Chapter 119 - Fallout - Part 2

There had been plenty of times when Evan had been pleased to come home and find his parents still at work, but this was different. He felt relieved, as if he were a thief sneaking into a house where he had no business being. Thankfully, he had his closest people with him, so these feelings couldn't consume his mind.

They moved into the living room, with Evan bringing them sodas from the kitchen, and sat down together on the couch.

He wasn't sure he wanted to see what kind of state his room was in, so he preferred to stay downstairs. He didn't think his parents would break down the door and go through his stuff, but he preferred to assume the worst rather than be surprised later.

Still, he couldn't quite calm down. He moved his feet off the carpet and curled them under him, only to stretch them out again a moment later. His hands fidgeted in his lap, then supported his head, and a second later, he was picking at the skin around his nails again.

Thankfully, before he could draw blood, Ryan stopped him, gently laying his hand on top of his.

Evan looked up at him, his gaze meeting his mate's compassionate eyes.

"Love," Ryan addressed him in a tender voice. "Please don't hurt yourself." Without waiting for a response, he pulled him into his arms. Evan automatically rested his head on his shoulder and closed his eyes. He'd ruined part of his plan by doing so, but he didn't care. He desperately needed to feel his mate's presence.

"We can still burn your house down so you don't have to be here and can move in with one of us," Angie suggested after a moment of silence. Evan knew she wasn't serious and was just trying to cheer him up, but he couldn't help his brief laugh from turning into another spiral of disaster scenarios.

"My parents would make me move in with Aunt May and Uncle Bernard." The words turned sour on his tongue as soon as he said them. If he felt trapped in his own home, he couldn't imagine what would be waiting for him in the house where they'd kicked Riley out.

"Just another house that would need to be burned down," Angie promptly responded.

"We can still kidnap you to New York. They definitely wouldn't be looking for you there," Michael offered.

"Don't say that, or I'll start seriously considering it," Evan assured him, lifting his head so he could see him but still remaining in Ryan's arms.

"Maybe we should let Aunt Olivia talk to your parents," his boyfriend suggested, and Evan immediately started shaking his head in disagreement.

"If she gets involved, my parents will quickly find out who you are," he explained, even though they all knew. "For now, let's stick with this plan and see if it works."

The plan his friends had devised was simple. It relied on Evan's parents not making a scene in front of his friends, so from now on, they were going to meet exclusively at Evan's house. Plus, if Michael and Angie were also present, Evan wouldn't just be wearing Ryan's scent, so he couldn't arouse suspicion.

It wasn't exactly a battle plan, but it was a start.

Whether it would work, they got a chance to find out an hour later. Even though they were watching TV, they still made sure that at least one of them was aware of their surroundings and focused on the sounds outside. This gave Evan plenty of time to put some distance between him and his mate before his parents saw him in his arms.

Evan was desperately trying to keep his eyes on the TV when he heard the front door and then footsteps, so he wouldn't have to meet his mom's gaze. Still, he heard the footsteps stop in that room, and silence reigned, broken only by the sound of the television.

"Hello, Mrs. Bludd, Mr. Bludd," Ryan spoke first with an innocuous greeting. Michael echoed his words. Angie, however, remained stubbornly silent while Evan was still afraid to even turn his head in their direction.

"Ryan, Michael, Angie," thanks to his mom's stern voice, it didn't sound like a greeting but more like the names of people who had no business being in her living room. Evan was surprised his name wasn't on the list.

At least his dad was trying to sound friendly. "How was school?" he asked after nervously clearing his throat.

No one answered, so in the end, Ryan took pity on him and gave him the short answer, "Fine."

The awkward or perhaps tense atmosphere didn't last long. The silence was broken by the sharp voice of Evan's mom addressing him, and he couldn't avoid her gaze any longer. "Evan."

He didn't answer, just turned his head, trying to keep a brave expression despite the fact that he was shaking inside.

"Say goodbye to your friends. I'm sure they have responsibilities to deal with as well," she said, her look and tone making it clear—she wasn't taking no for an answer.

"Actually—" Angie started, but Evan quickly stopped her, laying a hand on her thigh. She turned a puzzled look toward him, but he just shook his head in disagreement. It shattered the last notions his parents might have had about his friends not knowing what had happened.

"I'll walk you to the door," he said, standing first. That left his friends with no choice but to join him.

Evan's parents stepped away from the door to allow the group of teenagers to pass. Evan avoided their gaze, and it seemed that they too were going to refrain from shouting while the guests were in their house. He was down to his last few seconds of peace.

He desperately wanted one last hug from his mate, but he knew he couldn't afford it. Luckily, Angie knew what he needed and decided to give him the second-best thing—a hug from his best friend. "One text and I'll bring a lighter," she whispered in his ear as she held him in her arms.

Her efforts to cheer him up worked, and he laughed briefly, despite the tears pushing their way into his eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow," he assured her.

"Bye, guys," he said, bidding his friends farewell and exchanging one last glance with his mate before closing the door behind them.

