66

His hands moved slowly through my hair, playing with it. My eyes had closed a while ago. Suddenly, the thought of missing something donned to me.

"Were we supposed to do something today," I mumbled.

"I don't think so."

I tried to shake the thought, but it remained at the front of my brain. I groaned as I opened my eyes and pressed against his chest. His hand slid to my back. I looked down at him. "What is today?"

He sighed as he thought. "The 10th."

I looked at the clock on the wall. "Caroline's party."

I started to move, but he grabbed my waist, keeping me against him. I looked down at him and put my hands on his stomach. "I'm sure she'll understand if we don't -"

I slapped my hand over his mouth. "We're going." I grabbed his hands and pulled them off my body. I moved off of him and walked up to my room. I pushed the door behind me, not shutting it all the way.

I pulled off my clothes as I walked to my closet. I grabbed the dark red dress and pulled it on. I zipped it up all the way and then walked to the mirror. I adjusted the straps on my shoulder and then adjusted my boobs. The dress was low cut, dipping enough to show my cleavage. It was cut short, stopping at the middle of my thighs.

I walked to the bathroom. I curled my hair. I could feel him staring at me. I didn't look over, I just kept staring at the curling iron holding the last piece of my hair. Once I let it go, I turned it off and put it on the counter of the sink. After the piece of hair was cooled off, I ran my fingers through my hair.

He walked over to me, stopping behind me. I paused my hands in my hair when he grabbed my hips and pulled me against him. I stared at him through the mirror. "What?"

He lifted his brows, "Where did the attitude come from?"

I moved my hands to his. "It's my sister's party, Kai. I can't miss it."

He turned my hands in his, squeezing them gently. "We won't." He wound his arms around me, pulling me flat against him. "We have an hour." He kissed my cheek. "Take a breath." His phone started ringing.

He moved his hands to my waist and then pulled away. I took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly as he walked away. I finished fixing my hair, taking some of it and twisting it back, then pinning it. After finishing my hair, I moved on to my makeup.

I brushed on eyeshadow, giving myself a smokey eye. I did a small wing with eyeliner, then put on mascara. I put on red lipstick.

As I was putting on lipgloss, there was a knock on the front door. I finished putting it on and then walked to my shoes. I walked out of the room as I pulled my heels on.

"Evelyn!"

I stepped off the last step and turned to see Kai holding the door open. Liv was standing on the other side. She looked like she was crying. I glanced at Kai as I walked closer. "What's wrong?" I looked at her.

She started to speak but stopped. She faltered back a step. "You look busy. I'll just..." she threw a thumb over her shoulder. She started to turn.

I stepped closer, "Liv." She turned to face me again. "I have time. Come on." After a moment, she walked in. I stopped beside Kai as he turned to me from shutting the door. "What did she say to you?"

He shook his head. "She asked to talk to you."

I glanced over at her. She had her face buried in her hands. I walked over and sat beside her, angling my body toward her. "Hey," I said quietly. I refrained from touching her, afraid of what may have happened. Liv and I aren't close, and she only speaks to me when something extremely bad happens and she knows I can do something.

She lifted her head. "Sorry." She sniffled. She stared at her hands as she started fidgeting with them in her lap.

"It's okay. Take your time."

She breathed out shakily. "You were... right about Tyler." She looked at me slowly. "He cheated on me."

I felt anger and heartbreak for her. "I'm sorry, Liv." I reached for her hand, sliding my fingers between hers.

"That's not what I came to tell you, Evelyn."

I furrowed my brows. "What was it?" I withdrew my hands

She looked away from me as she took another breath. "The girl." She looked at me. "She was the one who reached out to me. She told me what happened." She shook her head once, more tears forming. "She didn't agree to... do what they -" her voice caught in her throat. She inhaled sharply. "I don't want to see him. I don't know what to do."

I grabbed her hands, "I'll deal with it. You don't need to do anything."

A tear rolled down her cheek. "Thank you."

I nodded. She leaned into me as I wrapped my arms around her. I cradled the back of her head with my hand.

The thought that Tyler would do something like this made my blood boil. He's always been a bad person, but this really pushes it over the edge. I glanced up at Kai, who was standing in the entry to the living room. His arms were crossed. The tightness of his jaw let me know this angered him even more so than me.

