"Tre, you have to keep holding my hair up," I laugh at his failed attempts to keep my hair up away from my back.
I halfway turn away from the shower stream and look at him over my shoulder. Tre is behind me with one hand very loosely holding my hair and the other hand is still on the lower part of my back. First he was doing good holding my hair, then after about two minutes, he started rubbing circles on my back, moving higher and lower until I couldn't concentrate on trying to get some of my hair washed without getting my stitches wet.
"Sorry, you're distracting me." He glances down my whole body, not even trying to deny his penetrating looks and wandering hands.
"I'm just standing here. I'm not even doing anything."
"You just standing here is very distracting to me," He smirks.
I giggle and look down at his body. "I can tell."
He pulls me closer to him and I place my hands on his chest. "When I said you could help me shower, I thought you'd actually be helpful."
"I am helping," he smiles and I bring my hands up to the back of his neck, closing the space between us.
"You're not, but that's okay." I press my lips against his and he let's go of my hair and runs his hands down my back.
He backs us up to the tile wall, the water now running over neither of us. He runs his hand down to the back of my thighs and lifts me up. I gasp through our kiss and wrap my legs around his waist, his hands now resting below my butt to help me stay up.
"Don't get my stitches wet." I tell him in between kisses and he mumbles.
"The only thing that's getting really wet is you."
I let out a sigh as he kisses down my neck, lightly biting and sucking my skin. He eventually lowers me back down to my feet and kneels down, kissing my stomach first and then venturing down further to in-between my legs. He lifts my leg up to rest on the top of his shoulder and then makes me shudder once he swirls his tongue on my sensitive flesh. With one hand placed on the shower wall and the other gripping the back of his neck, my moans are drowned out by the running water.
Earlier, after Johnathan and Sylvia had left, Sam and Reina helped me finish packing my two bags to take to Tre's apartment. I'm glad I decided to stay with Tre because I did not want to stay in my dorm then with what had just happened. Even though Johnathan and Sylvia had already been gone, there is a negative energy that they always leave behind them. It's like they know they still want you to suffer, even when they're not there anymore. I didn't want to stay in a space with that toxic energy lingering over me for this next week when I'm supposed to be recovering properly. I could probably deal with it any other time, but not right now, not when I am not 100% feeling like myself. I need to recover in a space where I feel most comfortable and for me, that space is Tre.
When he picked me up, he instantly knew that something was wrong since he could read it all over my face. I can never hide anything from him because he reads people so well. He's so in tune to everything and everyone around him, it's almost like he has the ability to read minds or something. It's kind of ironic that he can easily read everyone else in the world, but he doesn't allow for anyone to read him. When I got in his car, he asked what had happened and I told him the oh so lovely conversation I had with the people who I share DNA with. To say he was surprised would be a lie. He wasn't surprised at all by their ridiculousness and was glad that he wasn't there to say or do something to them that he'd regret later. I'm glad he also wasn't there because I don't know if I would want to see him and Jonathan face to face, venomously spitting curses and who knows what else at each other.
Tre said he that he was proud of me for standing up to them and that I was very strong and it's their loss not mine.
"You deserve so much better." He told me and I agreed.
I do deserve better. I just wish I had realized that much earlier on. Things might have been so different then.
But I don't want to dwell on the past anymore. What's in the past should stay there. There is no reason to keep thinking back to the pain and belittling that I suffered with. I am learning and understanding more and trying to make sure that I don't make the same mistakes my "parents" made to me. The reason why we have history and learn about it is so that way we don't repeat the same mistakes and we can avoid a lot of problems that lead to unnecessary wars and pain. You learn history and you will remember it for the rest of your life, but you don't have to keep reminding yourself of what had happened. It'll always be with you, but you don't dwell on it. You just make sure that you become better than your predecessors.
Like Maya Angelou said, "I'll rise." No matter what is thrown at me, I will keep rising and being myself and making myself better. Like the caged bird sings of freedom, I will fly to my own tune and soar into the world that I am now free to see. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I almost feel like a different person because I am not worried anymore about what Johnathan and Sylvia think. For the first time in my life, I feel free and genuinely happy with how things have turned out.
On the car ride to Tre's apartment, I had made peace with my parents. I decided to not be bitter about it and to take this as a sign that I was never meant to work out with them. I was only supposed to have a limited time with them. I believe that everything happens for a reason and even though they were never good and loving parents to me, they in deliberately pushed me to become a stronger and more independent person who can stand on her own two feet and take the world on. For that, I am grateful and I am actually okay with not having everything else figured out. I always like to be in control of things, hence why I am so neat and overly organizing everything in my life, but I now feel at peace with the unknowns. I don't know how things will turn out, but I am just going to figure it out as I go along and enjoy being in the present moment.