If he'd been planning an escape to his room, he now had the last few seconds to execute it. But he knew it would end the same way it had yesterday—with his mom pounding on the door. So, he gathered his courage and decided to return to the living room. However, he still kept the safety net and stayed standing in the doorway to make his escape easy if the situation turned sour—something he thought was inevitable.

"We didn't let you invite your friends over," were the words his mother greeted him with in the living room.

"You never had a problem with them coming to visit me," he pointed out.

"There's nothing wrong with you inviting them over—" His dad tried to salvage the situation, but to no avail. His soft words were quickly replaced by Evan's mom's aggressive ones.

"That was before I found out how much of an influence they have on you," she said. She didn't yell, but her voice was far from calm.

"They're good to me," Evan's argument was surely weak in his mom's eyes, but that didn't change the fact that it was true.

"Absolutely not." Just as he'd expected. "They encouraged you to lie to us. Those are definitely not good friends."

Evan couldn't help laughing at the irony. "So, my human friends are a bad influence on me even though they don't know about the supernatural world and mates, and my werewolf friends are a bad influence on me because they let me be with my mate?"

"There's nothing wrong with being with your—" Just like before, Evan's mom didn't let his dad finish talking.

"They're helping you avoid responsibility. Don't think we didn't hear you sneak out the window this morning. There was a time when something like that wouldn't even cross your mind," she argued.

Evan curled his lip and cocked his head, barely stopping himself from snorting at the same time. "Maybe the difference isn't who I'm friends with now, it's that I don't feel safe in my own home. Have you thought about that?"

"That's your argument?" his mom asked incredulously. "That we're bad parents? That we don't take care of you?" Of course, she twisted his words.

"I never said that," he reasoned, even though he knew it was pointless.

"We work hard to make sure you have everything. You don't need a part-time job because we'll buy you everything you need. I come home from work and cook. It's always tidy in here, you've got your clothes washed. And you tell me we're bad parents," his mom continued her rant.

"I never said that," Evan repeated.

"Are your friends that ungrateful to their parents too?" she asked.

Evan had no idea how to reply, so he simply sighed. His mom wasn't listening, or rather didn't want to listen, so any words were useless.

Judging by his mom's impatient look, though, she was expecting him to answer, so he tried again, but slower and louder: "I. Never. Said. That."

This time she definitely heard him, but she wasn't satisfied with the answer. The disappointment and resentment were clear on her face. Evan would almost feel regret if he didn't feel the same emotions toward her.

"I don't understand what happened. You were such a good kid before we let you go to Marwell High School." Instead of shouting, she now opted for a new technique—an attack on feelings.

"I haven't changed," Evan immediately countered, but his voice carried no exaggerated emotion. "I can finally be myself. And I have people who love me just the way I am. Just because you don't doesn't mean I should change."

His father immediately responded. "We do love you, Evan." Something about his words must have moved his wife too, because she chose honesty instead of shouting, though it still wasn't something Evan wanted to hear. "We want the best for you, Evan."

"The best according to you, not according to me," Evan corrected her right away.

"You're too young to know what you want," his mom argued. "It's our duty to show you the right way so you don't ruin your life."

"Ruin my life? With what? By having friends? By having a mate I love?" Evan couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You've already ruined Riley's life with your ideals, why does mine have to be next?"

Apparently, Riley's name was a trigger for his mom. Her soft, almost sympathetic expression changed in an instant, and she began to frown. Evan knew immediately what was coming next.

"Riley decided for himself!" she raised her voice. "We tried to open his eyes, but he was just as stubborn as you!"

"I'm not stubborn!" Evan matched her volume. "I'm being honest! You wanted me to be honest? I'm honest!"

"Oh, please." His mom snorted. "You jumped out the window this morning, there's nothing honest about that. You're ungrateful, that's the right word. You can't see what we do for you."

Evan quickly clarified exactly what that was. "You're ruining my life."

"Evan!" His mom started screaming again, gaining in fury, and Evan braced himself, matching her attitude, but his dad suddenly intervened.

"Go to your room, Evan," he said, but there was nothing angry about it or anything that made it sound like a punishment—quite the opposite. "Please," he added, then turned to his wife. "You both need to cool off. You're handling the situation with a hot head, and that's not helping anyone."

"Are you seriously defending him?" It was obvious that Evan's mom couldn't believe this. Evan felt the same way, but unlike her, he wasn't going to stay put and listen any longer. His dad had given him a pass to escape, and he used it without hesitation.

He ran up the stairs to his room even faster than yesterday, though no one was chasing him today. He reached for the doorknob, but it was useless. The door was still locked, as he was pleased to discover. He quickly pulled the key out of his wallet and, once he was in his room, put it in the lock from the other side so that no one could surprise him.

He finally had a moment of silence, and though he could eavesdrop on his parents' conversation thanks to his wolf hearing, he decided against it. Instead, he walked over to his bed and collapsed on it, closing his eyes and burying his face in the soft mattress.

Apparently, he was emotionally exhausted, as he hadn't even realized when he'd fallen asleep. He woke only to a gentle knock on his door.

"Evan?"