I felt Liv pull away, and I pulled back. She looked up at my face as I started to speak. "I hate to just leave you alone like this, and I wouldn't, but Caroline's party is about to start. I think you should stay here, but you don't have to. Caroline's old room is free, and you can stay as long as you want."

She tilted her head, "Are you sure-" her voice caught in her throat again.

I nodded, "Of course." I moved my hand to her face, wiping the tears off her face. "Call me or Kai if you need anything." She nodded as we stood up. "We'll be back in a few hours."

She nodded. I walked around her and over to Kai. He walked to the door and opened it, letting me walk out. He walked up beside me as we walked down the steps. I was too angry to start a conversation.

He opened the door for me, and I got in. After he shut my door, he got in on the driver's side. I dug my nail into my hand as I bit down on my tongue. He started driving.

I don't know the story, but I believe that Liv's telling the truth. I hate to admit it, but Tyler seems like the kind of guy. He's a misogynistic playboy, and he always will be. It's hard to believe someone would think that's one of his winning traits.

I felt Kai's hand wrap around mine, stopping my nail from breaking the skin. "We'll stay at the party for half an hour, then we'll go find Tyler."

I closed my eyes, not letting tears escape. "We shouldn't have left her." I opened my eyes and shook my head. "She doesn't need to be alone."

He squeezed my hand gently. "Liv can handle herself, baby. She will let us know if she needs us."

He parked and turned off the car. I pulled my hand from his and got out after a moment. I started walking to the entrance of the founder's hall. Caroline hosting her party here feels pretentious, but I've chosen to look past that. I felt Kai slide his hand into mine.

My eyes wandered around the decked out room. The black and red decorations perfectly lined every surface and corner of the entry, and presumably the rest of the house.

"Hey!" Caroline's voice drew my eyes to her as she walked toward us. She stopped a few feet from us. "You're late," she tilted her head. "I drilled this into your head for months. Why are you late?"

I started to open my mouth to angrily explain it to her, but Kai squeezed my hand, saving me. "We were busy dealing with something." He looked at me. "Go get a drink."

I pulled my hand from his and walked off to find a drink. I made my way to the bar once I found it. A glass of bourbon sat in front of me after a minute. I picked it up and uttered a "thank you" as I brought it to my lips. I downed it in three drinks and then ordered another.

"Relationship troubles?"

I glanced at Stefan as he leaned against the bar, motioning for the bartender to refill his drink. I rolled my eyes as I looked at the glass in front of me. "No."

"You're drinking awfully fast for it not to be," Damon remarked.

I swallowed the drink I took and then looked at Damon. "Not that it's any of your business, but Kai and I are fine." I looked back at the glass in my hand.

"Then what's wrong?"

"You're still talking." I took another drink.

"So it's a huge problem then," Stefan suggested.

"Did he cheat on you again?"

I looked at Damon. "I would ask if you're trying to piss me off, but it comes naturally to you."

He smiled, "Everything does."

I started to turn away, but Damon grabbed my forearm, spinning me to face him again. I tightened my fist and looked up at him. "What?"

He tilted his head, "Your attitude is ruining the party. Drop it."

I peeled his hand off of me. "Touch me again and see how fast you lose your head." I walked away from him, finding Caroline. She turned from Enzo to look at me. Before she could speak, I took the opportunity. "Where's Kai?"

She looked over my shoulder, then at me. "He went to find you."

I sighed as I turned away from her. I stopped, my eyes landing on Jo and Ric. Kai and I have been avoiding Jo. She's been trying to connect Kai and his mom. I ducked out of the room, finding my way back to the bar, where Kai was talking to Damon. I walked over, standing between Kai and Damon.

Kai looked down at me. "I was looking for you."

"In the wrong places."

"There's the attitude again," Damon remarked.

I looked at him. "It's really not the day, Damon."

Kai put his hand on my arm, and I looked at him. "Ten minutes."

He handed the glass that was in his hand to me. I drank what was left and handed it back to him. He sat it on the bar.

I looked over to see Jeremy and Matt standing and talking. I walked away from Kai and found my way to the two across the room. I stopped a few feet away, and they looked at me.

"Hey, Ev," Jeremy said with a smile on his face.

I returned a tight-lipped smile. "Hey." I looked between the two of them. "Have either of you seen Tyler? Or talked to him?"

