Chapter Twenty-one - Betrayed And Forgotten

Floccinaucinihilipilification:

(n.) The act of deciding that something is useless.

Chapter Twenty-One – Betrayed And Forgotten

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'Why are you carrying me again?' Evan asks me as he lays in my arms.

'Because you are wounded and I simply can't let anything else happen to you.' My words may sound funny to him and he probably thinks I'm just doing it to be funny, but there's a truth behind my words. Seeing him lying on the ground brings me back to the news articles and the heart-shattering stories about people getting bashed in the head for being "different".

'You're a charmer!' He says as he lets his body go limp in my arms and I smile at him as he dramatically puts his hand on his forehead.

I simply roll my eyes as I walk up to the front door and to my surprise it opens before I can even attempt to do anything. In front of me stands Charlotte and the second her eyes land on Evan she's fussing over him.

'Oh gosh, what happened to him?' She asked worriedly as she ushers us inside. I feel uncomfortable and scared she can somehow look straight through our act, but Evan needs tending to his injuries and Charlotte can help him with it.

'Nothing major.' Evan says as he looks at Charlotte while he's still hanging with his head upside down.

'Nothing major!' Charlotte screams at him.

'Your eye looks as if it will come rolling out of your head!' I try to stifle my laugh, but it seems impossible as I see the bewildered look on Evan's face as he brings his hand up to his eye.

'It's not that bad, right? Alexander tell me it's not bad.' Evan seems to say it more to convince himself than anything else, because there's a doubt in the tone of his voice.

'It's not that bad Evan.' I smile down at him, but he rolls his eyes as he realizes I am just repeating after him.

'Put him on the couch Alex.' Charlotte says as she rushes into the kitchen and Evan looks up at me with big eyes.

'Do as she says Alexander.' He says as he tries to act demanding, but fails miserably. Just for fun I pull my arms down and he lets out a loud shriek as he wraps his arms around my torso.

'Don't do that!' He whines and Charlotte screams from the kitchen to lay Evan down. Evan sneakily bats his eyelashes at me and puts his lip in a pout. And even though I know he doesn't mean it, it's almost impossible to ignore his please when he looks as cute as he does right now.

I carefully carry him towards the couch and put him down, making sure not to put too much pressure on the spots where it really hurts. And that's harder than I thought, because he's literally covered by bruises. Charlotte doesn't say a word as she walks into the living room with the red emergency case in her hand. And to my surprise Evan doesn't even flinch as she asks him to pull off his shirt. I, however,  need to take a deep breath to calm myself as I see his torso which is completely black and blue.

He genuinely seems relaxed, except from the fact that Charlotte is touching him. It's as if he doesn't care at all that those idiots kicked him, humiliated him by hitting his pride out. They failed, that is true, but the bruises and scars that will remain on his skin will remind him of it every time he will take a look at himself. And not only will that follow him, but I will feel guilty of the fact that I wasn't there to save him. If it wasn't for Cindy, I wouldn't even have known something was wrong with him.

How will I be able to stay up-to-date on Evan's well-being, while I have to pretend to be deeply in love with Charlotte. And eventually everything will get the best of me and of Charlotte. On one point she will want to have sex with me and genuinely feel that I love her. But I know I won't be able to handle the hands of another person on my body. Nobody but Evan will be able to get to me, not even Charlotte even though I have known her for the biggest part of my life.

A whimper of pain brings me out of my thoughts and I look down at Evan only to see a tear running down his cheek. It takes every ounce of self-control for me not to reach out and take his hands in mine. But Charlotte's here and I can't do it. I can't bring it out to her this way.

'Sorry Evan, it's necessary.' Charlotte says as she puts the wipe with alcohol to his cuts. I can't stop myself from running my hands through his wild lock, hoping it's soothing enough for him to hold on for a bit. Evan doesn't answer Charlotte, but somehow he finds himself giving her a small smile as a thanks.

I don't get how he's able to be so polite and "normal" even though he knows I am married to the woman who's tending his wounds. There's no such thing as envy for him, just disappointment. But he seems to get why this is a thing, even though it's hurting him.

For me it feels like it takes hours for Charlotte to finish and Evan's mortified cries make me more anxious as time goes on. Not once does he cry, but the sounds that leave him are pure pain. I want to take his pain from him, even if it'd mean that I'd have to suffer.

