“I never learn, do I?” I whisper to myself.
Evan steps closer. “Amelia, stop it. You’ve got it wrong. Let’s talk about it tonight. I swear, I can explain.”
It’s as if his words make him sound guiltier. I’m starting to have a hard time breathing.
“Leave. Now.” I stare at him.
“No. I’m not leaving until we fix this. I swear, it’s just a misunderstanding Amelia.”
“Evan, if you don’t leave this very moment, Antonio is going to see me crying next to you. Do you really want me to have to tell you how the rest of that scenario is going to go?”
Evan’s phone starts ringing in his pocket. I know it’s LC.
“Fuck. Amelia. We’re talking about this later. Don’t you dare shut me out now. Not when we’ve come this far.”
“Evan, tell me who LC is right now. If you can’t do that, you can forget about there ever being anus,” I spit out.
Evan looks pained, and pauses a few moments. “Amelia, now is not the time. I promise I’ll tell you everything, but—”
“Goodbye, Evan.” I grab my drink and make my way towards the crowd.
Behind me I hear a loudthump, followed by a muffledfuck.
I turn around and see Evan storming out of the pub.
“What’s gotten into Evan?” Antonio says, eyeing me suspiciously.
“Maybe his company stock went down or something,” Priscilla mocks.
Antonio nudges my shoulder. “You good, sis?”
I nod. Realizing that my eyes are probably watery and red, I say, “Yeah, just missing mom today.”
Antonio pulls me into his side, and I rest my head on his shoulder. “Yeah. I miss her, too. But I’m sure she’s here. She’s always here looking over us.”
I sigh and stare at the door Evan walked out of.
Sorry mom, no snowstorm can save us now.
* * *
“Another round of shots!” I yell and the crowd cheers me on.
Look, I know that booze doesn’t make your problems go away, but it’s my birthday and I’ll numb my pain if I want to.
My dad and the older crowd left shortly after Evan, so that we could drink without being judged.
Nikki and Antonio are currently in a tug of war over me. Nikki wants to get me drunk, and Antonio wants me to hydrate. Nikki followed me into the bathroom after Evan left and I filled her in. She texted Justin immediately letting him know she would be staying with me tonight.
“Amelia, slow down. At this rate you’re staying at my place, I need to make sure you don’t die in your sleep,” Antonio mutters.
“She’s fine Antonio! Plus, she’ll have a two day hangover anyways now that she’s in her thirties, so let her live a little tonight,” Nikki says while pulling him to the bar to order another round of drinks.
Priscilla sees this as an opportunity to saunter over to me with a smug look on her face. “Birthday girl is throwing back the drinks tonight I see. Too bad you’ll be going home alone. And here I thought I might have caught a little something brewing between you and Evan.” She tsks. “But then again, our sweet little Amelia wouldn’t even know what to do with a man like Evan Cooper…”
“What the fuck is your problem, Priscilla. Like seriously? Who dipped a dildo in acid and decided to have it permanently wedged up your ass?” I sneer.
Priscilla’s jaw hits the ground while her eyes come dangerously close to popping out of their sockets.