Jere shook his head. Matt nodded, "He's busy tonight. He's leaving town for a few days. Did you need him?"

I nodded, "Yeah, actually. It's kind of important."

"What was it," Jeremy asked.

I looked at him. "Don't worry about it. I'll figure it out." I turned away and started walking back to the bar. Kai was in front of me a second later.

He tilted his head. "What is it?"

"He left town."

He took a breath as his jaw clenched. He put his hand on my arm. "He'll come back, Evelyn."

I shook my head, "That's not the point."

He sighed, "Evelyn -"

I pushed his hand away as I walked away from him, making my way to a quieter, less populated room. I slammed the door shut behind me and walked to the closest chair. I paced back and forth slowly as I started taking deep breaths. I felt horrible for Liv.

The door opened, and I sighed. I didn't bother to look over, knowing it's Kai. The door shut after a moment. His footsteps echoed as he walked closer.

It was quiet for a minute, then he took a breath. "He won't get away with it, Evelyn. I know that's what you're thinking. I get that you're upset -"

I kept pacing. "No, you don't."

"We don't know what all he did, Evelyn."

I stopped and looked at him. "What?" I was in disbelief of what was coming out of his mouth.

"Whatever he did was obviously horrible, but we can't decide we should kill him because of one bad decision."

"One bad decision?! That's what you're calling it?!"

He sighed, "We don't know what happened, Evelyn!"

"We know something happened, and that's enough for me!"

"Well, it's not for me."

I felt my stomach turning. "Are you serious?"

He tilted his head and stepped closer. "All I'm saying is we can't know for sure about anything without hearing from Tyler or the other girl."

I pressed my hands to the sides of my face and closed my eyes, trying to understand what he could possibly mean. "Okay." I crossed my arms and opened my eyes. "Liv showed up at the door, crying. She told us that some girl had been assaulted by Tyler, and she's too afraid to go to Tyler. You don't believe this happened because you haven't heard every side of the story?"

He lifted his hands. "That's not what I'm saying."

"Then what are you saying?!"

"We can't punish him for something we can't completely comprehend. I understand that you think he needs to -"

"No, you don't! You don't understand! If you did, you would be just as pissed off, and you wouldn't say you need to hear his side of the story!"

"Evelyn, come on. Try to understand where I'm coming from."

"No!" I shook my head. "You believed me! You believed me when I told you what happened to me! Why can't you believe Tyler would do something like this?!"

"Because Joshua was the one who hurt you! I knew him, I knew what he was capable of!"

"And I know Tyler!"

"Evelyn." A look of realization crossed his face. "Okay." He walked closer, closing the distance between us. "He's completely capable of doing something like this." He cupped my face in his hands. "And until we ask him, we believe Liv."

I loosened the hold on my arms. "Now you understand." I breathed out slowly.

I shut my eyes as he pulled me closer, winding an arm around my waist, then letting his other hand rest against the back of my head. I rested my forehead against his chest. I uncrossed my arms, wrapping my arms around him.

After calming down, he wiped the tears off my face, and then we walked back out to the party. Kai kept his hand wrapped around mine as he led me back into the crowd. We weaved our way through the crowd of people to see Caroline standing behind Stefan and Elena, holding her cake in front of her.

Kai pulled my phone out of his pocket and handed it to me. I stepped away from the noise as I answered a call from an unknown number. I stepped outside and pushed the glass door shut. "Hello?"

"You can't keep her from me, Evelyn," Tyler slurred.

I furrowed my brows, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"What the fuck do you think I'm talking about?! My girlfriend!"

I sighed, "You-"

He hung up before I could say or ask anything. I pulled my phone away from my face. I called Liv and put the phone to my ear, crossing my other arm over my body and holding my side. She didn't pick up. I called the house phone and waited for an answer, there wasn't one.

I started to panic. The door opened. I sent a text to Liv asking if she's awake.

"Is everything okay?"

I turned and looked at Caroline. "I don't know." I looked at my phone again. "Something came up tonight, and it's..." I looked at her. "I think I should go, Care."

She nodded as she stepped closer. "I understand." She reached out and pulled me in for a hug. "Call me if it gets worse and I'll help in any way I can."

I let my eyes close for a minute. "I love you, Caroline."

"I love you too, Vale."