When we got to Tre's apartment, he helped me with my bags and let me get settled in. He said he didn't want me to live out of my bags for the week so he told me that I could put some of my clothes in his closet where he made a little space for me.
"I know how much you don't like your clothes getting wrinkled," he said and I smiled that he had picked up on that.
He also said I could put some things in the bathroom, but I refused because I didn't want to impose on Trell's space too. Once I got some of my stuff mixed in with his, I felt like we had hit another milestone. Now our things are mixed together. My shoes are by the front door, my shirts are next to his, and my hairbrush is on his dresser near where he puts his wallet. I know it's only for the week, but I like having my things next to his. It's like our relationship is progressing more little by little.
I then told Tre that I wanted to go shower and I couldn't say no to his sly smirk when he asked if I would need any help in there. We hadn't ever been in the shower together so I didn't know if we would actually shower or have things lead elsewhere where it ends with my back against the tile wall. I now know it's the latter.
"I can't believe you did that." I scrunch dry my hair with a towel as I sit on the edge of his bed with another towel wrapped around my body.
"You almost waterboarded me! What was I supposed to do?" Tre says loudly and keeps drying off his torso.
I laugh and put my face in my hands to conceal my red cheeks. "I'm sorry. I couldn't help it."
Tre chuckles and tosses his towel in the hamper next to his dresser. "Next time, I'll make sure to not go as hard and fast. You almost suffocated me and ripped my neck off with your nails."
I laugh again and lay back on the bed, looking up at his half naked form with a towel wrapped around his waist.
"It was just too good." I mumble, still feeling the effects of what Tre had just done to me with his mouth. "I'll try not to dig my nails into you as hard."
"Hey," he smirks and comes over, placing his hands on the bed and leaning over me. "If I can keep having my face in-between your legs, I don't mind the claws you got on you."
I run my hands down his chest and smile. "Just don't bite me next time." I giggle and shake my head at the memory from five minutes ago of him biting me when I had accidentally clenched my legs too tight around his head.
"You know you liked it a little bit," he says sensually and playfully nips at my neck.
"I can neither confirm nor deny that statement."
Tre lifts his head off my neck and throws his head back and laughs loudly.
I smile and gently push him away so I can get up from the bed. We both stand up and get dressed into comfy clothes, which consists of sweatpants and Tre's t-shirts. I still always wear one of his t-shirts or hoodies whenever I am over here. I like that when I wear his clothes, they smell like him. It's a comforting scent for me, it's like he's always with me.
"I really hope my purse turns up soon," I think out loud, sitting on the bed combing out my hair gently so I don't touch my stitches. "I would prefer to not go through the hassle of getting a new license and card."
"You'd hope, but that's not always the case," Tre says, pulling his t-shirt down over his torso. "At least that stuff can be replaced." He pauses and looks at me. "You can't."
I smile slightly and nod. "I know. I'm okay and that's all that really matters."
Tre walks over to where I'm sitting cross-cross and kisses my forehead. "If something really bad had happened to you. I don't know what I would've done."
I look up at him. "Probably go after the person who did it."
He looks down and then slowly back up to me. "I'd tear this whole city apart looking for them."
I hold his serious gaze and goosebumps rise on my arms. His eyes have darken and I can feel the way his words pierce down into my soul. He means every word he said and I know that he really would destroy Detroit at all costs to find the person who hurt me. I have seen his eyes become dark with many emotions, but what is unexpected for me right now is seeing them darken for another reason. I have seen his eyes full of anger, sadness, and protectiveness, but I haven't seen what is now in his eyes. Wrath, revenge, I can't tell if it's one of them or both. What doesn't concern me is that he has this emotion running though him. Tre's very protective of the things that are important to him. What does concern me is how familiar this emotion looks to him, like it's normal for him to feel this way. It's a normal thought of him exacting revenge on anyone who would do him wrong. Anything goes and anything is necessary. Nothing's off limit.
The dark look covers his face as quickly as it goes, but I only needed to see one second of it to have it chill me.
Tre has never scared me before. He's never given me a reason to, but the look in his eyes, that scares me. I'm not scared for myself, I'm scared for whoever will be on the receiving end of that look.
