A Prior Engagement (29 page)

She glanced at the backpack. William had been holding it for her when this all started a few days earlier. It didn’t make sense for Tom to have it unless he was telling the truth, but William wouldn’t give up on her like that.
Would he?
Tom held the evidence in his hands that William just might. Why else would he give it to Tom and not her? Her heart splintered into a million pieces realizing he chose to give it to Tom because he didn’t want to see her—not even to say good-bye.

“Yeah, he said he’d had enough. I’m really sorry, sweetie.”

Her heart sank as she stood on the empty sidewalk staring into the distance ahead.

“Everleigh?”

She looked back to him, and as much as she wanted to walk away, she had nowhere to go. With a broken heart, she walked to the car, losing all dignity, pride, and hope. As she slid into the soft leather seat, she quietly requested, “Home, please.”

As he drove her to her parent’s apartment, Tom was smart enough to leave her with her thoughts, letting William’s betrayal sink in, even if false. That was torture enough for one day.

Once she entered her childhood bedroom, she dropped down on the edge of her bed, disheartened as she stared at the soft pink wall in front of her. She hadn’t noticed the change in light or the sun setting. She didn’t see the day disappear into night through the large window. She sat there, lost in thought of a future that would never be.

Her sister entered her room with a tray of food and a glass of water just after nine that night. Audrey set the tray down on the desk and knelt at her feet.

Everleigh stirred, looking down at Audrey below her. “What are you doing?”

“I came to talk with you. Are you all right?” Audrey asked.

Everleigh looked confused for a minute noticing the dark city through the window. “It’s night time.”

“Yeah, are you hungry? I brought some of your favorites.” Audrey hopped up, carried the tray to the bed, and as Everleigh looked over the food, the faintest of smiles crossed her lips. Audrey then held a soda with a straw up for Everleigh to take and she did.

“What’s today?”

“It’s Wednesday.” Audrey realized her sister was not in a good state of mind.

“I was supposed to be in class today.” Everleigh started making statements that were strange and incoherent. “He doesn’t want me.” Standing up, she walked to the window to look out. “Kyd wrote the one paper. We found proof in Boston.”

“Boston?” Audrey didn’t understand what Evie was going on about and became alarmed at her weird comments.

“I want a bowl o’noodles.” Everleigh turned to Audrey and said, “You can’t hear the street noise up here.”

“I know. That’s why we live on this floor.”

“It’s too quiet for me to sleep here.”

Audrey walked to her sister. “Do you want me to get Henri to make you noodles?”

Everleigh smiled, knowing she didn’t want the fancy version. The fifty-nine cent version was what she was craving. “No, no thank you. I think I’m going to shower. Do you know the last time I showered?” Audrey shook her head and Everleigh replied, “I don’t either. Isn’t that strange?”

“Are you going to be all right?”

She stopped in the doorway. “I don’t know, Audrey. I really messed things up.” She walked into the bathroom, started the shower, and then shut the door. Steam surrounded her inside the shower and reality struck her hard. She may never get to be with William again, but he would forever own her heart.

Chapter 24

After storming out of work earlier in the day, William went to see Bobby at the construction site where he worked, a new high-rise in lower Manhattan. He watched the men laboring with their tools and large cranes for over an hour before Bobby clocked out at five and walked over giving William a hand up. “You look like shit, my friend.”

“I feel like it,” William replied, feeling worse than that on the inside.

“I’ll buy you a beer and you can tell me about it.”

The childhood friends walked to the closest bar and ordered food and beer. William retold the story and then added the latest episode in Tom’s office.

“You’ve got a war on your hands, brother. Are you willing to fight it for her?”

“Forever, but it seems she’s not willing to fight for me.”

“Do you trust what that ass says?”

“I don’t know what to think. She hasn’t returned my calls. I think she’s made her choice.”

“I don’t know. It just seems like . . . like something’s not right. I saw how that chick looked at you. She seemed pretty into you.”

William rested his head in his hands. “It probably sounds like cheesy bullshit, but she changed my insides. I’m different because of her and this pain is excruciating. It sucks. I don’t feel like me without her.”

Bobby wanted to crack a joke, but knew better. William didn’t want cheering up. William needed someone to listen, so Bobby did. They left several hours later—a little drunker and a lot more numb—just the way William wanted to be. He had developed a bad habit of checking his phone every couple of minutes to make sure it was on and still working and continued to on the long walk back to his place.

After his usual nighttime shower and quick snack, he checked all his forms of communication: His phone, his e-mail, even his online friends’ account, which he rarely did. Nothing. He didn’t understand why she hadn’t called, come by, anything. He felt like he had shown her his heart, given her his love, and supported her, and yet she hadn’t even called to see if he was all right. He lay in bed and his eyes filled with tears, but he refused to let them fall.

Once he managed to suppress the tears and the pain in his heart, he tried to sleep. He missed the warmth of her body next to him, her voice, her touch, and her smile. As he rubbed his nose into the pillow, he discovered it still smelled of her. He would never be able to wash these sheets if this was all that was left of her, all he would ever have from her again.

