Ten Reasons Not To Die
Day 4 Mother Grace
"Sorry about the mess." I muttered, tossing one of my shirts off of my bottom bunk that I shared with another orphan. "I didn't expect you to come again."
Evan's rosy red lips stretched into a small smile. "That makes it sound like you don't want me here."
I shrugged. "I don't, honestly."
Evan frowned with confusion. "What?"
"I mean, I just don't want you to see what kind of place I live in. I don't want you to see that I share a room with three other orphans that are at least five years younger than I am." I muttered truthfully, lying down on my bottom bunk bed.
All of my roommates were downstairs, either in the dining hall finishing their homework, or watching cartoons in the living room on the tiny television that only played black and white shows.
Evan lay down beside me, as I tensed up. I mean, I didn't have a problem with him lying beside me, it was just very intimate.
"I don't mind." Evan whispered, eyes locking into mine. My bunk bed wasn't the largest out there, so our faces were pretty close. If I moved just a few inches, our lips would be touching.
"I don't know much about you." I said.
"W hat do you mean?" Evan asked, warm breath tickling my throat.
I gulped, rolling my body away from his, so that I was lying on my back. I stared up at the bottom of the bed above mine, licking my dry lips. "I mean, I know you as Evan Woods, the guy from school that everyone loves because of how nice he is to everyone." I smiled softly. "But, who is the real Evan? Who are you?"
Evan shrugged, face pale and blank. He cleared his throat, his eyes having a confused look in them. "I don't know." He whispered gently. "I'm just Evan, I guess."
I sighed with disappointment, turning my face away from his. The Evan everyone saw on the outside was happy and carefree. But, who was he under all of that?
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, startling me. I jumped up from my bed, hitting my head on the bottom of the bunk bed above mine. I groaned, rubbing my head. "Come in." I muttered.
Mother Grace came in with a small smile on her face. "Dinner is ready." She told me, as her eyes casted over to Evan. "Would you like to join us, dear?"
Evan's cheeks turned bright red, as he shook his head. "I-It's fine. I was just going."
Mother Grace chuckled, shaking her head. "N onsense! We have enough room for another guest."
I punched Evan gently on his shoulder. "Come on. The food here isn't too bad." I teased, earning a laugh from Mother Grace.
The two of us followed Mother Grace down to the dining hall, where all the kids were already seated. Evan and I took the two empty seats beside each other near the front of the table, while Mother Grace took the head.
"I hope you like roasted chicken?" Mother Grace asked Evan. "If not, we have some leftover sandwiches from lunch earlier today."
Evan shook his head, giving Mother Grace a thankful smile. "Chicken is good, thank you."
I cut up my chicken into hits, as I took a bite. The dinner that Evan was going to have here wasn't going to he the best, but the orphanage couldn't afford to feed thirty children five star meals.
After dinner, Evan and I offered to help clean up with Mother Grace, while the other kids got a break from their chores today.
"Remy, I've been meaning to tell you something." Mother Grace announced, as she swept the floor. Evan was washing the dishes, while I helped him dry the plates.
"What is it, Mother Grace?" I asked, placing a plate on the stack.
"I've known you for a good nine years, Remy. You're pretty much like a daughter to me." Mother Grace started off, as I held in my breath, hands trembling. "Your progress from school has always been beyond average, and your teachers have confirmed it. We'll have to let you go next year, unfortunately. But, we have saved up a fund for you to go to college."
My eyes widened, as my head snapped towards Mother Grace. "Mother Grace, you didn't have to-"
"Yes, darling." Mother Grace smiled. "I had to. It's been sad seeing many families pass up on you, but they've definitely missed out on an intelligent, obedient, beautiful girl."
Mother Grace's words made my eyes well up. My vision became blurry, as Evan glanced at me with a worried expression.
"The nuns that have watched you grow into a beautiful young woman all agree that your intelligence would be wasted if you didn't go to college. That's why we saved a fund on you. It's not a whole lot of money, but it should be enough for a semester or two at a university."
I choked back my tears, as I stared at Mother Grace With moist eyes. I gave her a weak smile that meant more than any smile I've ever given to someone. "Thank you, Mother Grace. Thank you so much."
Mother Grace smiled back at me. "No, Remy. Thank you." She let out a deep breath of air. "I'm going to check on the little ones now. After you and Evan finish doing the dishes, you two are free to do whatever you'd wish."
Mother Grace stepped out of the kitchen, as I bit down on my lower lip. Evan cleared his throat, giving me a gentle smile. With his fingertips, he tilted my chin up.
"Don't you see how many people love you?" he asked green eyes engulfing into mine. "Stay alive, Remy. For Mother Grace, she's invested so much into you."
****
Ten Reasons Not To Die
Day 5 The Boardwalk
Evan didn't come by the next afternoon, like I had expected him to. He usually came by an hour or two after school, but today he didn't. Instead, he came by during the night time, around ten, to be exact. The nuns have already seen enough of Evan to know who he was. When one of the younger nuns called me downstairs, I found Evan sitting on one of the couches while a bunch of the smaller girls surrounded him.
"Are you Remy's prince charming?" a toothless seven year old asked Evan, as he chuckled.
"I sure am." I heard Evan say, which made my ears perk up.
The toothless girl gasped, before bursting into a misfit of giggles. "But boys are icky! They have cooties!"
Evan chuckled, ruffling the little girl's messy blonde head of hair. "Not when you're a prince."
I had enough of what I heard, as I popped out from behind the wall. I approached Evan, dragging him away from the little crowd of girls. "Let's go, Evan." I muttered.