For the rest of the evening, Tre and I don't say a lot to each other. Tre's mind seems to be occupied by something that he won't mention and I don't feel like talking much because I am so exhausted from everything that's happened in the past 20 hours. I had texted Sam and Reina earlier and told them that we could hang out tomorrow since I am too tired and not up for having other company right now.
I go to bed before Tre does. I leave him in the living room where we were laying down on the couch watching tv, but I don't think either one of us were really paying attention to it, our thoughts on other things we don't reveal to each other. I lay in bed for a couple of hours, staring out the window unable to quiet my thoughts so I can sleep. My body is exhausted, but my mind won't shut off. I'm just thinking a lot about Tre and the mystery that still surrounds him. I hear Tre moving around through the apartment and I eventually hear him and Trell talking. Their mumbled conversation seems like it lasts a long time, but around 1am, Tre comes in and lays down beside me. My back is to him so he doesn't know that I'm still awake. He puts his arm around my waist and pulls me a little closer to his warm body. I hear him sigh and then it's silent. I keep looking out the window at the moon that's hanging among the muddled stars and I'm not sure if Tre is actually asleep or still awake because he can't stop his heavy thoughts too. I want to turn over towards him, but I don't feel like moving my body. I don't know how long I stare outside for with my swirling thoughts before my mind eventually shuts off and I am able to fall into a restless sleep.
~*~
I sent emails to my professors explaining I wasn't able to come to class this week and Sam was getting the homework for me in our classes together. Staying with Tre this week has been nice. I feel bad that I am unable to go to class, but I am happy that I am able to recover in a safe space. Tre and Trell have both been very hospitable and helpful if I need something. My bruises have started to fade to a dark yellowish color and my cuts and scrapes healed up where you can't even tell they were there. My head doesn't hurt much anymore. I get headaches from time to time but it's nothing really painful, so I think my concussion has pretty much gone away. I feel a lot more like myself again.
While staying here, I have also been able to get to know Trell more now than I ever have been. He's a real sweetheart and I can see why Sam fell for him. When Tre is in class and it's just me and Trell in the apartment, he'll tell me stories of him and Tre as kids. There's more happy memories of them before Tre's mother passed away than afterwards. Trell said that one of his favorite memories of them as kids was at Tre's eighth birthday party. Tre had gotten a new bike that he was wanting for a while. Later on that day, they were riding around the local park. Trell didn't have a bike, but Tre let him stand up on the back pedestals and he rode them around the park with some of the other kids. Trell said they were smiling and laughing a lot and that was a really happy day where they didn't have to worry about anything besides being a kid. A year later that all changed for them. After Moira died, Trell doesn't remember any happy memories for him and Tre.
"I don't think there are any," Trell said when I asked him if there were any other times where they felt happy and like kids.
Trell also told me more about how him and Sam met and how he fell in love with her. He was just like Tre. Cold, closed off, but holding in a lot of emotions. He said he was hard to break though, but Sam didn't stop trying to know and understand him. Even when he pushed her away, she came back because she wanted him to know that someone cared about him.
"She showed me what love is and I was so scared to admit that I loved her," he told me on Wednesday afternoon. "I never thought I would have someone in my life that really cared and loved me for who I was. But Sam did and once I stopped feeling sorry for myself, I was able to love her and spend everyday showing her that I do."
His words resonated with me and it reminds me so much of how my relationship is with Tre. Sometimes I feel like I'm up against a brick wall with him, but with patience and persistence, I'll eventually be able to break through.
"Don't give up on him, Eva. I can see that he's already been changing a lot for you," he said. "In a good way, of course."
"I would never give up on him," I told him and I meant every word of it.
I knew from the beginning that it wasn't going to be an easy journey with Tre, but I wanted to do it because I wanted to know the man who nobody took the time to understand. The man behind the tough exterior and cocky facade. The man behind all of the smirks. The man who nobody truly knew. I fell in love with the bits of him that I'm getting to know and I don't want to stop now, not when I've gotten so deep in this and so in love with him.
Everyday I tell him that I love him. I don't just tell him, but I show him love in different ways. In the way I listen to him and the way I spend time understanding him and his thoughts. The way I am patient with him and give him time to become comfortable with opening up more. The way I smile at him and laugh with him. The way I touch him, softly and gently, showing him that love can be in simple terms. Simple moments.
Love can be complicated, but also simple. All Tre knows is complicatedness, so I'm trying to make him see that love can be simple. It doesn't have to hurt or be painful. It can be beautiful and gentle. What Tre and I have isn't complicated. Things in our lives may be complicated, but us together, two people who feel, that's simple. Two hearts, two souls who want each other, that's simple. Love can be simple if you allow yourself to fall freely. It was easy to fall in love with Tre. It was easy feeling these emotions. I know that Tre does love me. I can tell from his actions and looks, but he can't admit it yet. I hope that I am able to get through the wall around his heart where he can feel ready to admit to me and to himself that he loves me.
