Chapter 108 - This Is Not Goodbye

Saying goodbye was even harder than Evan had imagined. Even though Riley had promised to keep in touch and Sam had given him his number, they were still far apart. On top of that, Evan had to come up with a convincing excuse for why he should go to New York again, since Riley couldn't go back to North Hallson under any circumstances, and he knew it wouldn't be easy.

Just when he thought his relationship with his parents was finally improving, this realisation put another invisible wall between them. It made him all the more reluctant to go home.

"It's going to be okay. We can text, we can call, and you'll have summer break soon," were Riley's words of encouragement when he met him that morning. Even though they were leaving New York early, Riley had decided to say goodbye to him outside the hotel and Evan almost cried when he saw him there.

He almost replied that he wished he could come and see him, but luckily he stopped himself. It wasn't Riley's fault that he wasn't welcome in the place where he grew up. "I'll miss you anyway."

"I'll miss you too," Riley replied in the same way, pulling him into a hug. "But we'll never be apart again. I promise." His tone was firm, as was the hug in which he held his cousin, and so Evan decided to trust him completely.

"Call me whenever you want, okay? Whenever you want to help with homework, or complain about something, or just talk about the weather. I'll listen to anything," Riley told him as they pulled apart. He was smiling through his tears and Evan was in the same boat.

"Okay," he promised. "The same goes for you." He rubbed his sleeve over his eyes, though it was useless as they were wet with tears again in a second.

"There's one more thing." Riley suddenly looked nervous, and Evan's face scrunched up in confusion. "I don't want to upset you any more, but I think it's important to say this." He took a deep breath, determination shining in his eyes. "If your parents find out about you and Ryan and it doesn't end well, you're always welcome to stay with me. Both of you."

Evan's attempt to hold back tears at his words failed. He stifled a sob and gave his cousin a grateful smile. "Thank you. I love you."

"I love you too." It was obvious that Riley hadn't expected his sudden confession and it made him emotional. "Always." Then he laughed, although tears were also streaming down his cheeks. "You are my favourite cousin after all."

"We have to stop saying that like we have any other ones," Evan remarked amusedly and Riley laughed.

"Now you have a cousin-in-law," Riley argued with a smile. Then he cocked his head in amusement as a new realisation dawned on him. "Actually, we both do."

"Right," Evan laughed. "Hopefully we'll be able to introduce them soon."

"It'll be sooner than you think," Riley immediately assured him.

"You said the same thing about me finally learning how to skate," Evan reminded him with a raised eyebrow. To this day, he was afraid to get back on his skates because every time he tried, he would fall and hurt himself. Also, he still hasn't figured out how to use the brakes on those killer tools.

"The exception proves the rule," Riley assured him.

"I'll miss you," he repeated, this time with more acceptance in his voice.

"I'll miss you too," Riley told him in the same soft tone. "One more hug?" He opened his arms and Evan didn't hesitate to slip into them.

Looking over his shoulder, he realised that his classmates were starting to leave the building, so they had their final minutes together.

"My classmates are here." He pointed this out to his cousin and reluctantly pulled away from him.

"I guess our time is over." Although Riley was smiling, there was sadness in his eyes. "I should probably make the most of these last seconds, huh?" He laughed, and it was audible that he was holding back tears.

"Riley," Evan addressed him, but Riley held up a hand, indicating that he should wait a moment and let him speak.

"I need you to know this. Our family has never been particularly supportive or understanding of interests other than those associated with the pack, but that doesn't mean they're bad, or that there's anything wrong with you. I don't know if they tell you enough, but I want you to hear it from me too." Evan was definitely not prepared for what he said next. "I'm proud of you. I'm proud that you've found someone you love. That you've made great friends. I'm proud that you're pursuing your art and that you're not afraid to follow your dreams. I'm so... so proud of the person you've become." His voice cracked at the end.

"If you're trying to see how much I can cry in a day, you're succeeding," Evan assured him between sobs.