Evie lay in her bed tossing and turning. There was too much room, she thought. This bed was too big. She sat up frustrated, realizing there was still no outside noise or any noise at all in this room.
How am I supposed to sleep in these conditions?
Walking to the window seat, dragging her pillow and her blanket, she curled up on the two-by-five foot cushioned seat. She could hear a faint siren in the distance when she pressed her ear against the cold glass. She fell asleep on the cramped seat in the room that before a week ago was the epitome of comfort to her. Now, it just gave her a hollow feeling and was a poor substitute for a place to sleep.

William arrived a few minutes early for Lang’s class on Friday. The professor spoke as William was settling into a leather recliner in the student lounge where the summer class met. “Good morning, Mr. Ryder. I appreciate your attendance knowing you’ve had a difficult week.”

William looked over at him giving him the respect he deserved, but remained silent.

“We’re starting a project that should occupy a lot of our time for the remainder of the week left in class. I’m assuming you don’t mind taking on a larger task right now. It might ease the mind of other worries.”

“I think that’s a good idea. I look forward to the assignment.” Today was the first day he started to feel his words again.
Day four without Evie is going to be the turning point
, he thought. He could cry and dwell on the loss all day long again, but his heart begged for a reprieve and his head refocused as Lang doled out the assignments.

When William walked out into the first day of a sunny July, he gave in to his logical side by laying down an ultimatum
. I will allow myself to call her one more time and then that’s it
. The only way back to each other is down a two-way street. He dialed the number and waited. When her voicemail came on, he closed his eyes and took in every word she spoke. Then it beeped, and he left his message. “Evie, this is my last message, my love. Thirty messages a day is where I have to draw the line.” He laughed at how stupid he felt for revealing that he knew he had called her a lot. “I miss you. I don’t know what they’ve done to you and I’m worried. Please call me. If you chose him, then please call me and let me know that you’re okay. I have this bad feeling in my gut. I don’t really understand what happened the other day and can’t remember the days since, but I know they’ve been empty without you in them. Please call me. I love you, Evie.”

When he hung up, William dropped onto the bench holding his head between his hands. Suddenly, he realized he had been to her building, he knew where she lived. He had to try once more, hoping he’d at least get to talk to Walter. He might find an ally in the friendly doorman.

He rode his bike over, not bothering to lock it as Walter greeted him at the door. “You’ve got to help me. Is she here? Is she okay, alive? Please, Walter, help me.” William was pleading, feeling as if he was on the verge of a breakdown.

Walter stepped outside, letting the door close behind him, and said, “She came home yesterday. I don’t know where she was before then. I can assume she was at his place. He drove up yesterday, mid-day, and she got out and went straight upstairs. Neither of them acknowledged me. She didn’t look happy. I haven’t seen her since, but he’s up there right—”

William knew he could trust Walter, so he went ahead and asked what he really wanted to know. “Did he hit her? Did he hurt her again?”

“I don’t think so. There was nothing obvious.”

William found comfort in Walter’s words, but that Tom had driven her home and let her go up unescorted, sounded as if she was operating of her own free will. That was unexpected and even more disappointing. His heart hurt that she hadn’t called him or come back when she had the chance. “Thanks, Walter.” He turned to leave, but turned back and said, “Take care of her.”

“I thought that was your job?”

“I did, too, for a short time.” They shook hands and William got back on his bike and rode home.

Everleigh had spent hours in the family library going through books in the large bookcases and reorganizing them, doing anything she could to keep her mind occupied. When she returned to her bedroom, she saw her phone on her vanity charging. Tom said he hadn’t seen it, so she assumed it was lost in the scuffle that day. She should have questioned how it got there, but she didn’t want to waste time. She picked it up and immediately checked for missed calls and messages of any sort. But when she found none, it reinforced what Tom had told her. William didn’t want her.

Needing a shower, she let the warm water cover her as she braced her body against the cold tile. ‘
He didn’t want her’
messed with her thoughts and perspective. Ten minutes passed before she realized she hadn’t even washed her hair. She hurried through the process, not bothering with the repeat step.

Spending the next hour getting dressed in her pristinely pressed, classic-styled clothes, she felt uncomfortable in the familiarity of the action. She was disappointed that she was exactly where she had been months earlier—like William had never come into her life—like he hadn’t changed her inside, or captured her heart.

She was looking for the shoes that matched her outfit in her large walk-in closet when Tom appeared in the door. “Hi,” he said, trying to sound sweet.

Leaning against the wall for support, she looked at him with no reply. He lowered his eyes and took a deep breath before speaking. “I know I screwed up, but I’m asking you, no, I’m begging you, Everleigh, to give me another chance at making this right between us.” He stepped closer to her and kissed her on the cheek. She flinched, but he remained calm.

When he took her shaking hands in his, she raised her head to look him straight in the eyes. “I will never love you. I will only love him.”

He dropped her hands and she trembled in front of him waiting for the first hit, but it didn’t come. Instead, with fisted hands, he said, “You will be a good fiancée to me. You will marry me in the fall. You will play the role as you have for years, keeping mine and your name respectable—”

“No, I won’t! I don’t care—”

“You will or Mr. Ryder won’t see graduation. I’ll make sure that diploma never gets handed out. Then, I’ll make sure there isn’t a company or person willing to hire that piece of shit in the entire state of New York. I will ruin him. I have an entire file on his family, friends, classes, his work, his hobbies. I know where he drinks, his grocer, and his landlord. They’re at my disposal now. I will ruin everything he has worked for if you so much as smile at him again. Do you understand, Everleigh?”