Chapter 7: Heights
Evangeline woke early the next morning with a start. She'd seen Elena and Elijah running together in a forest. Or was it someone else? She tried to remember more of the dream, but it slipped away with the morning rays of sunlight. She remembered that she'd agreed to meet Elijah again in the park, and her stomach fluttered. Everyone had warned her about how dangerous the Originals were, but he'd been nothing but kind to her. All Evangeline really knew for sure was that she wanted to see him again. She sighed to herself uncertainly and rose to get ready for the day.
Evangeline finished the last of her cereal when Jeremy came yawning down the stairs. "You're up early."
"Yeah, I'm... meeting my friend." Evangeline turned pink.
Jeremy suddenly appeared less groggy. "Are you planning on telling anyone who this mystery friend is?"
Evangeline pressed her lips together coyly. "Nope." She put her bowl in the sink and dashed upstairs to brush her teeth.
On her way out the door Jeremy called to her from the kitchen, "Hey, Eva?"
"Yes?" She turned.
"Be careful, all right?" He gazed seriously.
Touched by his concern she reassured him. "I will be. Don't worry." And she skipped out the door to toward the park.
It occurred to her when she arrived that neither of them actually set a time to meet, but that was fine for Evangeline. She loved walking along the trees and sitting in the wind and watching the children play. A couple of small boys stood forlornly around a tree as she approached.
"Hey lady," one of them called to her. "Could you help us get our ball. The branch is too high up for us to climb."
Evangeline's breathing became labored as she peered up the tree. The ball sat perched in a high branch, and a wave of nausea came over her. "I can't climb that," she whispered and started hyperventilating.
The boy interrupted her panic. "Hey, Don't freak out, lady. Could you just give me a boost?"
"Oh." Evangeline's breathing came easier. "Yeah, sure."
She helped him up to the first branch then hastened to a bench to try and relax. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply a few times when a familiar voice startled her.
"So you're afraid of heights." Elijah sat beside her with an inquisitive expression.
"Yes," she inhaled more calmly. "It's a long story."
"What better place for a long story?" Elijah stood from the bench and offered his arm. "Shall we?"
"Oh." Evangeline's eyes widened in surprise. She rose and slipped her hand around Elijah's arm, and everything around her suddenly grew hotter.
They took their familiar route, cutting immediately to the neighboring field along the trees. "I suppose it's not that long of story. I used to climb trees, fences, bookshelves, everything. It drove my parents, I mean, grandparents, crazy."
"Your grandparents raised you," Elijah echoed thoughtfully.
"Well, I didn't know they were my grandparents until Isobel disappeared. But that's another story." Evangeline cleared her throat.
"Then please, continue."
"Right, well, long story short, one day I was climbing a tree in the neighbor's yard, and I fell and broke a lot of bones on my left side. I guess I never really recovered from it. I can't even look down from my window without getting dizzy."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Elijah offered sincerely.
"Yeah, well, it's not that bad. It's just sometimes I really wish I wasn't afraid. I'd love to climb trees again, or look off rooftops, or fly off the swings."
"Fly off the swings? Forgive me, that's not a term I'm familiar with."
"A term? Oh no," Evangeline shook her head. "I mean on a swing set. You swing as high as you can. Then you let go at the top and fly until you hit the ground."
"Hmm. It does sound like something you would enjoy," he suggested.
"Yeah. Maybe someday." She smiled as they rounded the edge of the forest.
They continued to share stories until they gradually circled back to the park and sat on a bench.
"Would you care to take another walk with me tomorrow?" Elijah stared into her warm blue eyes.
Evangeline smiled widely, "I'd like that."
And so for the next few days they walked together each morning around the park, slowly chipping away at the other's lives, their hobbies, likes, and dislikes. Friday came, and the two neared the bench that signaled the end of their walk. "May I accompany you tomorrow?" Elijah asked politely.
"Of course, oh wait... no. I can't." Evangeline frowned. "I'm busy on weekends. But I'd love to on Monday."
"What is it that you do on weekends?" he inquired curiously.
She bit her lip. "A girl's got to have some secrets." She shrugged with a smile and bade him goodbye.
Elijah turned to leave, surprised by his own genuine disappointment.