It's now Friday afternoon and I'm sitting in the living room typing up an assignment for my seminar class that's due on Monday. Since I have a lot of time on my hands, I've been getting my work done early like usual and I have been finding other things to do when I'm by myself here. Instead of watching tv in my spare time, I've been reading a lot more. Sometimes I can finish an entire novel in a day, so I have gone through three books so far and am about to finish another one. Once I finish a book, if it's one that Tre knows, we'll discuss it. I always like hearing his own interpretations of books because he picks up on things that I never noticed. I feel like I learn a lot from him when we dissect books, especially ones that we're passionate about. We can be talking about one book for hours and hours. Sometimes in the evening, if we're alone, we'll spend the whole evening talking through books. And we only talk about this when we're alone. It's like this is only our private conversations that nobody else get to hear. They're only reserved for me and him.
Tre walks in the apartment just as I'm finishing up typing my assignment.
"Hey Babe," he says, placing his backpack on the kitchen counter.
"Hi." I look up from my laptop and he kisses me and then sits down next to me.
"Today Garrett was asking me how you were doing and he said he hoped you were feeling better."
I smile. "That's nice of him. What'd you tell him?"
"I told him you were feeling better and you'll be back in class on Monday."
"I honestly can't wait to get back to class. I hate missing class. And I think I get my stitches out tomorrow too." I close my laptop after submitting my assignment and set it on the coffee table.
"They've looked better the last few days," he says and twirls a piece of my hair around his finger.
"I also can't wait to fully wash my hair now." I internally cringe at how my hair has been this week since I'm not able to completely wash it.
"I don't think I've been much help for you."
I chuckle. "When it comes to showering, no. But you've been very helpful overall." I grab his hand. "Thank you for letting me stay here with you this week."
He kisses the top of my hand. "Of course. I'm glad you've been here. I felt more comfortable having you stay here than in your dorm."
I lay my head on his shoulder and sigh. "I've liked being here too. I kind of don't want to leave."
We both smile and chuckle.
"You know you can come here whenever you want," He says, squeezing my hand.
"I might leave a few things here," I tell him.
"I don't mind."
My phone vibrates on the coffee table. I pick it up and open the text message.
"Sam and Reina are going to come over tonight," I tell him after reading Sam's message.
"Okay. Me and Trell are going to chill with some of the bros tonight anyways so you girls will have the apartment to yourselves." He stands up and goes to the kitchen.
"Will you be gone all night?" I ask, standing up and stretching my arms above my head.
"I don't think so. When he gets out of class at 4 we're gonna head out." He gets a water bottle from the fridge and sets it on the counter.
"Okay." I walk to where he is in the kitchen. "You guys have a good night."
"You girls have fun but not too much fun," he smirks. "Save that for me."
I laugh and wrap my arms around him. "If you get back in time before I go to sleep."
I stand on my tiptoes to kiss him and he lightly smacks my butt with both of his hands.
"We got plans later tonight then," He says as we pull away from each other.
Tre and Trell leave after 4, just like Tre said, and I put away my school things that were sitting on the coffee table so they're out of the way for tonight. I change out of my sweats and put on some leggings and a jumper sweater. As I'm walking back into the living room, there's a knock on the door. I walk over to the door and open it, revealing Sam and Reina.
"What's up girl?" Sam says, holding a paper bag in her hands.
"Hey, come on in."
"We brought something for tonight," Sam announces as we go into the kitchen.
"What did you get?"
She reaches into the paper bag and takes out a large glass bottle.
"Some really good Moscato! This is like the best wine I've ever had." She sets the bottle on the counter and smiles.
"Wine and takeout tonight?" Reina asks, going to one of the cupboards and taking out three wine glasses.
"Hell yeah." Sam gets out the corkscrew and uncorks the bottle.
"I shouldn't drink that much," I tell them, leaning my elbows on the counter. "I have to get my stitches out tomorrow."
"Oh come on," Reina says. "A couple drinks won't hurt anything."
"Exactly. You're just getting stitches out," Sam giggles. "You're not getting anything else checked."
"And were staying in the apartment all evening so we'll all be safe."
I look at my two friends staring at me and I shrug. "Okay fine. You convinced me."
They giggle to each other and then Sam starts pouring the wine while Reina calls for Chinese takeout.
