Second Down (Moving the Chains Book 2) (31 page)

My eyes continue to follow her as she makes her way around the perimeter of the room. She never stops her lithe movements. Her body is the ultimate rocking chair. Occasionally, she nuzzles Nick with her face. I can just imagine her inhaling his baby scent.

Yeah, I smelled the kid at the house earlier. Couldn’t help it. Baby smell is like crack, or something.

Every time she bends down to kiss his head, a pain shoots through my chest. Rubbing the spot does nothing to ease the discomfort. I want that. I want all of that with her. I’m only eighteen for fuck’s sake, but damn, do I want it.

How many possible ways are there for this perfect girl to put me under her spell?

My attention is diverted by Papou touching my shoulder. “Are you going to eat young Robert, or daydream about the future all night?”

Man, this guy has some kind of weird sixth sense, I swear. Taking one last look at Evie and Nick, I turn my attention to my plate and the conversation at the table. Inevitably, it turns to football.

I fix Evie a plate when I’m done with my own. By the time I manage to get back to the table, her food is probably cold. Seems like everyone wants to stop and talk football with me. Congratulations on a great season, or questions about where I’ll be signing flowing as freely as the Ouzo around the room.

Evie is already sitting, her shoes discarded on the floor, when I slide the plate in front of her. She looks up with a grateful smile.

“Where’s Nick?”  I ask as I sit in the empty chair beside her.

Evie doesn’t miss a beat, answering with a mouthful of lamb. “I put him in his carseat. He’s out like a light, now.”

I can’t help but laugh. I’d been so careful to mind my manners while eating. I guess since it’s just Evie and I sitting here, now, she doesn’t care as much. Everyone else has gone to throw away their empty plates and socialize.

Evie angles her body towards mine as she continues to devour her food. “So, what did you think of the lamb?”

“You were right. It doesn’t taste like anything else.”

She shoots me a smug smile, but doesn’t quite pull it off with her mouth full of food. “Yeah, but did you like it?”

“I did. It was really good.”  Normally, watching Evie eat is the one of my favorite things. She never holds back, eating only salads like a rabbit, the way the cheerleaders do. Nah, this girl eats like she enjoys it. And it is an enjoyable sight for me to behold. Now, though, my eyes are drawn to the necklace dangling between the slight peek of her cleavage.

The subtle movements of her body make the charms rock back and forth against her chest, the metal catching the light. There’s a strange looking cross, and another charm that, creepily enough, looks like an eyeball.

Fingering the weird thing, I look up at Evie with a raised brow. “What the hell is this?”

Probably not the best turn of phrase in Church, but...I’m an idiot.

“Oh, that? It’s my
mati
.”  She says it like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“Oookay. What is a...mati? I’ve never seen you wear it before.”  She’s usually wearing the necklace I gave her on Homecoming. I release the charm, leaning back in my seat. It’s probably not a good idea to be grabbing Evie’s jewelry and leaning into her like that. Wouldn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.

She’s done eating, but takes the time to wipe her mouth with a napkin before turning her body fully to face mine. “A
mati
is a symbol used all over the Mediterranean and Middle East to ward off the Evil Eye.”

Stifling my laughter is rough, but somehow, I manage. “You believe in that kind of stuff?”

She shakes her head subtly, offering me a rueful smile. “No, not really. But, one of Papou and YiaYia’s friends brought it to the house for me the week after I was attacked.”

Evie takes the small eye in her hand, looking down at it with a thoughtful expression. “Helen said that my beauty would make people jealous, so I needed to protect myself.”

I can see by the look in her eyes that she’s questioning Helen’s rationale. After everything I’ve heard and seen tonight, I’m more determined than ever to make Evie realize how perfect she really is.