And now we're sitting on my bed, Evan's back resting against a bunch of pillows Charlotte had found. I don't know where she got them from, but Evan seems content and honestly that's all I want right now. His eyes are focused on yet another boring soap while he's greedily sucking down a bottle of water. Charlotte had gone out to run some errands, God knows what she actually was doing. She did explain it to me, but I was too transfixed on Evan to really pay attention to her. Over the last few minutes he had come closer to me so much that we're now pressed together. We haven't really said anything to each other, but I don't feel the need to. It is nice to have him with me and to know that even though I am married nothing's really changed between us.

'Would you change anything about this situation?' Evan asks me out of nowhere and I frown in confusion at his question.

'About what situation? If you mean you being crippled here, then yes obviously. Is that even a real question, of course I don't like see-' Evan cuts me off by speaking up.

'Of course I'm not talking about me being hurt. I'm talking about us being together. If it wouldn't have been such a taboo, would you have agreed with spending your life with me?' He asks me as he stares up at me from through his lashes. I shake my head a bit and for a second he seems hurt, until he sees the small smile on my face.

'Of course I would have! I hate having to lie to Charlotte and leaving you in the dark, but I don't know what to do about it. If I go for you that means I'll never see my family again. My business will lose at least 25 percent of its sales and that would mean I won't even be able to provide for us.'

Even though my answer should be upsetting him he smiles at me. It's as if the fact that I want it is all that really matters to him, not the fact that I won't be able to do it.

'I love you.' He whispers and I smile down at him

'I love you more.'

My head shoots up as I hear a broken sob from the bedroom door and my eyes widen as I see Charlotte standing there, a tray of food in her hands. Tears run down her cheeks and I can see her emotions trying to come out. I jump out of the bed and walk towards her, but her expression immediately changes. My brows furrow as I see the hatred flashing on her face. Never have I seen so much disgust and pain in one expression and I am taken aback when she starts screaming at me.

'For how long have you been seeing him?!' It's as if the words get stuck in my throat as I stare at her in disbelieve. As I fail to answer her she throws the plate with food towards me and it all hits me in the chest as I fail to step away in time. I can hear Evan gasp in shock from where he's still lying on the bed.

'For how long!? You are a sinner!' Her words hurt, even though I don't believe them. I have never seen Charlotte so enraged and to have those words thrown at me hurts. Simply because Charlotte does believe in those words and when she says them she means it.

'July last year.' I whisper and slowly the tears start rolling down my face, my body frozen. Charlotte starts shaking her head and a choked sob leaves her mouth. Slowly she slides down the door until she is seated on the ground her nails digging into her bended legs.

'You were with him when you asked me to marry you?' She manages to throw out the sentence without a stutter, but as soon as she questions it she breaks loose. It's as if the answer is there as soon as the words leave her and then she breaks down.

'I swear Charlotte I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't like you. But Evan was there and ..' I am not even able to finish my sentence as she stands up and plants her fist against my cheek. My head moves sideways, but I don't do anything to stop her as she throws every possible insult she knows at me. And then she just stops, out of nowhere, and walks towards the bed where Evan's sitting on the edge. Tears are streaming down his cheeks and he doesn't do anything as Charlotte walks towards him.

His eyes widen as she softly puts her hands on his cheeks until he's looking at her. And then she brings her lips towards his forehead, she gives him a small kiss and backs away.

'You better make him damn well happy.' She says and I look at her as if she's just grown two heads. She doesn't scream at him or tries to pull every last hair out of his head. Not a single piece of clothing is out of place as she walks away from him. And then she's in front of me and instead of screaming she looks down at her shoes.

'What God joins men must not separate.' She whispers sadly and I immediately know that she repeats the words that Father Joseph spoke out on our wedding day.

'But sometimes it just doesn't work.' With that she slowly pulls the ring from her finger and lays it in my hand. And it's only then that I break down. Charlotte knows about Evan and she just asked me for a divorce.

'Why did you lie? You swore to God that you loved me and would care for me for the rest of your life.' Charlotte asks me as she stares up at me.

'I will care for you the rest of my life Charlotte, my love is just meant for someone else.' She gives me a small smile before she turns around and walks out of the room, leaving me alone with my guilt.

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A/N: Not to let you worry, but there will only be 2 chapters left after this one...

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~Noortje