It took him a few seconds to fully wake up and recognize the voice.

"I brought you dinner." That was definitely his dad's soft voice.

Evan didn't answer, not moving, not making a sound. But instead of letting that deter his father, he continued talking to the door.

"Please, Evan. You need to eat something."

He finally took pity and, loud enough for him to hear, said, "I'm not hungry."

"Your mom's not home."

Evan frowned. Whatever he'd been expecting, this wasn't it. It startled him enough that he stood and automatically walked to the door. He pushed the handle, but the door didn't budge, and he quickly realized why. When he reached for the key, however, he hesitated for a moment.

He concentrated on his heightened senses before deciding to unlock the door, figuring out if his dad was telling the truth. He couldn't smell his mother's scent anywhere, and the house was unusually quiet. Nothing was stopping him from opening the door.

"Where is she?" was the first thing he asked.

"She decided to spend the night at her sister's."

Great. She couldn't have done anything worse. If she was insufferable now, Evan didn't even want to imagine what she'd be like when she got back from Aunt May's.

"You didn't go with her?" he asked the next question.

"I didn't see any reason to leave you alone," his dad said and extended his hand to him with the plate.

Evan didn't realize how hungry he was until his eyes fell on the sandwich. The sound of his stomach only confirmed it.

"Eat, please. You haven't even had breakfast." His father's voice was still soft, as if he was afraid he'd scare him and he'd slam the door in his face.

"Thanks." He took the plate from him, and his father's expression changed, as if relieved.

"Your mom won't be back until tomorrow afternoon. If you don't want to see me in the kitchen in the morning either, you don't have to, but please have breakfast."

Evan couldn't bear it anymore and voiced his confusion out loud. "Whose side are you on?"

A look of surprise crossed his father's face, but he quickly found his voice.

"I don't want to pick sides."

Evan was almost disappointed—until his dad continued. "I just want us to be one family, no arguing. Your mom wants the best for you; she just can't express it."

"I think she expressed it clearly enough," Evan countered.

"She's upset. She feels betrayed because you lied to her. She's your mom, it's normal for her to feel that way," his father defended her. After all, she was his mate.

"What about you? I lied to you too," Evan pointed out.

His dad didn't answer right away, but Evan didn't miss how his gaze changed. He could tell from his eyes that his words had hurt him. Unlike his mom, though, he didn't throw them in his face with a scream.

"I've had time to think about it. I realized I haven't given you many opportunities to be honest."

Whatever Evan was expecting, this wasn't it. His father had been catching him off guard over and over.

"Is this some kind of trick?" He had no idea what to make of that.

"It's not," his dad immediately assured him. "I've had plenty of time to think since our conversation at Christmas."

Evan had no idea what conversation he meant. Fortunately, he didn't have to ask it out loud, as his confusion reflected on his face.

"You asked me if I loved you," his father reminded him. "And then you asked me if I loved Riley. You were right, May and Bernard carry on with their lives as if they hadn't lost a son. I don't want to end up like them."

"I told you that just because you had the smallest part in that decision doesn't mean you didn't have a part in it." Evan finally remembered.

"Yes." His father looked relieved that he remembered but nervous at the same time. "It got me thinking."

"So you're not mad at me?" Evan tried, though he wasn't sure it was the right question. "Or disappointed?"

"I'm neither," his father replied without hesitation. "This whole situation has just shown me that I don't know you as well as I thought I did. I guess I haven't spent enough time with you lately."

"Neither of us are home most of the time," Evan acknowledged. Not only were his parents constantly at work, but he also spent most of his free time at the Saunders'.

"I know. Until recently, I didn't think there was anything wrong with that. You're a teenager, it's normal not to spend time with your parents. But right now, I know it was a mistake." Having such a heart-to-heart conversation with his father was definitely not something he had expected.

"Your mom sees it too—" Suddenly, this conversation was on thin ice. "She just doesn't think she's partly to blame."

"She thinks it's my fault." Evan called it what it was.

His father's brief silence was answer enough. "Give her time, please. She'll realize she's wrong."

"She literally left just so she wouldn't have to see me," Evan pointed out. But then he suddenly realized that this was the perfect opportunity for him to do the same—with permission. "You said we both needed to calm down. She left. Can I do the same?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" His father seemed to be imagining the worst.

"Can I spend the weekend at my friend's house?" he clarified.

"Which one?"

Evan debated for a second whether to lie and say he'd be in North Hallson instead, but since his dad was trying his best to be honest, he did the same. "Josh."

"Michael, Ryan, and Angie are all going," he added.

"Allright."

"Really?" He couldn't believe it.

His father nodded. "I'll explain to your mom. Have fun. Take a break from this tense situation for a bit."

Evan's lips automatically curled into a wide smile—he couldn't help it. He quickly looked around and placed the plate in his hand on the nearest piece of furniture. "Thank you."

Though his father was surprised, he didn't hesitate for a moment and hugged him back.

Now all Evan needed to do was finish the rest of his school week. He knew it would be challenging, but with the prospect of a weekend with his friends, he was sure he could do it.

"Thank you, Dad."