Ducking my head, I try to catch her gaze. I want nothing more than to convince her that she is, in fact, as beautiful as Helen says. I know I have my work cut out for me. Before I can open my mouth to speak though, I feel a hand on my back and soft laughter behind me. Looking over my shoulder to see who’s claimed the seat, I find Lexi staring back at me with amusement in her eyes.

“Why would you want to try and sneak a peek at those disfigured things? Don’t you know how messed up they are now?” Lexi giggles as if she’s made the wittiest remark in the history of the universe.

Beside her, Tini’s face pales and her eyes widen as she turns her gaze on Evie.

I don’t need to look at my girl to know what she’s feeling right now. Hurt. Embarrassment. Anger. I don’t need to look because I feel it all for her. Viscerally. My vision blurs. All I see is red. The fury I’ve been trying to tamp down all night comes rushing out of my mouth before I can think about what I’m saying. “Actually, I do know. I know how perfect they are. I know how full, round and delicious they are. I’ve held them, fondled them, and licked every square inch of them. And trust me when I say, yours,” I gesture to Lexi’s chest. “Pale in comparison.”

Behind me, Evie whispers, “Excuse me.”

I turn around but she’s already out of her seat, practically running in her bare feet to escape. Tini flies past me after her, and I let them go. I’m not done with Lexi, yet.

Facing her once again, I decide it’s time someone put this little bitch in her place. “You think pretty highly of yourself, don’t you? Think you can come onto me, insult my girlfriend, and I’m gonna what? Pant at your feet like some fucking brainless lapdog?”

The superior look on her face says yeah, she was thinking exactly that.

“Let me tell you something, you little shit. That woman,” I point behind me in the direction that Evie had fled, “is the definition of perfect. Why would I want you when I have her? How could you possibly even think that anything about you is comparable to her? She is compassionate, selfless, smart, funny, talented, strong, and the single most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes on. I just met you, but from what I’ve seen so far? You’re heartless, selfish, stupid, dull, and not nearly as attractive as you think you are. And you’re weak. Weak enough to think you can lift yourself up by stepping on others’ backs. You disgust me.”

Lexi simply blinks back at me, uncomprehending.

I get up out of my chair so quickly that it makes a scraping sound against the tile. It’s like nails on a chalkboard. I know I should just walk away, now, but I’m leaving zero room for misinterpretation, here. I want to make absolutely certain I get through this girl’s thick skull. “Evie
owns
me. I am completely hers. No one else has ever been, or will ever be, on my radar. Including you.”

Turning to go in search of Evie, I’m met instead with Papou’s hard stare. Well, shit. As if this couldn’t get any worse.

“They are in the women’s room,” he gestures with his head in the direction the girls had gone moments ago. “Tini is calming her down. Let’s load up the car and go.”

I nod my head dumbly at him, knowing he’s probably only letting me off the hook in public.

He leads me away towards the food table and kitchen, where we spend the next fifteen minutes following orders as given by YiaYia, Diana, or any other number of old Greek ladies who feel the need to pinch my still hot cheeks every chance they get. Whatever they say is basically lost on me. I’m too mad to really pay any attention. Even as I carry stuff out to Diana’s minivan, the frigid winter air does nothing to calm my seething anger. Papou and I have just loaded the last items into the trunk when the girls approach, bundled in their coats and walking closely together for warmth against the wind. Evie’s eyes never leave the ground, but even in the dim light of the parking lot, she looks utterly defeated.

My fury is instantly replaced by heartache.

Wordlessly, Papou and I help them all inside. When all the doors are closed, he turns to me. I brace for the expected, shoving my hands into my pockets and looking down at the ground, contrite and worried about my girl.

“Why did you lie to Lexi?”

I turn my gaze to his crystal blue eyes. I’m not sure how much he heard, so I don’t know if he’s referring to my intimate knowledge of Evie or that he simply doesn’t believe all the adjectives I used to describe Lexi are the truth. “What makes you think I lied?”