"Are you going to bring Remy to your magical kingdom now?" another squeaky voice asked, making my cheeks warm up.
"How did you guys guess?" Evan joked.
"Shouldn't you girls be in bed?" Mother Grace appeared from the doorway, crossing her arms. Immediately, all of the girls hurried out of the living room, turning off the television on the way. Mother Grace gave me a wink before she stepped out to follow the girls upstairs. She probably wanted to make sure they brushed their teeth and were tucked in bed.
I pulled Evan out to the front lobby of the orphanage, crossing my arms as I stared at him accusingly. "The girls will bug me forever about you, now." I sighed. "W hat are you even doing here this late?"
Evan smiled lightly. "I want to take you somewhere."
I frowned, as my suspicions rose. "You aren't actually taking me to a magical kingdom, are you?"
Evan laughed, shaking his head as he led me outside of the orphanage. He unlocked his car, and opened the passenger door for me. "No." he paused, to get into the driver's seat. "Just wait and see."
I crossed my arms, staring outside the window as Evan began to drive. Moments later, I noticed that we were in the parking lot of the boardwalk just a few minutes out of our town. The lights were all lit up today, and my eyes were immediately drawn to the Ferris wheel.
"You took me to the boardwalk?" I frowned.
Evan smiled, nodding. "I used to go all time as a kid. But I stopped a while ago."
"Why?" I asked, staring up at Evan.
Evan wasn't staring at me, though. Instead, his green eyes were dazed and distant, as he stared at all of the flashing lights. I couldn't help but noticed how much brighter his green eyes looked under all of the lights. It was the type of emerald green that almost looked unreal.
"Evan?" I gave him a light push. "Are you okay?"
Evan snapped out of his thoughts, as his eyes dropped down to me. It looked as if he just remembered that I was right next to him. "I'm fine." He licked his lips, putting a forced smile across his face. I frowned, as Evan pulled me towards the rollercoaster that didn't look too friendly. "You aren't scared of rollercoaster's, are you?"
I hit my lower lip, staring at the cart that went upside down in multiple loops. "I've never been on one." I admitted.
Evan grinned, pulling me towards the line that wasn't too long. "Then this will be your first time."
The gate opened up, as someone led us towards the cart, buckling us in. "Evan, I don't think this is a-"
Suddenly, I lurched forward, as the cart rolled on the tracks in full speed. My eyes widened, as my hair whipped behind my head from the intense speed. "Evan!" I screamed.
I could hear Evan calmly chuckling beside me, as we approached a crazy loop. My eyes squeezed shut, as I felt my legs go weak. "I'm going to kill you!" I screeched.
After what seemed like hours, which were actually minutes, the cart stopped. I felt someone shaking my shoulder, as I slowly opened my eyes. Evan stared back at me, and I noticed that the silver bar that was set in front of us rose up. "Remy?" Evan smiled weakly. "You're okay, right?"
I stared back at Evan with a pale face, as the conductor assisted us out. When we were back on the boardwalk, Evan led me to the trashcan. I glared at him, slapping his shoulder. "What the hell?!" I hissed.
Evan raised an eyebrow. "You aren't going to puke on me, are you?"
I grumbled, shaking my head. "That was horrible! I thought I was going to fall up there!"
Evan grinned, letting out a low chuckle. "Come on, I want to see the pictures."
My eyes widened, as Evan dragged me over to a little booth with little television screens. On the fourth box was a picture of me squeezing my eyes shut, looking completely miserable. Evan, however, was grinning at me, letting his hands flop all over the place. "I'll take two key chains." Evan told the manager of the booth, handing him a twenty dollar bill.
The guy handed Evan back two key chains with our faces on them. He handed me the blue one, keeping the red one for himself. "This is for you."
I couldn't help but smile at our completely different reactions. It was hilarious. "Thanks. Now I can remind myself every time I open the door that I completely freaked out on the flrst time I went on a rollercoaster." I sarcastically remarked, latching the keychain on to my small set of keys.
"I don't know." Evan smiled softly. "I think you look pretty cute."
I stared up at his eyes, trying to Iind any traces of dishonesty or lies. But, there was none. All I saw was sincerity.
I couldn't help but turned bright red, as I bit on my lower lip. "O-oh." I sputtered out. How lame was 1? "Oh look! The ring toss! I love that game!" I rambled on, pulling Evan's arm towards the ring toss that had a bunch of stuffed animals hung up around it.
Around midnight, I figured that I had to get back to the orphanage sooner or later. Mother Grace was going to stay up worrying about me if I didn't come home in an hour, tops. She just wasn't used to me staying out late.
��I should get going." I said, holding a large green frog in one arm, which Evan had won for me at the ring toss.
Evan's smile faltered. "Oh." He paused, eyes lingering up to the Ferris wheel. "Do you have time for one last ride?"
The Ferris wheel was the first thing that my eyes landed on when Evan took me here earlier today. I knew I had to ride it, no matter what. "Yeah." I nodded, as Evan led me towards the Ferris wheel.
Since the Ferris wheel carts only had one seat, Evan and I had to sit next to each other. Our arms brushed, as the Ferris wheel slowly went up.
When we stopped at the top, I took time to stare down. I could see everything from up here. I could see a little girl dropping her cotton candy and a bright neon green flip flop that was left on the boardwalk.
"It's beautiful." I muttered.
Suddenly, the night sky exploded into a bunch of bright colors, creating a booming noise every time the fireworks exploded into the sky.
I loved it. It was so beautiful.
"Reason number five, Remy." Evan's hot breath tickled my throat. "The boardwalk."