Hatred With Benefits

E I G H T Y - T W O

EVA.

"Hey, why did you want me to come meet you here?" I call out to Aliya as I stroll toward her and she

smiles when our eyes meet. "Hey, you. Why are you dressed that way?" She asks when I stop in front

of her.

"Because it's cold, Lia. Why didn't you want to come in?" I ask her my previous question and she

throws me a wink before she steps to the side, revealing a new presence to me. My furrowed brows

drop when my eyes catch Josh's gaze, along with Sage by his side.

"Um... Hi, guys. What are you two doing here?" I ask awkwardly as they move forward and Sage is the

first to speak, "We were worried about you. Since you and your boyfriend decided to disappear without

notice, we thought we'd come to you, if you wouldn't come to us. This guy here especially refused to

stop disturbing me about you. "

I let out a small laugh. "Sorry about that. The last time we saw, you— " Sage doesn't let me finish my

words before she closes the gap between us and wraps her arms around me, her head resting on my

shoulder. "I know. It was wrong to have ignored you, but I had a little bit of something going on too. "

"I understand. You don't have to apologize for that. " I assure her, giving her back a caress before she

withdraws from the hug with a small smile on her face. Her hands move to my face and she cups my

cheeks, "How are you doing?" Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

"Fine. I'm good. " I tell her and she narrows her eyes, "Are you sure about that?"

"A hundred percent. " I beam and she nods, giving my shoulder a rub before she steps back for me to

come to face with Josh.

His eyes roam across my body before they settle on mine and he sighs as he steps before me. "The

Eva Carson. " He jokes and I respond with, "The Josh... Oh wait, I just realized I never got your last

name. "

"You're still as funny as ever, angel. " He throws me a smile before he engulfs me in a hug and I return

his embrace, my voice muffled against his chest as I say, "When have I ever not?"

He pulls back but keeps his hands around me as he speaks, "When I got back here, I thought I'd be

seeing a bit of this face around, and then I got worried when I saw none. "

"I didn't think you care about me enough to be worried about my absence. " I tease him and he shakes

his head, letting his hands fall off me. "I care about you enough to check in. "

"Thank you. Truly, the both of you. This means a lot. " I say, looking between Sage and him and they

both hum before Josh opens his mouth, "You don't look like you've been enjoying your stay at home. "

"I can honestly tell you that it isn't as fun as I thought. " I answer and he laughs, the sound swimming

around us before I excuse myself to take Aliya to the side.

"Are you guys fine now?" I mumble silently, and she shakes her head. "She's only here because of you;

not me. "

"Are you sure about that?" I raise a brow and she nods, a sad smile covering her face as she says,

"There's someone new. "

"Oh, " I let out, having no other immediate words to the information. "I don't know what to say, Aliya. "

"Say nothing, " she says as she meets my eyes. "I'm glad she's moving on like I want her to. "

"Are you truly happy about that?" I question, lifting one hand to her shoulder and she stares at the hand

before she speaks again, "I am, babe. Trust me. There's no better way than this. By the way, I almost

forgot this with me. " She takes her hand to her pocket and brings out a small piece of paper.

Is that— is that what I think it is?

Aliya confirms my thoughts when she says, "I saw this at the apartment, and thought it was important

so I took it with me, but I forgot to give you earlier. "

"This–" my voice comes out small as I lift my head to her. "Was with you?"

"Yes. It seems important, so I—"

"And you didn't think to give me this immediately you found it, Aliya?" I raise a brow, my voice turning

harsh and she slowly drops her hand. "I couldn't. You weren't in the right state of mind. "

"And you couldn't leave it with me? Back at my place? My room? Those skipped your mind too?"

"No, I—" she starts to say, then pauses. Angling her head to the side, she says, "Wait, are you mad at

me for this?"

