“Please don’t mind the slight mess in the corner. I’m working on a new project,” Evelyn said quickly as soon as the both of us reached the top of the stairs. I took a quick glimpse of her flustered face as she looked down to the ground with her cheeks turning rosy red. Instinctively, I took her hand lightly and gave it a tight squeeze. Her hand was colder than mine, as my hand wrapped around hers to make it warmer. She tilted her head up at me with her bright eyes and gave me a small smile. The ends of her lips tugged upwards, as if a little forced. I didn’t like it when she faked a smile when she was around me. I never wanted her to hide herself behind a wall when I was with her, but nonetheless, I smiled back for reassurance. I wanted her to feel more comfortable around me. All of her smiles made me feel warm on the inside and the outside, but I prefer the smiles that are genuine. They mean the most to me.

“I’ll be the one that makes the biggest mess in there,” I stated as a joke as she laughed. The sound rung throughout the hallway and sounded throughout my ears, and I couldn’t help but give out a small chuckle. Her laugh always caught me by surprise. They were even more contagious than her smile, and I always managed to laugh along with her. When I was around her, I didn’t have any problems being happy because her bubbly personality always made my bad moods disappear.

“I believe you,” was all she said as her giggles simmered down, and she reached for the doorknob, and suddenly it hit me like a deer in the headlights.

She was opening up to me on a whole different level. It wasn’t as though she let people into her life often. She had once told me that her bedroom was her sanctuary where she hardly trusted anyone in. This showed clearly in the uneasiness of her welcoming me into the room, but especially in the locks that she had on the other side of the door that greeted her as we walked in, and it seemed like an amazing feat to accomplish. I was one of the few people who were able to step into her world. However, the second she closed the door behind her, that world seemed to fall apart and shatter into thousands of pieces. It was the first time I had witnessed seeing her cry, but it didn’t come to me as a surprise. Something was troubling her the entire day. Strangely enough, I felt a small sense of relief come over me, but I wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to Evelyn. To be quite honest, the only female in my life to ever cry is my baby sister Chloe, who simply cried over every possible thing. I was pretty sure this was a different situation, and it came on too all of a sudden for me to react appropriately.

I walked over towards her and she motioned me to keep away. She was still looking down towards the floor, not daring to meet my gaze. I stepped back only slightly and stopped. The thing was, I wanted to respect her and her need for space, but I couldn’t just stand there and feel useless. She seemed so vulnerable and weak that I couldn’t just comply with her wishes of being left alone and untouched. No, I wanted to comfort her and wipe her tears away as much as I could. I had to do something to help her.

So instead of allowing her the extra space, I got closer to her and gently took a hold of her arm to pull her into me. While I hugged her tight, she took a deep breath and burrowed her head deep into my shoulder. Her arms went around my stomach, and her hands lightly gripped my shirt. She tried to hold back her tears, but instead of succeeding, she began to sob more drastically and I felt her grip tighten on my shirt, and I couldn’t help but pull her just a little closer to me. When I did so, I could smell the light scent of her shampoo run through her hair like a soft wind bustling through on a nice spring day, and I felt relaxed despite of what was actually going on.

Evelyn was allowing me a chance to get to know a different side of her that not many people get to see and understand. Over the years that I got to know her, she was always able to stand tall and strong without showing how fragile she could be for many people to see. On one side, I really admired that. I was never able to hide my true feelings. At least, I couldn’t quite hide them as well as Evelyn did. However, it was really difficult to have her open up to me, and that wasn’t something that I admired, but I felt relieved right now.

It was a big relief because I was able to see her showing this strong emotion that not many people had the opportunity to see. I liked seeing her be…Well… Human. Most of the time, I see a mask plastered on her face with a hint of frustration. I can see her trying to express herself without coming on too strong, and I can see her arguing with herself as she tries to hide the fact that she’s upset, but what I was never able to understand is why she couldn’t trust someone close to her in order for her to open up her feelings. Evelyn was always bottling up everything in order for everyone else to be happy, but she never gave other people a chance to make her as happy as she made them. It was a relief to know that she wasn’t always happy, because that’s how she carries herself most of the time. Even if she’s upset about something, she was always so calm. If I was put in the same situation, I would be impatient. Being calm would be the last thing on my mind. I looked up to Evelyn, knowing how strong she always is, but I’m grateful to see another side of her.

My voice rose with concern as I asked her what happened. “You can trust me. Did someone hurt you? Why don’t you have a seat…” I guided her to the edge of her bed where she sat down without any emotion in her eyes. She seemed to be somewhere else, but tears were still streaming down her face. I rushed to her bedside table to grab several tissues to hand to her. She took them gratefully and dabbed her eyes gingerly and then tried to blow her nose without making much noise.

I took her director’s chair that she had placed in the corner of the room and brought it to where she was sitting and sat down across from her. I gave her a couple minutes to calm down, but I couldn’t help but to stare at how pretty she looked, even if her face was tear-stained and red. Evelyn took a deep breath and finally looked up at me. Whatever she was going to tell me, I could tell that it really bothered her, so I didn’t want to push it and ask her what happened. I even felt bothered knowing that she wasn’t happy. I wanted to see her happy. I wanted to see her smile. I didn’t want to see her upset, because I feel it, too. It doesn’t feel that nice.

Evelyn sniffled and took another deep breath. “He cheated on me.”

It took a while for it to sink in, but I finally understood. He cheated on her. But why? Her boyfriend had cheated on her, but he was one of the luckiest people I know. I never did like him, and thought lower of him now than before. How in the world could he do that to such a wonderful girl? I wonder what he was doing now if he wasn’t trying to win her back. I can’t even imagine doing something that mean and heartless, but I hope that he’s trying to make amends for what he’s done to her. He is probably one of the dumbest people I’ve ever met.

“When did this happen?” I said after exhaling loudly. I needed to sound calm and reassuring for her. I couldn’t make it sound like I was angry, and I couldn’t make it seem like I wanted to punch Darren out.

“It was a couple of days ago…I… only know…because her brother… told me…I-I… He had sex with her, Oliver. How could he do that to me?” She screamed out. She didn’t want an answer particularly, and if she did, I wouldn’t even know what to tell her. Her lower lip was quivering and more tears were streaming down her face. My mind was going crazy, and I couldn’t focus on what was going on in front of me, and I could barely hear her. I was upset, and my hands were balled up into tight fists. All I could think about was his smug face and how he’s probably pleased with himself for leading Evelyn on like that. He was a cocky bastard from the start and didn’t deserve to be thought of as highly as Evelyn thought.

It was so tough for me to comprehend, because I thought that I was more deserving of his title, and I thought I could make her smile the way he makes her smile, but why did he win her heart, and why am I stuck in last place? I’m here picking up the pieces that are broken, while Darren gets to walk away without a care in the world because he couldn’t be bothered by it. I’m left to comfort Evelyn, and he doesn’t have the decency to tell her how much he screwed up and at least ask for her forgiveness. Why did it have to be him?

She’s going to run back to him, without a doubt in my mind, and I don’t have the slightest clue to make her choose differently- to make her see differently. The sunshine that I looked forward to seeing every day belongs to someone else, and it was not always like that. From the first time I saw Evelyn, she was a free spirit, but now she was tied down and broken, and I don’t know what to do. I felt helpless. What made Darren so much better than me?

If only I could change it all, if only I could have warned her. I could have made everything better for her. She could have avoided all of this hurt. Unfortunately, time does not work like that, and time never waits for anyone, and once an opportunity passes you by, the chances of making things go your way are slim, and all you can do is hold on and remember.