Chapter Three: Rick and Evy

Jenny was the first one to come home. And then Evy and Alex. All evening Rick and Jonathan went without saying anything to Evy. After dinner, Evy decided to go up to the small room on the top floor of the house that they used whenever they wanted to get some work done, or just be alone, or read for a while. They had a small library in there as well. Evy went up to do some paperwork as well as order some new books for her library. She told Rick that she would be to bed soon. So everyone else decided to go to bed. Rick was the only one that didn't actually go to sleep. He waited for Evy to come down so he could talk to her about Jack.

It was not even an hour later and she came to bed. She changed into her dark, silk nightgown and headed toward the bed. She thought that Rick was already asleep because when she walked in, he was facing the other way. As she laid down, she noticed that he was wide awake, just staring out the window. "Hey. What are you doing still awake? You're usually asleep by now." she commented.

"I was just thinking." he said quietly.

"About what?" she asked curiously. She was now under the covers with him.

"You, of course." he replied. She chuckled softly at that.

"Well, what about me?"

"Your past."

"My past?" she asked, a little confused.

"Yeah," he said, "I was thinking about the people in it, that you had to put up with."

"I'm confused. What are you talking about?" she was pretty sure, but knew that she hadn't said anything, and wondered how he could've found out, if she was even right. Rick sat up slowly and just looked at her. "What?" she asked.

"Why didn't you tell me about him?"

"Who?" she asked slowly.

"You know exactly who I'm talking about. Your boyfriend from high school through college. Jack, was it?"

"Oh, God. How'd you find out?"

"Jonathan and I had a little talk today."

"Jonathan? Ooo, I should—" She started to get up, but Rick stopped her. Now they were both just sitting there.

"You aren't gonna do anything to Jonathan. I made him tell me."

"Why? Why would you ask Jonathan?"

"Because you wouldn't tell me anything."

"Yeah, because I didn't intend for you to know! If I don't tell someone something, I have a reason!" She was very frustrated and both Rick and Jonathan.

"Look, I just wanna know what happened. I don't want you to have nightmares every night for the rest of your life!"

"I won't have them every night I only had them for about a week last time!" She wished she hadn't said that.

"You mean you've had these before?"

"Yes, of course I have. Look, what all did Jonathan tell you?"

"Just that Jack was your boyfriend and that he wouldn't let you go. He said that you would tell me the rest. He thought that it would be better if you told me."

"I guess I might as well. He's already told you enough to get to wondering and you'll never leave me alone about it and I'll eventually end up telling you."

"Sooner or later, yes, I would have found out." Rick said, telling Evy that she was going to have to tell him right here, right now, or he would keep bugging her until she did.

"You really want to know, don't you?"

"Of course I do! Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know," she said, "I just didn't want to tell you just so you could get all worried and overprotective of me again. You're just starting to get out of that habit."

"Evy, I've never gotten out of that habit, I just don't show my protectiveness as much, but I'm still just as protective as I have been in the past." She gave him a small smile and leaned up against the wall. "I'm not going to be more protective because I don't think that's possible, I just want to know what's going on in your head and see if there's anything I can do to help out."

"I know you're just trying to help. But I really don't think there's anything you can do."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to come up with something." he said.

"What? Are you going to kill him?"

"If I have to, yes." She chuckled at the thought.

"I don't know if that would help my dreams, but it would make me feel better. But you can't just go and kill him. He doesn't even know you."

"So? If I have a good enough reason, I'll kill anyone if it makes you feel better." She chuckled again.

"I don't think that will be necessary."

"I'll make that decision as soon as you tell me everything about you two."

"All there really is to tell is that it's just he wasn't 100 good news."

"Evy." Rick said, knowing that wasn't all.

"What?"

"I want you to tell me everything."

"Everything?"

"Yep. Everything."

"Ok. Fine. I can tell that you won't give up, so I might as well tell you now." Rick smiled, loving the fact that he got Evy to actually cooperate with him. "It started in high school. We met on the first day of 11th grade because we were science partners. We were assigned to be partners all year long. We got to know each other quite well and by 12th grade, we were dating. We graduated together and attended the same college. Where he studied to be an engineer and I studied archeology. He was to go to college for 8 years, and I was to go for only 4. However, when I left, he gave up college and got a job as a construction worker. I went on with my archeology. A year later we moved in together and that's when things headed for the worse. After a couple years, he started to get frustrated that I was always gone on digs. So after a very long, loud argument, I ended up quitting and working as a grade school teacher. A year later, he got the idea that I was cheating on him, which I wasn't. So he started going to the bar every night and coming home drunk. Each night he would get home later than the night before. When I tried to talk to him, he just ignored me and crashed in the bed. Then he stopped ignoring me, but he wouldn't talk about what I wanted to talk about. He'd just yell at me all the time, and then crash. He always told me that if I'm going to go around with other guys, I shouldn't mind him coming home drunk all the time. After the second week of him doing this, I couldn't take it anymore. So I stayed home from work one day to talk to him. That didn't go so well."

"What did he do?"

"It's a little hard to remember, yet it feels like it was yesterday…"