"Damn right I'm mad at you!" I snap, mumbling curses under my breath as I pace back and forth before

her. "You had the fucking paper, and you had the fucking time to show me, or leave it with me but you

didn't. "

"Babe, I had it in my pocket and forgot all about it because I was worried about you. I didn't think it was

needed this much. "

"It isn't about the fact that it was needed. It's the fact that you forgot about it. You said you thought it

was important, and yet it skipped your mind?" I stop pacing across and Aliya lets out a sigh, "Please,

Eva. It's just a fucking piece of paper, and if it were that important to you; you would have kept it by

your side. I thought you'd be grateful that I found it for you, but you're being this way?"

"Did you read it?" I ask her, ignoring her words and when she keeps mute for a while, I take another

step forward till our faces are only inches away. "Open your damn mouth, Lia! Did you read it?"

"Only by the first line. " She finally answers, and everything suddenly makes me angry; Emerson

showing up again after days, his explanation that only makes me hurt the more, the words I said to him

and Aliya showing up with the damn paper only now.

"So you knew what's in it?" Once again, my best friend decides to remain mute. "Answer my fucking

question, Aliya!"

"Stop raising your fucking voice at me, Eva! I found the fucking paper and how else was I supposed to

know it's important if I didn't read it? Yes, I know what's in it and you honestly can't fucking blame me

for forgetting all about it just because I was stuck with taking care of you!"

She drops her head, slapping her forehead before she says. "I'm so sorry, Evie. I didn't mean to say

those words. I just—"

"I gave you a choice, Aliya. You didn't have to be stuck with taking care of me; you chose to be stuck. "

I cut her off and she nods, "I know that, Eva and I did that because I care about you and I— I'm so

fucking sorry I said that. I was never stuck. I just..."

I don't let her finish her words before I shift my gaze to Josh and Sage, who stands a few steps away

from us with bewildered eyes.

"Thank you for checking up on me, guys but I'm afraid I'll have to leave now. I'll see you guys later. " I

tell them then move away from Aliya.

"Eva, please. I didn't mean them. " She calls out to me, but I don't stop walking as I focus on the path

that's before me.

I'm only a few steps further when a bike circles around me before it stops by my side, and the helmet is

removed to reveal the familiar face.

"You look like you need a peaceful ride. Do you want to hop on?" He jerks his head to the space behind

him, and I look at the space before I avert my gaze to him.

Turning my head to the direction in front of me, I know I'll head directly to my room if I go home, and

spending another night in my bed with a pounding headache because of another yet uncontrollable

tears sound like something I don't want to do tonight, and that's why I turn back to Josh.

A nod is the only gesture I give him for him to understand and he gives me another helmet before he

helps me up the bike.

"You'll fall that way. " He tells me as he moves my hands on his shoulder to wrap them around his

waist. "Take a breath and forget about everything. Try to feel the air, welcome it and let it flow through

you, and trust me; you'll have a smile on your face by the end of it. "

I hum and do as he said. I keep my eyes shut while he drives off, and I welcome the air, my hair

blowing to the back from the wind. Slowly, I lift my body from the seat and spread my arms, relishing in

the comfort that comes with the breeze and ignoring my worries for this moment.

~

"Are you okay?" Josh asks as I climb off his bike and I smile at him as I smooth one hand down my hair

while the other holds the helmet.

Extending the helmet to him, I say, "Perfectly. Thank you for the ride. "

"We always need one or two in our lives, don't we?" He returns my smile as he takes the helmet from

me and I let out a chuckle before I step back, turning my head to look at my house before I look back at

him.

"I hope you settle things with Aliya. " He mutters as he leans forward and I hum, removing my gaze

from his, "Absolutely. " I might have let my emotions get the better of me over such a trivial matter and

there's no doubt that I hurt her.

"What happened to you, Eva?" Josh's voice makes me lift my head to him, and when I arch my brow,

he proceeds to say, "You've lost your glow, and I just can't help but to ask. "

My chest drops before I answer him, my heart aching at the words that slip through, "I found out that

sometimes love isn't always enough. Sometimes, love isn't always worth it and sometimes, we fall for

the wrong people. "

"It isn't always great, is it?" He says and I agree with a nod, "It isn't. "

He's about to speak again, when the sound of his phone beeping interrupts him, and I gesture for him

to take it. He lifts the phone, and I watch his face slowly stretch into a grin as he stares at the screen.