"I know I've said this before but thank you guys for helping me this week," I tell them both once Reina gets off the phone.
"Of course!" Reina says. "That's what friends do."
"Here's to having the best friends anyone can ask for." Sam lifts her glass first and Reina and I follow suit. We all clink our glasses together and start laughing and joking around like usual.
Sam puts on music from the Bluetooth speaker in the living room and we spend the evening eating Chinese takeout, drinking wine, and talking about whatever comes to mind. The bottle Sam had gotten was pretty big so I don't know how many glasses I had before I started to feel my head go fuzzy. I have only gotten drunk one time and it was last month. We were leaving the party and I threw up right when we got outside the house where the party was. Tre was holding my hair back as I was hunched over vomiting and the next morning I woke up feeling so hungover. I have not drank much since then, but I've gotten a few buzzes when I sip on some drinks if we're at parties.
"The room looks all fuzzy," I say but I don't know if my speech is slurred or if I'm just talking really slow. "How many classes have we had?"
"I've had one more than you," Sam hiccups and we all bust out laughing.
"We're almost done with the bottle." Reina shakily holds up the bottle that now only has a little bit left in it.
"Wow," I mumble and lick my lips. My mouth has started to go numb and that's how I know that I am getting drunk. Or I'm there already. I don't drink enough times to know what the line is between buzzed and drink.
"The ceiling is spinning in circles," Reina says from where she's laying down on her back on the floor.
"This was fun," Sam slurs from beside me where we're sitting on the couch and giggles.
I don't know what is so funny but we all start laughing again. Sam eventually rolls over and falls to the floor and I sit up, clutching my sides when they start hurting from all of the laughing. We all are dying of laughter, when the front door opens. There's some footsteps and then Trell and Tre come in the room.
"What's happening?" Trell asks once we eventually stop laughing.
"Hey baby," Sam slurs and giggles.
He smirks and shakes his head, walking over to where she is sitting on the floor.
I look at Tre, who slightly smiles at me, and I shakily get up from the couch and walk over to him.
"Hi," I say and then stumble over my feet.
"You look like you guys had fun." He holds his arm out to steady me and I giggle
"We had fun."
"That's good."
"What did you guys do?" I ask, looking at him in my blurry vision.
"I um," he starts and that's when I realize that he has one arm behind his back. "I found your purse."
He takes his arm out from behind his back and lifts my purse up.
"You found it?" I gasp loudly and try to grab my bag, but before I do, I look at his hand. "Oh my god what happened to your hand?"
I quickly grab his hand, the purse falling to the floor, and I bring his hand up close to my face, looking closely at his knuckles that are bruised and have small cuts on them. I lightly run my fingers over them but Tre pulls his hand back.
"I'm fine. It's nothing."
"But Tre-"
"Leave it, Eva," he says dismissively and picks my purse up off the floor. "It's no big deal."
I grab my bag from him and sigh, looking up at his face. "I don't like it when you don't tell me things."
"I'll tell you tomorrow when you're not inebriated."
I pout and stomp my foot like a child. "No fair. You can tell me now. I won't be mad at you."
He chuckles and kisses my forehead. "Come on, let's get your drunk self to bed."
"Hey, we're supposed to have plans tonight, remember?" I say as he leads me out of the room and to his bedroom.
"Oh I remember, but can you keep up though?"
I lift my head off from his shoulder. "I can keep up." I hiccup and giggle. "As soon as the room stops spinning."
He shakes his head at my words, saying goodnight to the others still in in the living room, and helps me to his room.
I plop down on his bed and stare at the ceiling, giggling to myself because I have no idea why.
"What am I going to do with you, Evangeline?" He softly laughs and sits next to me.
"I don't know, but you love me anyways."
I hear him mumble something under his breath but I can't hear what he says, even if I wasn't drunk, I still don't think I'd hear what he had said to himself.
"I feel like I'm laying on a waterbed," I mumble and turn over on my side. "Or a trampoline. Trampolines are fun. I wish I had a trampoline."
Tre chuckles at my drunk words and I giggle too. I close my eyes while still mumbling on about trampolines and water beds until I feel my eyelids close, making me forget about everything that I had wanted to ask Tre about.
So this week I had asked some of you readers about chapter lengths and most of you guys said you preferred more longer chapters, so I will try to make them a little bit longer like this one. I also went back and changed the age that Tre was when his mother died. I originally said Tre was 13, but I wanted to make him younger so I changed him to be 8 at her death. I have so much coming up in this story so be ready!