Lost in the thread of her argument shaped her mouth. They were ridiculous, went against all she believed in. Disregarding the absurd thought, she popped out of bed and hobbled into the dark bathroom. Hand on the door, she peeped down the passageway to her parent's room when she heard a cry. She could be mistaken, instead, she opened the door and went in.
The bathhouse's floor was cold against her unclothed feet, the huge mirror had a distinctive long split on the surface. She walked out of the sink and douche her face with caustic tap water. Glazing over the familiar figure in the mirror, she eyed it pathetically—she looked like a mess. Well, she just rolled out of bed. Leaving her thoughts behind, she exited the caustic bathhouse and once again, stood in the pathway.
Throughout the dreaded night, Evelyn heard many sounds. Many of which she would not decide on what. It kept her up, fear of sleeping very evident in her wide wondrous eyes. For the second time, she gets out of bed and wanders outside for some fresh air. The cool wind danced on her face, and the full moon illuminated the entire town. Only a few houses had their lamps burning through the night. She exhaled deeply, venturing around the front yard. Her body froze when she heard a deep clank on the road surface, followed by a series of chimes.
Was it general McCullough?
Was he on patrol again, and this late?
The clanking intensified, terror flamed through her body. Before she could think of anything else, she ran to the door and rushed inside, heart finding against her ribcage.
The next day Flo sent Evelyn Into town for some baking ingredients. Evelyn Stuffed the crumpled notes in the small satchel and left for town. Today was Saturday, which means she could help Jo with the small bakery. Something to finally take her mind off things. The morning was bleak orange, and the atmosphere was silent but desperate. She was thankful that no one else was chewed off by the animal the previous night. Delicious aroma greeted her when she came to a small retail shop in the district. People crowded it, bouncing her shoulder as she tried to push through. She ponders why so many people surrounded this simple small shop. It was the best in town, but there were other shops as well.
''Excuse me.'' She mutters when a huge man slams right into her, his groceries landing on the pavement. That man was General McCullough. His eyebrows shot up, probably because she didn't move an inch. Her eyes met the calloused face of General McCullough, peering down at her. Dread crept in, what was he doing here?
Evelyn couldn't stop the emotion running through her. Fear, maybe mixed with rage flooded her system. She'd never met him up close before, she always saw him from afar. Now, seeing this huge man in front of her she couldn't help but feel intimidating by his lean posture. The general who had been frozen in the spot brought a hand to his mouth and coughed. ''Watch where you're going, pheasant!'' He growled. Flinching from the trite remark, she shifted aside. Several people looked at their little encounter, some smiled and jerked their chins, the air was thick. Evelyn Force Force Self to remain calm, her fingers arching to mar his face.
Subconsciously, she wondered if he had seen her the previous night or any other night. Maybe that's why he was so rude to her.
Much to her dismay, the man snorted.
No, this was him being himself.
His supercilious gaze through half-lidded eyes, wandered over her garb once more before he left. Glancing away, she paced back into the shop. People shuffled and acted like they weren't watching with a curious set of eyes. That man, just by looking at him, is taunting enough. Such a conceited attitude that consumed him into a waking nightmare. Now that she met him in person, she immediately rebuts the feeling of pitying him. He and the mayor were both narcissistic turds and they can reside in purgatory
''What was that?'' The shopkeeper, Alice, asked as she saw Evelyn Approach. Alice was somewhat her friend, they never really talked much but they knew themselves. In a small town like this, it was not hard to know anyone who passes by. Luckily for her, Alice was one of her schoolmates and Luke's step-cousin.
''Nothing,'' Evelyn replied, ignoring the bunch of eyes boring into her soul. What? It was like people were expecting something else, had she stand up to the General, she would be either a hero or a fool. Stealing a few side glances, she turned to the right and the shoppers looked in other directions as if they weren't just now looking at her.
Sensing the hesitation in the younger girls, Alice decides not to push any further with the conversation. Instead, she rolled her shirt up to her arms and leaned forward on the counter. ''Here to shop for your mother's bakery again?''
Evelyn nodded her head.''Yeah, the regular.''
Alice exhaled and chuckled.'' Coming right up, How are Luke these days?'' She commented more than asked. The older girl left the counter and came back with a medium brown parcel of flour which she held to her chest.
''Um, he's fine,'' Evelyn responded, half defensively. It was awkward hearing her ask about her best friend so subtle, so suddenly. Alice hummed to herself, it was quite obvious that Evelyn didn't want to have a conversation with her. She quickly packed the flour and charged the younger girl. Evelyn Passed the crumpled notes to the girl and left the shop. As she reached outside, she paused for thought. She has seen little of Luke lately, not even in school. And he was the type to never miss any of his classes, she knew how much he liked fencing.
Not paying attention to where she was going, Evelynran into another figure. Only this time, the impact was so sudden she fell to the ground, the parcel of flour landing beside her.
''Are you alright, ma'am?'' A looming figure stood above her with outstretched hands. She was embarrassed by the compromising position with her bottom planted on the floor, with either of her knees stretched to the extent of nigh obscenity.
The hand ripped her off the ground and she came face to face with the familiar blue icy eyes that were logged into her deepest memory. It was him again, it was Evan. The obnoxious man she met at the shelter, an unfortunate encounter she'd not want to recall. But it was fascinating, he was monitoring her with an unknown expression, his bushy eyebrows pulled together. Had he remembered her from the other day?
''Not you again?''
So it was confirmed, he did remember her. Her cheeks redden at the recollection.
''So sorry about my clumsiness.'''
''It's ok. Are you pained?'' the smoothness in his tone melted her insides. The soft sound of wind whooshed around them and the subtle smell of his cologne lingered in their air. The wind blowing Evelyn's golden wisps was calming. She nodded her head, although she felt a slight pain in her knees. There would no use telling him that unless he was a doctor. It would heal and go away anyway. He sighed contentedly and shrugged his shoulders.
When he reached out to and touched her shoulder, she flinched. A chuckle came from his mouth, with wide eyes she became tongue-tied as his fingers brushed her bare skin and pulled the dress up to her shoulder, leaving a soft sensation at its departure. Undeniably, she was embarrassed that she was standing in front of him all this with her shoulder partially exposed.
''I should get going.'' She hummed, awkwardly averting her eyes from him. ''Bye.''
''Wait,'' He says, stopping her ''Can I walk you back?''
She lifted her head to meet his eyes. Was he saying her out? of course, she was being ridiculous. He just wanted to walk her back to her home, or maybe he just wanted to find out where she lived. Whether the latter was true, she couldn't differentiate. But she knew that if her father ever came to see a man taking her home, it would surely cause a ruckus.
''I don't think so, my home is just a small distance from here. I can go on my own, see you around.'' With that, she walked away, her hand tightening around the parcel of flour. She was lucky it didn't get injured, she'd spend the only money she had on it. Walking home, her thoughts often wandered back to Evan. Such a gentleman, a smile wrench unto her lips. She wondered how long he had been in town. Perhaps she was an outsider based on his unfamiliar accent; he was probably in town for business. Although there were not many businesses in town, the people lived off agriculture and skills, he was an exotic businessman if so. When Evelynarrived home, she entered through the back door which was an easier entrance to her mother's bakery.