"It's my girl. She's waiting for me. "

"She's here?" I ask him and his fingers move across the screen before he throws the phone back

inside his pocket. Then he meets my eyes and says, "No. We always facetime before going to bed. "

"Aww, that sounds like such a cute thing to do. " I tell him and he smiles again, "I know. She's worried

because we're a few minutes past the normal time. "

"Then you should get back to her. You don't want to keep her waiting for long. " I say and he drums his

fingers against the handle of the bike, just staring at me. After a while, he voices out, "I don't know what

happened with you, Eva but I hope you'll be fine soon. "

"Thank you. " I throw him an appreciative smile and he lifts his hand to ruffle my hair over my head.

"Take care of yourself, kid. "

"Fuck off. " I groan, slapping his hand away and he laughs before he fixes the helmet over his head. He

slides back and revs his engine, and just before he starts his ride, he opens the helmet and says, "But I

do want you to know it isn't always the people who are wrong. Sometimes, it's the world we live in and

the challenges that comes with it. You should remember that when making your decisions, Eva. " He

winks, and closes his helmet before he drives off.

I stand there and watch his frame disappear out of sight with his words echoing around me, and my

eyes unconsciously move to the house opposite mine.

EMERSON.

Walking inside the house, the warmness of the familiar space greets me; except a certain gorgeous

face is missing.

I shut the door behind me and walk further inside. I stroll to the couch and trail my fingers over the

edge, the sound of her laughs fading into the distance before I move away from there and turn the

corner that leads to the rooms.

I stop at hers and push inside the room, my heart dropping when there's no Eva Carson sitting on the

bed with a book in hand and glasses on her face, waiting to welcome me into her arms. Only when I

walk across the room, my eyes running through every corner and opening her closet, do I realize most

of her things are gone.

She took them. She truly left.

Her clothes. Her books. Her girls stuff by the other side of the room. Everything is gone, and I don't

think there can be any bigger pain than the one I feel right now, knowing she didn't just end things with

me but she's also trying to erase herself.

I grab the board by the side of the closet and slowly back away till I drop on her bed. It's another one of

my many drawings of her, and she said this one is her favourite out of all; the one she promised to

always have with her.

"I'll fix this, baby. I promise you; I'll fix us. "

I've known some types of love. I've known a brother's love and I've known one from a sister. I've known

a friend's love and unrequited love. And then there's this type of love. The special kind. It's the type that

engraves itself into the depth of your soul and you just can't run away from it, because you feel it

everywhere. It's the kind that comes to be your home because no matter where you go or how long it

takes, you'll always want to return to your home. It's the kind of love that have you weak in the knees

and strong in the heart. That type... That's the love I have for Eva Carson, and I might have made a

mistake that cut her deeply and have her pull away, enough to want to take a step back, but I'll never

stop reminding her of the love that exists between us and why she was willing to tear the entire world

down just to keep the flames of that love burning. I'll never stop reminding her of how beautiful we were

together, and how beautiful we'll be again. I'll never stop reminding her of why she gave her heart to me

in the first place.

"You're truly stunning, Carson. " I mumble as I caress her face. With a smile, I drop the board and

move from the bed, slipping my hands into my pocket as I stride out of my room and down the path that

leads to the living room.

I'm pacing in the direction of the kitchen, only to stop at the sound of the knocks at the door and I halt

my steps, wondering who it could be.

"Eva. " The name falls from my mouth and my heart speeds in my chest as I hurry to the door.

Opening the door, I'm welcomed with the sight of a big smile. "Missed me?"

~

A big, giant thanks to you all for the kind and encouraging words from yesterday's chapter. They truly

warm my heart>.<