Where It Ends

09 | introductions, part two

tw, flashback of abuse

eli's pov

IT WAS CRAZY TO ME HOW EVERYTHING COULD CHANGE SO SUDDENLY. We'd spent so long assuming that Evie would be out of our lives forever that most of us just lost hope. Still, there was always a part of me that yearned for her to somehow end back up with us. And after that phone call from the CPS asking if we would take Evie in, our world made a complete 180.

I was worried about her, though. In the first few days it seemed like we'd already fucked up, and more than once. First keeping how she lived so close all along a secret, which was stupid on our part from the beginning, and then the shit Sam pulled this morning.

His words made me angry to no end, one because I knew for a fact that I didn't raise him like that. But also that Theo seemed like a genuinely good kid, kinder and better behaved than most of the kids at Redmond. I knew Evie was hurt by what Sam said too, which just made it that much worse. It did make me wonder though, how she was raised. She's just so quiet around us... too quiet. Knowing wouldn't make me view her any differently, I just hoped that she was safe.

The ride home was quiet too. Sam had football practice which I was really thankful for, so it was just me, Evie and the twins in the car. I'm not sure I could have survived another car ride with Sam and Evie together; you could have cut the tension this morning with a knife. I would have to have a talk with Sam after I picked him up from practice, but knowing him he'd probably just tune me out the way home. I don't know what his deal was about Theo. They were both running backs on the football team so they had that rivalry, but I didn't know anything else. I had a feeling it went deeper than that, but I was hoping the situation would resolve itself.

We got home and I dropped the twins off before pulling back out of the driveway. "So, how was your first day?" I asked Evie while she pointed the way to her friend's house.

"Alright. Met some people," she said briefly while still being zoned out, and I could tell she was in a strange mood. Whether it was because of what Sam said this morning or something else, I wasn't sure. Still, even though I had only truly known her these past few days, she still was acting different than her typical self.

"That's good," I smiled, but things were still just... off. We sat in silence for a little while longer before I couldn't take it anymore and sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened with Sam. He was being a dick earlier," I said, and she stopped gazing at the road to look at me.

"You don't have to apologize, you know. It's not your fault," she said sincerely, and I thought about her words for a moment.

"I know," I said quietly. Apologizing for everything had become a habit of mine I really needed to break.  I always hated seeing people being hurt from the actions of others, so I just tried to do everything I could to fix it. I hated my parents for making me this way, especially my father. If only...

I stopped myself before I went on another mental spiral. They never ended well, and besides. Might as well spend this time getting to know a little more about my sister instead of debating the many ways my father fucked me over in life. "So, how'd you meet Theo?" I asked instead, trying to divert my mind from the topic.

"Well back when I was eight and he was seven, his dad dated Whi— our mom. They were gonna get married, but they broke up a week before the wedding," she said.

I'm not sure which fact surprised me the most, the fact that a kid I helped coach was almost my stepbrother, or the fact that she called Mom Whitney. I knew the two of them had a shitty relationship, but I didn't know the extent of it. What confused me the most was the fact that she thought she had to hide it from me. If there was anything I understood, it was shitty parents.