6

The three days that followed made me feel better. Ryan didn't find much of a problem with the Kai thing, considering I was drunk. Stefan and Caroline explained to him the glass thing. The last few years I spent in Mystic Falls were really hard on me. Even though I was fine, I needed a release. I didn't want to use substances or people. So I used myself. It helped me until it didn't. That was when Stefan found me in my bedroom. I had cut too deep. It was two weeks before graduation.

I wiped at the tear that rolled down my cheek.

"Hey."

I looked up from the floor to see Stefan. "Hey," I responded.

He walked over and sat next to me in the window seat. "How do you feel?"

I looked at the floor. "Fine. Better."

"Good."

"Yeah..." I looked at him. "How's Bonnie?"

He looked at the door. "She's okay. Since Kai's missing, though, she's paranoid." He looked at me. "Which is understandable."

"Does she know?"

He nodded hesitantly. "Caroline told her. She's not mad at you. She feels bad."

I turned toward him. "I don't want that. I don't want people to feel bad for me."

He put his hand on mine. "Okay. I'll let her know." He nodded.

I breathed out slowly. "I'm sorry."

He furrowed his brows. "Sorry?"

"For acting the way I do towards you. I've been intolerable, but somehow, you've managed to find a way to twist it into something good. For that, I'm sorry."

He tilted his head, "Don't apologize."

I nodded once. "Okay."

He stared into my eyes. He didn't speak for a minute. Neither did I. His hand covered mine completely. His gaze moved to my lips. "I should probably get going." He looked into my eyes again.

"Okay," I said softly.

"I'll see you later."

I nodded once. He stood up and walked out of my room. I sat alone for a few minutes before Ryan came in. He stopped in the middle of the room. I got up and walked to him. I wrapped my arms around his torso, resting my cheek against his chest. He hugged me back, his hands resting on my back.

-

I finished the last sentence of the chapter before glancing over at Ryan's phone that was vibrating on the nightstand. I closed the book and then sat it in front of me on the bed. I reached over and grabbed his phone. The name on the screen sparked my interest. Ana. She always tagged along when we went to parties. She always ended up having sex with him after we got back to the dorm.

I put the phone to my ear after answering. "Hello?"

There was silence for a moment, and then she hung up. I pulled the phone away from my face.

Ryan walked through the bedroom door. I looked up at him. "Ana called."

He took his phone from my hand quickly and looked at the screen. "And you answered?!"

I furrowed my brows. "Why is that a problem?"

He looked at me, "Because it's my phone, Evelyn!"

"It was just Ana."

"That's not the point!"

"What's your point then!?"

"That could've been an important call!"

"What the hell would be so important with her?! Your next hookup?!" I moved off of the bed and turned to face him.

"It's not like that!"

"It seems like it. You didn't want me to answer a call from her. Besides, she didn't even say anything to me. She hung up after I said hey."

He still seemed mad. "The conversations I have with people are private!"

"I wasn't going through your messages! You're overreacting. All I did was answer your fucking phone. If I knew you were going to be so whiny about it, I would've just let it ring."

"That's what you should've done in the first place!"

"Stop yelling!"

"No!" I walked toward the door. He grabbed my arm and turned me to face him. His hand held me tightly, surely leaving bruises on my skin. "We're not done."

"I am."

He let go of my arm and stepped back. "This conversation isn't over."

"This isn't a conversation. It's an argument."

He scoffed. "Is this how it's going to be?"

I furrowed my brows, "It's only like this because you're being an asshole."

"You answered my phone! How else am I supposed to react!?"

"First of all, you're overreacting! And second, don't yell at me for it! You wouldn't be this defensive if you weren't hiding something from me!"

"So now I'm hiding things from you?"

"Yes! Why else wouldn't you want me to talk to a girl in your phone?"

"Because it's my phone! You're just being insecure!"

I stepped back and put my hands up. "No. I'm not doing this." I shook my head and put my arms back at my sides. "Even if I am being insecure, which I'm not, it would be warranted. Do you know how many women I've seen walk out of your bedroom? Don't pin your insecurities on me. Find a new argument or get the hell over it."

He stared at me for a moment. His breathing slowed. He sighed with finality and looked to the side. "You're right." He looked at me. "I overreacted." He took a step closer. "I'm sorry." He grabbed my hands and pulled them to his chest as he stared down into my eyes. "I'm not doing anything with Ana. We're just friends. She's been going through a lot, and she needed someone. I didn't want her to feel alone. I'm not hiding things from you; I just didn't know how to tell you." He moved his hands to the sides of my face after pressing my hands to his chest. "Can we move on?"

"Fine."

He nodded once, "Thank you."

He leaned down and kissed me softly. He stepped closer, closing the distance between our bodies. He dropped his right hand to my waist, sliding it to my back. I moved my hands to his shoulders. He slid his hand to my hair, tilting my head back. He smiled against my lips then pulled his head back.

We spent the rest of the night watching movies on the couch. Technically not watching them, but we could hear them. Caroline is with Bonnie and my mom is asleep in her room.

I feel his hand slide between our bodies, traveling closer to my waistband. I moved my hand to his and pulled away from the kiss, which isn't easy considering he's on top of me.

He lifted his head. "What?"

"We could get caught." I looked into his eyes. I've been making a lot of excuses for us not to have sex and he's respected them, but he seemed to want to take it further every time we're within two feet of each other.

He sighed and moved his hand to the couch, lifting further off of me. "Then let's go to your room.

