Verna left the room and Nubbins chuckled.

"What?"

"Brace yourself. Mom has this weird feelin' about you that you're gonna fit right in around here. I think you're gonna bolt. If Jed don't scare you off... Our way of farm life will." He smirked, the smirk turning into that wicked grin again as we heard footsteps. I looked up to see Verna standing in the doorway with a boy around my age.

The first thing I noticed in the light of the kitchen was his blue eyes, and my heart began to race. The way the light danced across them caused a blue green appearance that had me captivated for a moment. He was watching me wearily, his eyes nervous. His short blonde hair was tussled a bit, giving it a slightly messy appearance. The scars along his face looked healed, but they didn't make a difference to me. He was still quite attractive, scars and all. I walked over to him carefully, offering a light smile as I stepped out into the hall. My heart was thumping in my chest.

"Hello, Jedidiah." I stood directly in front of him.

"Hey." He said quietly, his eyes darting to the floor.

"Jed, this is Evelyn." Verna introduced me, before stepping back into the kitchen. He said nothing, his eyes darting back up at me, then back to the floor. I stepped toward him, raising my hand. He jerked his head up, his weary eyes on mine.

"Can I?" I asked for permission, looking into his eyes. I wanted him to know I wasn't afraid of him. He hesitated for a moment, before nodding. Stepping a little closer to him, I ran my hand along his face softly. I could feel the indention of his skin from his scars under my fingertips. I grinned at him and saw a slight upward twitch of his lips.

"You hungry, Jed?" Verna called to him from where she stood at the kitchen counter. I stepped back from him, my hand leaving his face. We walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Jed began to fill his plate quietly, while Mrs. Sawyer pulled the biscuits from the oven.

"It looks great." I mentioned, and Nubbins looked at me.

"These eggs are pretty good." His gruff compliment made me break into a grin.

"Well, thank ya." I held my arms out in a slight bow, causing him to crack something resembling a smile.

"Yeah, Jed, Evelyn helped me make breakfast this mornin'." Verna told him, looking at her son. He glanced up at his mom, then to me.

"It's..good." He said quietly, his voice strained. Almost as if it were painful for him to speak.

"Thank you." I looked over at Jed, who's eyes darted back down to his food. He's shy... I fought the urge to smile as I began eating my food.

I had never seen someone like him before. Sure, I had seen boys that I thought were cute. But I had never seen someone and felt instantly connected to them. The scars along his cheeks and jaw made him unusually quiet and self conscious, I could tell that from his body language and the way he barely made eye contact. I understood the scars, the effect of them tremendous. I had scars, mine were just hidden. For the most part.

"So, where are you from, Evelyn? That accent is a bit different from us Texans." Nubbins teased, and I smirked.

"Alabama." I replied.

"How'd you end up in Texas?" Verna questioned, taking a sip from her cup.

"Uh, John had..come here to see his friend and, uh..dragged me along." I said quietly, looking back down at my food.

"How'd you wind up on our farm?" Nubbins leaned back in his chair, his eyes on me.

"I just..chose roads at random. Idiot put me in charge of the map, so I used that to my advantage. Figured if I could get us on some back roads, I'd be able to make a run for it eventually." I explained. Grabbing my cup, I took a sip of water, my mouth feeling dry.

"That was smart." Verna mentioned.

"I had to get away from him." I was staring at my cup.

"What?" The older brother was still eyeing me. "Was he puttin' it to ya or somethin'?"

"Nubbins Sawyer!" His mother growled. "You watch your damn mouth, boy."

"Sorry, Mama.." He muttered.

"He just liked to beat on me is all." My voice sounded small, as I pushed the remainder of my food around on my plate.

"I'd say by the look of what you did to his head, he ain't gonna be beatin' on you no more!" He smirked wickedly.

"Yeah.." I agreed quietly, forcing myself to eat a few more bites. My eyes darted over to see Jed glancing at me, his face almost apologetic. But when he caught my eye, he immediately looked back down at his breakfast. I drank the rest of my water, the awkward silence at the table making the room feel thick.

"I-I'm..done, Mama." Jed spoke carefully, grabbing his plate.

"Okay, baby." She watched him get up and walk to the sink. He put his plate down and started to walk away. "Jed?"

"Yes, ma'am?" He turned to face her.

"Why don't you give Evelyn a tour of the farm later? I think it'd do you some good to get outside a bit." Her smile was odd, almost as if she were teasing him. He simply nodded, before leaving the kitchen.

"I've got some shit to do." Nubbins stood from the table, putting his dish in the sink. He left us alone and I gave Mrs. Sawyer a slight smile.

"I'll do the dishes." I said surely, standing with my own plate.

"You don't have to do that, honey." She fussed sincerely.

"At least let me dry and put away?" I offered, to which she accepted. She began washing the plates and cups one by one, handing them over to me to dry. After a few moments of silence, I spoke again, choosing my words carefully. "I like Jed."

"You treated my boy real kind." Verna mused, giving me a sideways glance. "Not many people would."

"Why wouldn't I?" I asked the question seriously. "Just because he has scars on his face doesn't make him any different than us.. In fact, I think he's handsome.. Scars and all."

"That's sweet of you to say." She said quietly.

"I really mean it, Mrs. Sawyer." I continued drying the plate she had handed me.

"He hasn't had an easy life. I know you of all people can understand that."

"Yes, ma'am..." I trailed off, my thoughts racing. I wonder what happened to him... How'd he get shot?

"Oh, before I forget..." Verna turned the water off, and I realized that there were no more dishes left in the sink. She disappeared from the kitchen as I put away the last plate. Leaning against the kitchen counter, I waited awkwardly for her return. The dark haired woman reappeared with my bag in her hands. "Nubbins got this out of your father's truck." She handed it over.

"Thank you.." I took it, having completely forgot about it. "I'm gonna go get out of these sleep clothes." I turned away, walking out of the kitchen and down the hallway to my room. Once inside, I shut the door and locked it, still weary of everything. I set my bag on the floor before stripping out of my clothes. Standing there, I stared at my bag and realized it was the only thing I had. Just a bag of clothes and some personal items.

The reality set in hard and fast, catching me off guard. For the first time ever, I was free. I never had to worry about him again. Not ever. And as much relief as that gave me, I still had to live with the fact that I had killed him. I had really killed him. How did I even... I don't know who that girl with the crowbar was.. I thought, grabbing a greenish gray dress. I shrugged into it and threw on my socks. Tugging on my shoes, I felt the tears in my eyes before I could even try and stop them.

Wiping my face quickly with the back of my hand, I took a deep breath. Get yourself together! Now is not the time! You did what you had to do... You did what you had to. I reassured myself. Really? By killin' him? Yes! I argued with myself, my stomach knotting up at the thoughts going through my head. Shaking them away, I took another deep breath, before leaving my room and walking down the hallway.

"What a nice dress.." Mrs. Sawyer said quietly as I entered the kitchen, though her face had an odd expression. "How about I go get Jed and he'll show you around."

"Okay.." I smiled as she left to go get Jed. I was expecting her to return with him, but when I looked up, it was just him. His eyes were on mine as he approached me, but he kept his distance. I felt my heart began to beat faster at the sight of him. What the hell is wrong with me? I questioned myself, as we stood there in silence. "So," I finally spoke, tilting my head slightly, "how about that tour?"

And so.. They meet.

And it's only going to get crazier from here. I am loving writing this story. Super excited to see where it goes !

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~Kaila