun to start hitting the fan again. it seemed as if he just couldn’t catch a break these days. his break has been incredible. even if he had barely spoken a word with his father, he did get to see his younger siblings again. doing that took him back and reminded him of why he had a purpose in this shitty town. even if his family was broken and it’d be years before his dad could forgive him, dylan knew he had to follow his dreams for a change. 

and so when he finally made his return and continued running the business, that’s exactly what he had set out to do. he was going to forget about eva and move forward with his life. but of course, he couldn’t be let off that easily. see, he didn’t mind having to see her in the convenient store or here about her in the local news. but the fact that she was throwing her rehearsal dinner the night before she was getting married at his restaurant was definitely off putting. 

he was muted the entire night as he continued setting things up before the guests were to arrive. “hey, make sure you’ve got the servers ready to do their job. these people are gettin’ here any minute,” he hollered toward the back where his employees were busy making everything perfect as he had instructed. this was great promo, but if it meant having to see eva tonight dylan didn’t want it. 

Smoothing down the solid colored dress hugging her skin, Eva kept quiet in the car, the car ride to the... their rehearsal dinner being much longer than expected. She could see Kyle from the corner of her eye, focused on his phone, making conversation with his assistant and gleaming with joy through it all, while she on the other hand, found it hard to even focus on her breathing. She didn’t understand why she was trying to be okay with it all, when in reality she was far from it. But she would continue to pretend, as long as it kept Dylan far away from thought. 

Getting down from the SUV, she could see Kyle already walking towards the door, not even bothering to offer her a hand, the hand where the large engagement ring sat, it’s crystal features reflecting off the setting sun, much more elegant than the girl have ever liked, but of course, it wasn’t her choice, much like everything else at this point. Entering the building, she could hear clapping and cheering, smiles all over the room as they welcomed the soon-to-be married couple. An arm suddenly slipping around her waist caught her off guard, immediately looking up at Kyle, who’s eyes were directly facing Dylan, now forming a tightening feeling in her gut.

he had just started getting back into the swing of things when shit had begun to start hitting the fan again. it seemed as if he just couldn’t catch a break these days. his break has been incredible. even if he had barely spoken a word with his father, he did get to see his younger siblings again. doing that took him back and reminded him of why he had a purpose in this shitty town. even if his family was broken and it’d be years before his dad could forgive him, dylan knew he had to follow his dreams for a change. 

and so when he finally made his return and continued running the business, that’s exactly what he had set out to do. he was going to forget about eva and move forward with his life. but of course, he couldn’t be let off that easily. see, he didn’t mind having to see her in the convenient store or here about her in the local news. but the fact that she was throwing her rehearsal dinner the night before she was getting married at his restaurant was definitely off putting. 

he was muted the entire night as he continued setting things up before the guests were to arrive. “hey, make sure you’ve got the servers ready to do their job. these people are gettin’ here any minute,” he hollered toward the back where his employees were busy making everything perfect as he had instructed. this was great promo, but if it meant having to see eva tonight dylan didn’t want it. 

Smoothing down the solid colored dress hugging her skin, Eva kept quiet in the car, the car ride to the... their rehearsal dinner being much longer than expected. She could see Kyle from the corner of her eye, focused on his phone, making conversation with his assistant and gleaming with joy through it all, while she on the other hand, found it hard to even focus on her breathing. She didn’t understand why she was trying to be okay with it all, when in reality she was far from it. But she would continue to pretend, as long as it kept Dylan far away from thought. 

Getting down from the SUV, she could see Kyle already walking towards the door, not even bothering to offer her a hand, the hand where the large engagement ring sat, it’s crystal features reflecting off the setting sun, much more elegant than the girl have ever liked, but of course, it wasn’t her choice, much like everything else at this point. Entering the building, she could hear clapping and cheering, smiles all over the room as they welcomed the soon-to-be married couple. An arm suddenly slipping around her waist caught her off guard, immediately looking up at Kyle, who’s eyes were directly facing Dylan, now forming a tightening feeling in her gut.

To Eva: well look on the bright side. At least he's letting you choose your own dress.

To Eva: also who's your maid of honor? *hint hint*

To Soph: yeah

To Soph: if he didn't i would have lost it tbh

To Soph: i was thinking of asking cousin sue, she once passed a dinner roll at me on thanksgiving so she's very deserving of the title ya know?

To Eva: it's beautiful

To Eva: but i thought you were going with the beach theme?

To Soph: I thought so too but Kyle decided to surprise me by having his assistant plan everything out..

To Eva: you guys should go to hawaii, or somewhere fancy like dubai

To Dylan: i'm the coolest !!

To Dylan: that doesn't sound bad tbh

To Eva: well THAT'S considerate

To Eva: and then a honeymoon follows, i'm guessing?

To Dylan: because im actually cool, thats why lol