Chapter 15
A few weeks had pasted since Evan and Christy had gotten back together and it seemed like his hope, his prayer, of his life returning to what it once was; was being granted. Even seeing Max around school Evan was able to dispel the thoughts of him. The school halls were all decorated with the colors of the month, pinks and reds adorned walls and windows and posters advertising the Valentine's Dance were hung wherever they could fit. Christy stood at her locker touching up her lips with her favorite shade of red, she was very pleased with how things have gone since she got back with Evan; the power had been restored. No one dared question her seat on the throne of high school hierarchy. In no time she will add another Queen of Hearts title to her list of superficial achievements. Her phone hummed slightly with an incoming text message.
I need you, same place. Was all it had read. She smiled to herself and touched up her hair a little bit and slapped her locker shut. She walked through the quiet halls thinking off how she had gotten to where she is. It wasn't by any means the most honest mode, in fact her history was filled with pettiness and backstabbing. She does whatever she has to, to get what she wants. She went out of the side door and towards the small shed that housed the mower and training equipment. She pulled the door open, stepped into the dimly lit room, and shut the door behind her making the room darker still.
"Fuck. It took you long enough." The voice said.
"Shut up. I've been busy." She unbuttoned her light blue blouse and leaned back against a table.
"Damn. It's been too long." Darren said stepping towards her. He got close to her and then began kissing her, feeling her supple breasts as if it were the first time.
"You'd better not thrust into like a rabid horny dog." Christy said as she began to reciprocate his kisses as her hands worked to undo his jeans.
Evan sat in study hall quietly working on an admissions essay, now that the mental fog has cleared he got his head in the game and needed to start his college application process. He let out a sigh and took a breath, he needed a break. He pulled out his sketch pad and began flipping through the pages to find a blank one. He flipped until he came to a picture he had drawn of Max. His nose, eyes, even the slight curvature of his lips were drawn expertly. He hesitated, then closed his eyes and ripped the page out. He felt a pang of pain, as if he had ripped out a part of him. He crumpled the paper and threw it at a nearby trashcan which he missed. He grabbed his belongings as left study hall just as the bell had rang signaling the end of the day. He looked around expecting to see Christy but she was nowhere. His phone rang loudly, he quickly accepted the call.
"Evan go without me, I'm doing something right now." She said quickly and hung up. She sounded out of breath but Evan didn't really care. He figured she was running laps to fit into her dress for the upcoming dance. Evan got into his car and headed home, as he walked in the front door he smelled his mother's pot roast.
"Smells good mom," Evan said grabbing a banana from the kitchen counter and giving his mom a kiss on the cheek.
"Hey, how was school?" She asked washing up some dishes that had been dirtied.
"Same old, same old. I just have to finish this essay and that's UCLA." He said between bites.
"Any idea what you want to major in?" She asked, she knew that Evan took after his father headstrongness and when it came to what he wanted to do with the rest of his life his father had different ideas.
"I really want to art but—
"But art isn't a career. It's a hobby." Mr. Lonzo butted in.
"Hello, father." Evan said quietly.
"I've been working very hard to try and get you into the pre law school." Mr. Lonzo said matter-of-factly. "Besides you've all but thrown your sports scholarship out of the window.
"Dad. I never wanted that, that was your dream." Evan stated, his mother feared the impending argument. Before his father could speak, Evan got up and left the kitchen heading upstairs to his room. He plopped down onto his bed and began working on his essay again. About a half hour later he just couldn't focus, his concentration wasn't there. He felt his clarity disappearing. Hold it together Evan. He told himself. He took a deep breath and began working this time uninterrupted by his thoughts.
Back at the school Max was milling about the library helping put away books. He walked around a particular group of desks and began collecting the books; he looked around and his eye caught a crumpled page on the floor near a trashcan.
"It wouldn't have been a hard thing to just throw the paper away." He whispered to himself. He walked over and picked up but before he threw it away something had caught his eye. It was familiar to him. He opened the page and flattened it out. Astonished to see his own face, his own eyes staring back at him.
Evan found himself on a small yacht celebrating his graduation, it was a tradition that the local beach club did for the students. Everyone was having fun taking pictures, posing and talking amongst themselves. When out of the blue Christy pushed him over the stern, fearing his life he gripped the edge of the deck and reached out for help. Christy stared down at him, a wicked smile appearing across her face. He begged and pleaded for her to help him. His grip was slipping. She walked a tiny bit closer and stepped on his fingers. He cried out in agony as he lost his grip and began falling, he fell so much longer than he thought he would have. He hit the water and began fighting against the water closing in around him, no matter how much he tried to swim he was being pulled down. He began to panic, fighting and swimming harder. He exhausted himself, it was no use. His vision began fading as a figure swam towards him and grabbed his outstretched hand, just before his eyes closed he recognized the figure. Max... was his final thought before everything went black.
All of a sudden Evan lurched from his sleep his bed slightly damp with sweat gasping for air. He managed to calm himself down and began to breathe normally. What the hell!? Evan thought.