He smiles softly at me, the skin around his eyes crinkling. “I know things, young Robert. When a man knows a woman, he touches her differently. You do not touch my granddaughter that way. I know you lied to Lexi about Evie. I want to know why.”

It takes me a few minutes to process his words. As much as I like Papou and have grown to respect him, the little psychic thing he seems to have going on kind of freaks me out. Rocking back and forth on my feet, I stiffen my body against the winter wind, feeling nausea settle in my stomach.

He’d heard everything.

I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know why I said that, Papou. Honestly. It’s just all night long they’ve been doing nothing but talk down to Evie and that was the last straw. What Lexi said to her? That was just cruel, and I guess I lost it. She’s been through enough. She doesn’t need reminded of it.”

He nods his head slowly, staring off into the distance. “Every one of my children are different, even though they were all raised the same way. They all have done things to make me proud and not so proud. I realized once they were all grown, that I had done the best I could. As adults, I had to let them go. They had to make their own way without me. They must fight their own battles. My wife says that she doesn’t take credit for the good, or blame for the bad. I do not know if that is the case. I certainly hope so, because you are right. What I saw tonight of my family was disappointing, and I hate to think that I helped create any of that.”

He turns his gaze back on me. “You may not be my blood, but I am proud of you, young Robert. And I am glad that my little Efflekia has you to fight for her and treat her the way she deserves.”

Well, that isn’t what I was expecting.

He surprises me again by tossing me the keys. “You drive. I am getting too old to be out so late.”

The ride back to the Papageorgiou house is mostly silent, except for YiaYia prattling on in Greek. My eyes keep gazing on Evie in the rearview mirror. She’s sitting all the way in the last row, as far as possible from me. Whether that was her intention or not, the physical distance feels small compared to the gulf that seems to be between us.

I help unload the trunk silently, as the rest of the family pulls into the driveway behind us. Any conversation floats above my head as Evie guides the small, sleepy girls into the house. I don’t see her again before I leave.

That night, tossing and turning in my bed, visions of Evie’s tear stained cheeks float through my mind. She told me that Staci and Maria were supposed to sleep with her tonight. Knowing my Evie, she’ll wait until they’re passed out, then cry herself to sleep as silently as possible. With no one there to hold or comfort her. Even if I were there, she might not let me. That thought kills me a little.

It’s strange how we give the people closest to us the power to hurt us the most. Sometimes without our consent or conscious knowledge. We let them into our hearts, tell them our secrets and fears. In so doing, we give them complete access to what makes us tick. And the total ability to destroy us.

In Evie’s case, she didn’t choose her family. As is usual with her, she manages her reactions to their behavior very carefully, never letting them see her break. Her need to always be in control of every situation prevents her from letting herself be vulnerable with anyone. I think she feels that since she can’t control other people, she can at least be in control of herself. I guess I should feel honored for the few times she’s opened up to me.

I don’t think I ever made the decision to give Evie complete control over me, though. I didn’t even realize it had happened until my breakdown the week after her attack. I mean, I knew that she could hurt me. Her and Eddie were proof of that. I just didn’t realize to what extent. Didn’t realize that she could completely wreck me, just by watching her be hurt.

It’s why I can’t bring myself to lie to her and tell her that my problems aren’t her fault. Deep down I know she’s the reason. I would have helped any woman in that situation, but because it was
my
Evie... That was a soul crushing pain that I’m not sure I’ll ever fully recover from.

Sometimes, love really fucking sucks.

Waking up takes some effort since I barely slept last night. The pillow under my head is just too soft. The blankets pulled up around my shoulders too snug and warm. The pillow that doubles as Evie when she’s not with me is snug in my arms. If I go back to sleep, I can dream her here. Dozing off again is so easy, until another noise punches through to my dulled senses. It’s Christmas morning, but my parents are actually awake before me. The sound of the shower running in their room reminds me. Diana called yesterday to invite us all over for breakfast. Mom and Dad must be getting ready. Oh, goody.