After a minute more, I pulled away from her. I walked back into the party. I found Kai by Damon. He turned to me. "We need to go."

He looked confused, "What is it?"

I grabbed his hand and he started walking with me. I talked as we made our way back to the car. "Tyler called me. He's drunk and won't remember the conversation, but he mentioned Liv. I called her and she's not answering."

"She's probably sleeping, babe."

I let go of his hand and turned to face him. "That thought crossed my mind, but I need to know for sure."

He nodded and stepped closer, moving his hands to cradle my face. "Just breathe." He kissed me before walking me to the passenger seat.

He started driving after he made sure I was buckled. Before the car was even in park, I was out of the vehicle. Kai followed shortly after me into the locked front door. All the lights were off.

After checking the living room, I made my way up the steps. I walked to Caroline's room to see the door completely shut. I cracked the door as quietly as possible. Liv was peacefully sleeping in Caroline's old bed. I pulled the door shut and turned around.

Kai was leaning back against the wall with his hands in his pockets and his legs crossed at the ankles. He was staring at my mom's bedroom door. I haven't let anyone in since the night I found her, not even Caroline. Thinking about it makes my whole body feel weak.

"You don't talk about her." His voice was quiet.

I took a step closer. "You don't ask."

"You won't let me."

I felt shocked by his response. He's asked about her before, but I divert the conversation every time. Like I'm about to do now. I walked past him, going into my room. I didn't bother turning on the light. I pulled off my shoes and tossed them toward the closet.

I heard his footsteps as he walked in the room. I heard the door shut.

"And it continues."

I rolled my eyes as I continued taking out my earrings. "Don't be a dick about this."

"I'm not, I'm just wondering why you won't tell me. You even told me about your dad, Evelyn."

"Yeah, well, he's a deadbeat. I could care less about him."

"That's what is? You won't talk about her because you cared about her? You don't trust me to care about her too?"

I felt rigid. I hadn't thought about it before. "No." I turned to face him. "I don't."

He tilted his head. He didn't seem surprised by my response, or even hurt. "What else do you not trust me with?"

I felt a pit growing in my stomach. Why did I respond so bluntly? "Do you really want to talk about this right now?"

"Yes." His immediate response let me know this has been on his mind.

I tried to stay calm. "Why?"

"Because you don't talk to me anymore, Evelyn. It's like you don't want to be with me anymore, and honestly it feels like I don't know you."

"I'm giving you everything I can."

The expression on his face morphed into something I haven't seen in a while. "It's not enough for me."

I felt a lump in my throat as tears crept into my eyes. This is possibly one of the worst nights of my life. "What are you saying?" The tremble in my voice made this ten times worse for me.

"I'm saying..." he stepped closer, pulling his hands out of his pockets. "I can't... do this anymore."

I breathed out shakily. "But I love you." I uncrossed my arms. I started walking toward him. "I- I need you." I touched my hand to the side of his face, "Please don't do this to me-" my voice caught in my throat.

He seemed so detached. His brows were furrowed together and his jaw was tight. He pulled my hands away from him. "I'm sorry, baby."

I shook my head, twisting my hands in his to hold them. "Kai, don't-"

He pulled away from me and took a step back. His lips parted for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't. He turned away from me. I watched him walk out, pulling the door shut behind him. I was left standing alone, listening to him leave.

I felt like I couldn't breathe. I didn't know what to do. I can't go to the one person I need because he's gone.

The breath left my lungs as I started walking out. I can't be alone right now. I walked out of the house and started walking. I kept walking for miles, wishing that I could do over whatever the last six hours was. It happened so fast that none of it felt real.

I raised my fist and knocked on the heavy door. The cool air was making me shiver and drying the tears on my face. Damon's face greeted me. I held my breath to keep from breaking down. The look in his eyes made me feel a sort of relief.

"What happened?" He pulled the door open wider.

"Where's Caroline?"

His eyes glanced over my entire body, then found mine again. He stepped closer. "What did he do to you?"

The blinding light of car headlights pulled my attention away from Damon, who was stepping outside. I let my eyes close for a minute as I took a deep breath.

"Evelyn?"

Caroline's voice opened my eyes. I turned to face her as she walked toward me. It was mostly the figure of her lit by the lights. I fell into her as she threw her arms around me. Her hand cradled my head as her head rested against mine.