She stood quietly outside the heavy door. Just moving a fraction closer to it, to them, would cause her little self centred world she d been building to spin off course. Everything she'd spent the last few years doing had been to protect herself and she knew how easily they could break it.
It wasn't as though she didn't enjoy spending time with the Humphreys. They always welcomed her with open arms and plates full of waffles. She wasn't fooled. It wasn't hard to spot the faint flash of pity in their smiles. She knew exactly what they were thinking and that was what she couldn't stand. She hated people thinking they knew what she was dealing with, thinking they knew her. Nobody did.
Suddenly, the door opened revealing her to those inside. Her face turned crimson as she realised she'd been caught in her own mental turmoil. Doing her best to salvage the situation, she shrugged her delicate shoulders and smiled at her cousin. How many years had passed since they'd last spent time together? His face was no longer that of her childhood friend who she'd always led into trouble but of a handsome young man.
She couldn't help but laugh as he realised the same thing, taking in her new womanly body.
"Wow, Evie!" he stuttered, "It's been a while." She immediately knew he was still her nerdy Dan. Clumsily, he shifted his body so that she could enter the loft. No matter how many hotels she'd spent time at or how long her mum had made her stay in a tiny van, the loft remained constant.
He tried to be subtle but Evie still noticed him looking nervously at the watch on his wrist.
"Um it is okay for me to be here, right?" she said whilst throwing him a dazzling smile. Nodding rapidly, he responded,
"I'm heading out for a party. It's a thing for the start of term." Once more he looked at his watch before adding, "you can come if you like. It's on the upper east side."
A quick glance at her outfit made her almost respond no. She guessed that those rich kids wouldn t be too impressed by her high street dress although she thought it was cute, a cream strapless prom dress with a black trim. Just before the words left her mouth, she felt a tickle in the back of her throat which caused her to hesitate. The whole point of coming to stay here was to spend some time being a normal girl. Not that she was an expert but the last time she checked normal girls went to parties. Apprehensively, she replied,
Sure, I just need to fix my lip-gloss. We can catch up on our way there." However, the moment she said it aloud she began to feel anxious.
Almost immediately, she ensured her face was set in a smile. That way she still felt safe.