Heal Me

Chapter 29

"Eva, you do realize that the chef is actually a rat, right?" Damon quirked an eyebrow as he watched her craving for the French cuisine in the film 'Ratatouille', while they sat cross-legged on his bed, with their backs resting against the headboard and the soft pillows.

Evangeline did not say anything for a couple of moments but then a slight look of disgust appeared on her face, making her scrunch up her nose a bit, and he let a mischievous smirk bloom on his lips as she groaned.

"Argh! You just had to spoil the mood, didn't you?"  she complained, pouting, leaning in and resting her head on his shoulder. Damon's whole body tensed up in surprise at her touch and his eyes widened. Sure, they had hugged before, but that was just to comfort each other. This time, though, they were so close without any reason at all.

But she noticed his slight change so she raised her head to look at him.

"Does it bother you?" she asked. Her breath was fanning against his neck, making his hairs stand up, and her arm was involuntarily pressed against his.

"Um, y-you can stay..." he stuttered, blushing a bit, thankful that it was too dark for her to see. He could have said no, though, so why didn't he? Perhaps he just answered in the spur of the moment...

So this time Evangeline laid her head somehow between his shoulder and his chest and in  spite of being on his right side, she could still feel the vibrations of his heartbeat. She closed the palm of her hand in a relaxed fist and placed it next to her face.

He could feel her smile against his shirt, her warm, soft cheek resting on his chest and her perfume invading his nostrils; it was pure bliss, yet it was so strange... his heart was beating faster and blood rushed to his face for a reason that was still unknown to him. He was praying that she wouldn't notice. And she did not, for they were watching her favorite Disney film and she could not pry her eyes off the screen.

 That is why she did not hear footsteps closing in until someone quickly knocked on the door and proceeded to enter the room immediately.

"Damon, I was really glad your father called, it would be-" the blonde woman stopped mid-sentence when she saw Evangeline, not to mention the way she was leaning against him.

"Oh, my!" she exclaimed, her facial expression quickly changing from surprise to excitement and making Evangeline peel herself off of him and sit up properly.

"Oh!" she said again, a grin of content appearing on her lips.

"Uhmm... H-hello! I'm Eva Richardson." Evangeline formally introduced herself, just as she did when she met Damon's father, except that now she was feeling far more embarrassed.

"Wait...Richardson as in... Anna?" the woman asked hopefully and she nodded, smiling at the thought of her mother.

"Oh, I know her! We take this sort of cooking class together. I'm Lynn, nice to meet you!" she sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled her into a hug. Damon was watching them amused and he paused the film, placing the remote on the nightstand next to him, once again pleasantly surprised at how the world managed to link him and the girl who had been in his arms just a moment ago, to one another. It might have been just the so-called six degrees of separation, or maybe there might have been a lot more to it than he had ever thought.

"You're suffocating her, Lynn." he finally said, smiling a bit.

"I take it you feel neglected, young man?" Lynn chuckled and draped her arms around Damon as well.

"What's with all the excitement anyway?"

"Should I be crying?" the blonde woman quirked an eyebrow as she pulled back and looked lovingly at the both of them. "Anyway, how are things with you? I would have come more often, but your dad insisted it was okay, so..."

"I'm good." Damon shrugged. "I mean... as good as it can get, you know?"

"Yeah..." Lynn sighed and smiled sympathetically, moving her hand to hold his. "But it's great you have friends, I'm happy for you."

And then he told her how Evangeline had always been there for him and never gave up, no matter how stubborn he might have been, and Lynn's smile dropped. She couldn't understand how come a girl he met so out of the blue could have become to mean so much to him, enough to tell her about the accident and even take her to the cemetery with him. Lynn was confused about that but still, what she knew for sure was that Evangeline came as a blessing  right when almost all hopes were lost.

'And behind that,' she thought, 'is damn good reason.'

~

Dinner passed by in a breeze, as they all talked and joked. Joseph and Lynn insisted on finding out as much as possible about Evangeline so they asked her countless questions about her family, her friends, how was school and what were the things she liked and she patiently answered all of them. It was nice to know that people cared enough to be curious.

They were extremely surprised, though, to hear that there wasn't even a month since she and Damon had met; so many things had happened yet so little time had passed. But Evangeline smiled and said that time was not the one to matter to her, but what she had do was of great importance.

It was unusual to see light from the living room of the Williams and to hear several people's laughter coming from the kitchen, yet it was just like in the old times, when Edith was still alive. It felt as if something was missing, though it did not hurt so much, for the caving she left behind in her family's heart when she passed away did not seem so deep and dark anymore.