I furrowed my brows and lifted up on my elbows. "No."

He tilted his head. "Evelyn, I feel like you just don't want to have sex. Ever."

I closed my eyes. "We're in a relationship." I opened my eyes. "A committed relationship. Since you're not familiar with the contents of one, it means that we don't just have sex all the time. We have intellectual conversations and sappy moments." He sat up and moved further from me. I sat up, sitting crisscross. "Are you mad?"

He looked at me. "I'm frustrated."

I looked to the side and sighed. "I get that." I looked at him, "But I'm not just going to sleep with you because you want to have sex."

"Fine. It's fine. I can wait."

I put my hands on my knees. "If not then we can't be together."

He put his hand on mine. "It's fine, Evelyn." He shook his head, "We can just watch the movie."

I stared at him, unsure of what to say. He turned his attention to the screen. He seems angry but fighting with him is annoying. I turned my attention to the movie.

-

I handed the rolling pin to Caroline as I sat back down in my seat. Ryan's hand found its way to my thigh, resting where it had been before I got up. I looked at him. Two days have passed since our moment on the couch. It feels like I'm handling a bomb that could go off at any minute. He's a very sexually driven person, and when sex is taken from him, he ends up lashing out. Not physically. I think.

I looked at his phone as it lit up with a text. I read Ana's name. He grabbed his phone and pulled his hand off of me. I looked at his face as he texted her. I respected his privacy. If I didn't, I would probably need to murder the bitch. They've been messaging back and forth unfortunately. Of course, I believe she's going through something, but I also know she wouldn't text anyone else this much. I watched him put his phone back down.

Thankfully, Caroline and Elena are engaged in a conversation, or they would notice something's off.

He moved his hand back to my thigh, squeezing it gently. His eyes found mine. He gave me a small smile. I didn't try to reciprocate. I looked at his phone as it went off again. Ana. He reached forward and turned his phone over. I felt sick. I didn't bother looking at him again. I pushed his hand off of me and crossed my arms over my stomach. I stared at the kitchen table.

After a few minutes, he grabbed his phone and responded. He didn't put it back on the table.

-

Four days ago, everything was fine. He's distant now. I've tried to ignore it and I've tried to bring it up. He either changes the subject or turns it into an argument about me not trusting him. I've been walking on eggshells for three days now.

I finished unloading the dishwasher and closed it. I turned as he walked in.

"I need to talk to you about something."

"Are you finally going to tell me why you're acting like a dick?"

He sighed and stepped closer. "You're right, I have been acting like a dick, but I have a valid reason to." I rolled my eyes and started to walk past him. He grabbed my arm and turned me to face him. "Seriously, Evelyn. I need to talk to you."

I could hear my phone ringing in the living room.

I looked at the door, then at Ryan. "I have to answer that."

He sighed and let go of me. I walked into the living room and picked up my phone.

"Hello?"

"Is this Evelyn Forbes?"

"Yes." Ryan was walking toward me.

"Hello, Evelyn. I'm calling from Mystic Falls Hospital. About an hour ago your mother, Elizabeth Forbes, came in." My head felt light, and my ears were ringing. "We tried to contact your sister, Caroline Forbes, but there was no response. Do you know where she might be?"

I felt tears in my eyes. "I-I don't know. Is my mom okay?"

"She's stable." She paused. "Evelyn, is there any way you could come in?"

"Of course." I breathed out shakily. "I'll be there soon."

"Okay. Thank you. Goodbye, Evelyn."

I pulled my phone away from my face and a tear rolled down my cheek. I ended the call.

"What's wrong?"

I wiped my cheek and looked up at Ryan. "I need to go to the hospital."

He stepped closer, "Okay. Let's go." He reached for my hand.

I put mine in his and walked closer.

-

I tried to call Caroline on the way. She didn't answer the ten calls. I sent messages but they didn't even deliver to Caroline. The only other person I messaged was Stefan. Ryan walked beside me as we walked to the room.

He was holding my hand. I felt my heart sink seeing her lay there. The machine was beeping steadily, and she was breathing slowly. There was an iv draining fluid into her and chords connected to her heart. The blanket was pulled up to her waist. The tears in my eyes were barely staying behind my eyelashes. I let go of Ryan's hand as I walked closer. I stared at her, wishing she would open her eyes, so I know she's okay.

"Ms. Forbes."

I turned to see the doctor. She was holding a clipboard. I wiped the tear that rolled down my cheek. "Evelyn."

She nodded once. "Evelyn." She walked closer. "I need you to answer a few questions for me, if that's okay?"

I crossed my arms. "It's fine."

She pulled her clipboard away from her chest. "Have you noticed if your mother has been fatigued or sleeping more often?"

"Yeah, actually. She goes to bed half an hour after she gets home most of the time and she sleeps in more."

She wrote something down. "Considering we found the cancer so late, these symptoms-"

"Cancer?" I whispered.

She looked up. There was a fearful look on her face. "You did know, didn't you?"

I gasped and looked back at her. I looked at the doctor again. "What- What cancer?"

"A few weeks ago, we discovered an inoperable tumor in her brain. There's nothing we can do."

I felt like I couldn't breathe. "So, she- she's dying?"

She nodded slowly. "I'm sorry, Evelyn."

I struggled to keep myself standing.

"I'll give you a minute." She walked out of the room, pulling the door shut behind her.

Ryan rushed over, catching me before I collapsed to the floor. He held me tightly. I cried into his chest.

Why wouldn't she tell me? Did anyone else know? Is she going to die?