everettalbert:
Everett knew that the question was more than ridiculous, but he wanted to be polite, to let Teagan know that he was thinking of her. He wished that he could take on all of her pain and heartbreak, even if he was spiraling from his own emotions about Cato. He loved the guy, they were platonic soulmates. He was supposed to be his best man at the wedding. There were endless days of them going to baseball games and having movie marathons and cried to each other about their love lives.
“S-same here, I guess,” Everett answered her, and then he realized that there were tears rolling down his cheeks. Huh. He quickly wiped at his eyes, nodding his head. “Uh, sorry. God. Y-yeah. Yeah, of course, Teag. Anything. Let’s, uh…sit over here.” Grabbing his order, he led the other over to a corner table, where it was more secluded from the rest of the shop. “What’s on your mind?” he asked.
Seeing the tears roll down Everett’s cheeks immediately made fresh tears spring to Teagan’s eyes. They had to have looked like a hot mess, both of them crying in the middle of an ice cream shop. Teagan was just glad to know that there was someone who was hurting from Cato’s disappearance as badly as she was. She’d had many people doing everything in their power to be there for her and Teagan truly appreciated every single one of them. Standing there with Everett, it was the first time since the nightmare began that Teagan felt understood. She wasn’t alone in this misery. Wiping at her own eyes, the musician shook her head. “Don’t be sorry. I’ve been crying pretty much 24/7. If there’s anyone who gets it, you’re lookin’ at her.” She gave Everett a reassuring squeeze on his arm before following him to the corner table.
Sitting down across from Everett, Teagan took a deep breath. “I just... I don’t understand, Ev. I keep going through everything in my head looking for answers. Every time I do, it just makes less sense.” She bit her lip as more tears spilled over. No point in trying to delay the crying. “One second we’re planning for our wedding and he seemed so excited. And then out of nowhere, he’s telling me that he’s leaving and taking some job out of state. No discussion. No ‘I might apply’ or ‘I might interview’ but I’m taking this job, I’m leaving, and that’s it.” She grabbed one of the napkins off the table to wipe the snot away. Definitely not a pretty picture. “You’re his best friend. Did he say anything to you? Do you know how long he was planning this? Did he say what I even did to make him want to leave?”
