Chapter 7

7

Evenie

I t felt amazing to be in this car with Tyrion again, holding his hand. I couldn’t help but to touch him after all this time. As he drove, my thoughts drifted to all the road trips we’d taken and how much fun they had been. I’d always pack us a cooler of food just in case we got hungry while he was driving. He’d dubbed me a passenger princess because I’d somehow forget how to drive when he was around.

I peered over at him as he focused on the road. He was still as handsome as he’d always been. His jet black hair was fashioned in a low cut, and his full lips were now encased by a thick, luscious beard. He, too, had put on a little weight and a nice helping of muscle.

He was quiet, and I could only imagine what was running through his head. I was sure the last thing he’d been expecting when he woke up this morning was a call stating I’d been found.

“Tyrion?” I said softly.

He looked over at me with a faint smile. “Yes, love?”

“What’s on your mind? You’re awfully quiet.”

“Nothing, just… this is all so surreal. I can’t believe you’re sitting here, Ev. I don’t know what to do with myself.”

“I know what you mean. I never thought I’d see this day. I just knew I was going to die in that house all alone.” I was quiet for a moment before speaking again. “How is Summer Rose?”

He smiled. “Growing up on me.”

He pulled out his phone and showed me his screensaver, which was the two of them. Tears swelled in my eyes as I touched her face. She’d really grown up beautifully. My baby was the perfect mixture of me and her father. She had my hazel eyes and his umber skin. Her kinky coils were as thick as mine were at her age. And her smile… her smile was all her father.

“I can’t believe she’s ten,” I whispered. “Is she spoiled?”

He chuckled. “I plead the fifth.”

“Tyrion.”

“In her defense, it’s not just me. Both grandparents do the most, and let’s not get started on Nina.”

“Nina! Oh my God, how is she? How is Jersey?”

“She’s herself, and Jersey is her twin. The girls are just as close as their moms were.”

I looked away, sadly. I missed my best friend something serious. We’d been two peas in a pod since the playground days. We used to do everything together, from dressing alike to wearing our hair the same. We went to the same college and got married within two months of each other.

It was no surprise when we ended up pregnant at the same time. We wanted our kids to be the best of friends, just like us. Nina was truly my soulmate in friend form.

“I can’t wait to see them. Did you tell anybody?”

He shook his head. “I ran out of the office. I didn’t even think to call anyone.”

We pulled up to a stop sign, and he reached for his phone. I watched as he sent several text messages.

“I let everyone know to come to the house in about an hour, but I didn’t tell them why. Nina won’t get there until later. She’s working overtime today.”

I nervously rubbed my hands up and down my thighs. This reunion was long overdue, but I was excited yet terrified. What if transitioning back into civilian life was harder than I thought? What if the people closest to me had changed into people I didn’t know anymore?

Then there was the media. Officer Hilbert warned me that once the news broke, there would possibly be people wanting interviews. I wasn’t ready to talk about what happened to me to a widespread audience. I didn’t want that kind of attention. All I wanted was to go home and pick my life up.

“Evenie…” Tyrion said quietly. “Can I ask you something?”

I swallowed hard. “Sure.”

“Did he ever realize you weren’t the person he was looking for?”

I nodded. “He did. At that point, he didn’t care. He said I was the closest thing to having her back, and he couldn’t just let me go.”

Leon had several moments of clarity over the years. The first time he realized I wasn’t Lisa, he cried and apologized for taking me.

“Did he—did he ever hurt you?”

I pulled my hand away and looked down at my nails. “A few times, he hit me when I wouldn’t comply.”

“Anything else?”

I knew what he was asking, but I didn’t want to answer. That night, although it was only once, it had been traumatizing. I’d been sleeping when he came down to the basement. When I woke up, he was standing over me with a bottle of alcohol in his hand. He told me how much he missed me as he ran his hands along my leg beneath the blanket I slept under.

I’d tried to reason with him, but he wasn’t hearing me. Before I knew it, he had me pinned to the bed with all his weight on top of me. I cried, screamed, and pleaded for him to stop as he forced my legs apart and himself into me. That was the first night I actually contemplated ending my life. If that was to be my fate, I wanted no parts of it.

“Ev?” Tyrion said, breaking my thoughts.