Riley chuckled and quickly started to wipe away his tears when he heard quick footsteps near them. Evan did the same when he saw his friends approaching.

"I guess this is goodbye," Evan said with a sad smile.

"Just for now," Riley comforted him. "You know, if you miss me too much, just look up at the sky at night..." Before he could say more, Evan interrupted and finished for him. "And look for the Stars of the Watchman Wolf. I know."

"You remember." Riley seemed touched that his cousin remembered something he'd made up so many years ago.

"Of course I do."

"Riley!" Angie ran over to them and Riley automatically opened his arms to hug her.

"Angie! I'm going to miss you." In her case, he said it a little more cheerfully than when he'd said goodbye to Evan.

"I'll miss you too." She pulled away from him and her big smile faded to a real one, full of mixed emotions.

"Look after Evan for me. I know you're the person to trust with that task," Riley told her.

"I'm the best at that." She made a smug face.

"No doubt," he assured her.

"I want all the students together! Do you hear me? All in one place!" Mrs Simons began to shout and give instructions. A sign that their time together was truly over.

"Come here, you two. One last time." Riley waved his arms, summoning them for one last quick hug. Of course, they immediately complied, each snuggling into one of his sides.

"Take care of yourselves. If you need anything, you know where to find me," he told them before releasing them and urging them to join their group of classmates.

"Bye, Riley."

"Bye, Evan."

And just like that, Evan was on his way home.

He spent the next few hours on the bus thinking. He managed to fall asleep for a while, but his mind was too busy to relax completely. Angie, on the other hand, slept most of the ride, and when she woke up, the corners of Evan's mouth twitched in amusement as he saw the few strands of hair that had escaped from her braid sticking to the drool on her chin.

"What?" She asked, frowning.

Evan just shook his head and turned back to the window. Glancing sideways, he saw a confused Angie pull her phone out of her pocket and open the front camera. The moment she realised what her best friend was laughing at, he felt her fist on his shoulder.

The rest of the journey was uneventful, and the only distraction came when he texted his parents an hour before arriving in Marwell and discovered that they couldn't pick him up. They apologised and told him to get a lift home with Angie, but he had a better idea.

As sad as he was to leave Riley, as soon as he stepped off the bus and saw the familiar cousins, he couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face.

He jogged over to them, weighted down by the travel bag on his shoulder. Ryan automatically opened his arms and just in front of him, Evan dropped the bag to the ground so he could give him a big hug.

With Angie's parents nearby, Ryan didn't kiss him and after a moment's thought, neither did Evan. Even though he didn't care if his parents found out, he didn't want to deal with it on his first day back home.

Instead of worrying about it, he walked over to the other Saunders and pulled him into a hug. Surprisingly, Michael didn't protest and even hugged him back.

"I missed you too," Evan said over his shoulder and heard Michael scoff. The fact that he was hugging him, however, proved more than his annoyed sound.

That was not Michael's only hug that day, though. The moment Evan let go, Angie took his place and pulled him close.

"Princess Dumbass." Evan heard Michael mumble into her shoulder and instead of hitting him as Evan expected, she mumbled back. "Shut up, idiot."

Evan glanced around to see where her parents were. When he spotted them nearby, he waved to them and they waved back.

"Just wait till we get in the car," Ryan assured him as if reading his mind and Evan turned to him with a big smile. But before he could speak to him, he was grabbed by Angie, who went from one hug to another.

"I missed you. Say hello to Mama Olivia for me."

Michael rolled his eyes at her words, but didn't react further.

"I have to go. My parents are waiting for me." She said a quick goodbye, squeezing Evan's shoulder as she walked past him and ran to her parents' car where they were waiting.

The three of them watched as she got into the car, and as soon as their Honda started to leave, Evan quickly shifted his attention to his mate. He didn't hesitate a second before pressing his lips to his and all that went through his mind was fuckin' finally.