I looked over at him. “Once, he um… he forced himself on me. Just once.”

He pulled the car over and put it in park. Turning to me, he grabbed my hands.

“I’m so sorry, Evenie. It should have been me. I should have gotten up that night and gone to the store—”

I shook my head. “Don’t put this on you. It was my choice to leave that night. We couldn’t have known any of this was going to happen, Tyrion. The person to blame is dead. All we can do now is move forward.”

The look on his face was one I couldn’t read. There was… something unfamiliar in his eyes, and it caused a sting in my chest. I didn’t know what it was, but I was sure it wouldn’t be long before I found out.

Home.

I stood in the front yard, looking up at the place I once called home. It was still as charming as we’d renovated it to be. When Papa Lewis first gifted us the house, it needed a lot of work. Tyrion and I spent many long days and nights tearing out old cabinets, stripping paint, sanding things down, and repainting them. We spent countless hours at the Habitat for Humanity Restore looking for fixtures and cabinets to refurbish.

I remembered us sleeping on an air mattress or furnishing the place with Goodwill furniture until we saved up enough to buy what we really wanted. Our families offered to help, but we wanted to do it all on our own. We didn’t have much, but we’d always had each other.

“We can’t stand here all day,” Tyrion said with a chuckle.

I playfully bumped him. “I know. I’m just taking it all in.” I smiled as I grabbed his hand. “I’m ready.”

He pulled me toward the front door. After fumbling with the keys for a moment, he finally got it open. We stepped inside, and my eyes instantly began to water. Everything was decorated just as I left it.

“You didn’t change anything,” I whispered.

“I didn’t. We did this together. I couldn’t rid the place of you.”

I slowly made my way around the living room, looking at every picture on the walls. On the mantle above the fireplace were pictures of Tyrion and Summer Rose from her first birthday, all the way to her tenth. My baby was cheesing hard in every one.

“She has your smile,” I said.

Tyrion walked over to where I stood. “She has your laugh… loud and obnoxious.”

I playfully punched him. “My laugh is not obnoxious.”

“You snort, and if it’s really funny, you scream.”

“You never complained about my laugh.”

“You were cute. You could have had worse flaws.”

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever.”

“You want to see her room?”

“Please.”

Grabbing my hand, he led me down the hall to a pink door.

“Pink is her favorite color,” he said, eyeing me. “Pink and lots of glitter.”

He opened her door, and I was greeted by just that. There was a pink glitter accent wall behind her bed. The bedroom set was white with pink bedding. The desk in the corner was white with a pink glitter top, along with a pink chair. In another corner was a huge pink beanbag chair with a fluffy white blanket. Lights were strung up behind it, and a neon sign with her name was placed on the wall along with floating bookshelves.

Everything was so neat and clean.

I sat on the bed and looked around the place, trying to imagine her in here. When my eyes landed on the picture of me, I gasped.

“Does—does she know who I am, Tyrion?”

He came to take a seat beside me, grabbing my hand. “Of course she does. I’ve never kept her from you. I’ve always told her stories about you and how much you loved her. Sometimes she repeats it back to me like she was right there when it happened,” he added with a chuckle. “She talks to you all the time, Evenie. It started when she was about five, and it hasn’t changed yet. She tells you all about her day. She celebrates birthdays and holidays with you… I didn’t let her forget you. She knows all there is to know about you, love.”

I couldn’t stop the tears streaming down my cheeks. I knew my memory had to be painful for him in my absence, but the fact that my daughter knew me because of him was enough to make me cry. I buried my face in my hands and let out every tear I could possibly shed. Tyrion wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly as he rocked me.

“It’s okay,” he whispered, stroking my arm. “You’re back. You have nothing but time to make up for.”

The mention of having to make up time made me cry harder. I should never have been in this position. I was supposed to be here. I was supposed to already know my child, not getting ready to see her again for the first time in ten years. It wasn’t just my life that was stolen from me… It was my time.

Things might never be the same, no matter how hard I prayed that they would be. I just didn’t know what was in store for the future.

The sound of the doorbell ringing broke us apart. I stood up and wiped tears from my face.

“You ready?” Tyrion asked.

I nodded. He stood and helped me to my feet, then led me back into the living room. I stood, waiting nervously as he went to the door.

“Is everything okay, baby?” Mrs. Pauline asked from the porch.

“Everything is fine, Ma.”

“Why aren’t you at work?” That was my mother. The sound of her voice made my heart almost leap from my chest.

“I’ll explain when y’all get inside.”

Our mothers began fussing at him for having them rush over thinking something was wrong, and our fathers chimed right in. Tyrion waved them off as he opened the door wider to let them in. All talking ceased as their eyes landed on me.

“Oh… oh my God!” my mother screamed, rushing to me. My father was on her heels. They both wrapped their arms around me so tightly that I could barely breathe.

“Thank you, Father God!” my mom praised. “You brought my child home!”

My father couldn’t even speak. He just squeezed tighter and kissed my head. The pressure of the hug increased as my in-laws joined in. While I couldn’t see, I could hear. Prayers and words of thanks swirled around my ears.

“Y’all are gonna suffocate her,” Tyrion said, chuckling.

Immediately, they eased up but didn’t let me go. We were all a blubbering mess at this point.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?” my mom asked, checking me all over.

“I’m fine, Mama.”

She paused and cupped my face. “It’s so good to hear that word. We never gave up on you. We prayed every single day for this moment. You’re home!”

“We’ve missed you so much, baby girl,” my father finally choked out.

“I’ve missed you all. I’m so glad to be home.”

I didn’t miss the look that passed between Tyrion and my in-laws. He gave a subtle shake of the head before pulling out his phone. He tapped on it for a second, then slid it back into his pocket.

“Why don’t you all have a seat,” he said, clasping his hands together. “I’ll make us some drinks.”

He headed into the kitchen with his parents following behind him. My parents and I took a seat on the couch. They were damn near squishing me, but I didn’t mind at all.

“You grew your hair back out,” my mother observed, fluffing my curls. “I don’t know how I tamed all of this when you were a little girl.”

“With her kicking and screaming,” my father answered with a chuckle. “I used to have to hold you so you would act right. Do you remember that?”

I nodded. “I do. You were always my safe space, Daddy.”

I looked around them and into the kitchen where Tyrion and his parents were talking in hushed whispers. Every so often, he looked down at his phone, then back up at them. Whatever they were discussing must have been a big deal.

“Is something going on?” I asked my parents. “Tyrion is acting weird. Every time I mention being home, he gets this look on his face like—” I paused as I noticed their faces. “Kinda like the look on your faces.”

I stood from the couch and crossed my arms. They looked from each other to me.

“What is going on?” I asked, my voice slightly elevated. It was enough to bring Tyrion and his parents back to the living room.

“Y’all are hiding something from me,” I said, looking around. “What is it? I can take it.”

Tyrion’s eyes passed from his parents to my parents to me. He swallowed hard as he took a step forward.

“Evenie… love, I need to tell you something.”

I could feel my heart caving in its chest. “What?”

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the front door opened.

“Nana, Mimi, Paw Paw, G-Paw!

I froze as Summer Rose came running into the house. She stopped when her eyes landed on me. My hands dropped to my sides as I turned to fully face her.

“Mommy…” she whispered. “You came back… you came back!”

She ran full force into my arms, and I scooped her up, locking her into a tearful embrace.

“Hi, baby…” I whispered. “I’m so happy to see you, Summer.”

“You came back,” she repeated through her sobs. “Is this for real?”

I gave a tearful giggle as I placed her on her feet and kneeled in front of her.

“It’s real, baby. I’ve thought about you every single day.” Cupping her face, I kissed her forehead. “Mommy is sorry she missed so much of your life. I know I can’t make up for the time we’ve lost, but I promise to be here for everything moving forward. I’m never leaving you again.”

She smiled as her little hand touched all over my face and hair like she was trying to commit me to memory.

The clicking of heels broke my gaze as someone else entered the house and closed the door. My eyes landed on the beautiful woman standing next to the door, nervously picking at her hands. She wouldn’t look at me, but her eyes searched the room until they found my husband’s.

I stood to my feet. “Who is this?” I asked, my eyes never leaving the woman.

“That’s what I was trying to tell you,” my husband said from behind me. Tyrion slowly went over and draped an arm around her.

“Ev… this is Iona… my fiancée.”