Relieved. Eva could still hear John's words echoing in her head. His friendly blue eyes had turned icy cold. She couldn't really blame him though. He was one of Evangeline's friends and she already knew them to be unreliable. But still, he didn't have to be so cold about it.
Eva paced back and forth in her bedroom with a hairbrush in her hand. She'd barely gotten any sleep last night because she couldn't stop thinking about him. In the end, it looked like she might have to give up singing at the club.
The more she thought about it, the more it pissed her off. John was like a flame that she was subconsciously drawn to. It wasn't like she was looking for a relationship either. Hell, she'd only invited him over to spite Layla.
She stopped and looked at herself in her vanity mirror. It wasn't like she was being conceited, but she knew she was a very attractive woman. What man wouldn't want to be with her? "Obviously John," a voice screamed inside her head.
"Oh please, I saw the way he was looking at me. I know he wants me, or her. Whatever," she spoke out lout to herself. It was not just her. She'd caught him staring at her ass on more than one occasion, so clearly he still wanted her.
It pained her to say, but maybe Layla was right about John. He was complicated and had baggage, and that was not something she was willing to deal with. She had enough on her plate already.
"Damn, I'm late." She looked down at her watch and pushed all the thoughts of John and everything else out of her mind. She looked at herself in the mirror one last time. "Oh well, it's his loss."
It was a little after eleven in the afternoon and it was still freezing cold outside. John pulled the collar of his jacket up and blew into his hands as if that would make a significant difference. Though he wasn't still on the job, he still had his morals, and that's what got him into this mess. He was a little more than tipsy last night, so he parked his car a couple miles away from Evangeline's house and parked it in an area not visible from the street. Then he walked, in nearly freezing weather, to his apartment which was eight miles away.
He'd nearly frozen his ass off, but it gave him time to think. Gone were the days where he could benefit from his father's wisdom. It used to be a comfort when he could talk to his father's ghost, but as of late he couldn't even rely on that. As difficult as it had been in the beginning, John was actually glad for it. He wasn't afraid to be his own man without the shadow of his father looming over him.
He got to his car and for a second he considered driving up to see if Eva was home. He acted like an ass last night, and he couldn't blame it on the alcohol. He knew exactly what he was doing and what he was saying. In the end, he just didn't want to risk getting close to her. She would either reject him outright or they would get together and she would reject him when she got her memory back; either way he would lose. Plus, there was the fact that he'd hurt her in the past. The last thing he wanted to do was to cause her that much pain again.
John looked down at his watch again as if hours had suddenly passed in the few minutes since he'd last checked it. 11:45. The numbers seemed to laugh at him and gnawed at his confidence.
It was probably around mile five that he found his resolve. Eva didn't remember, but he did. Yeah, they had a bad break up, but that was years ago. They were both different people now, her more so than him. Maybe it wasn't their time before, but it seemed like fate that they'd been thrown together again. There was no way that he would spit in the face or the powers that brought them together. For the first time in a long time, John was going to take a risk...but first he had to make up for last night.
"Ms. Williamson, may I have a moment?" the student stuck his head in her office and tapped on the already open door lightly.
"Come on in." Eva barely looked up from her paperwork. "She couldn't see a face, but she recognized the long blond hair that was covering the face of her student. "What can I do for you Mr. Jacobs.?" She put down her pen and stared at him intently. She could already guess what this was about.
"About my grade in your class?" He swiped at his hair but made no effort to adjust it so that you could see his face. "It's just that I'm starting to get looked at by some scouts and it'd look really bad if I was getting a 'D' in music class. It could jeopardize my scholarship chances."
Eva folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. "You'd be lucky if you were making a 'D' in my class. You missed yet another assignment last Friday. As it stands, you currently have a 58." Eva didn't dislike any of her students, but she knew most of them were looking for an easy 'A'. She'd spoken with the principal and the school board before she accepted her position and made it clear that the students would actually be studying music in her class. In the beginning, there had been no objections, but she'd had more than her fair share of complaints from parents and students alike.
"I know I'm behind, but I have some of my missed assignments." He pulled the wrinkled papers from a binder and held them out to her. She simply shook her head. "I know that you don't tolerate unexcused absences or accept late work, but I've been so busy with football. I'm doing my best but it's all so much to keep up with."
Eva let out a slow breath and picked her words out carefully. She wasn't one to ruffle feathers, but it was about time that someone explained to him how the world works. "I understand that you're a talented athlete, Mr. Jacobs. I read about you in the Saturday paper. I just don't think that you're going to live up to the hype." She leaned back in her chair and waited for his venom.
"Excuse me!" He swiped the hair away from his eyes and she could see his angry blue eyes glaring at her. "Sounds like someone jealous. I'm not going to be some nobody teacher who's stuck in a small town and trying to ruin the lives of her students!" His voice was raised, but he wasn't shouting.
"You're not just falling behind in my class, Mr. Jacobs. Your grades have been slipping in math, science and English. I only say that you won't live up to the hype because you don't have your priorities straight. If you can't keep your grades up, you won't get into college and there won't ever be any pro scouts begging you to leave college before you've had the chance to learn anything." Eva put her hand up to stop him from interrupting her. "You have the potential." She didn't want to call him lazy, but that's what it was. His parents pampered and spoiled him, so he had no motivation to do well. He always did just the bare minimum to get by. "You just need to find a balance between your schoolwork and your after-school activities."
"So, are you going to take my work or not," he snapped at her. He tried the nice boy approach, but since it wasn't getting him anywhere he'd turned back into his old self.
"Not." Eva replied simply. She didn't even bother to correct his attitude. "Now, if you buckle down, study hard, and make 'A's on the last assignments then you will scrape by with a C.
"C," he shouted and then stopped abruptly, "we'll see what my father says about that." He turned and stormed out of her office like the spoiled child that he was.
Eva leaned back in her chair and rubbed her temples. She could already hear his parents now; so much for this being a stress-free day.
John sat on the trunk of his car and checked his watch for the umpteenth time. He couldn't recall a time in his adult life when he'd been more nervous than he was right now. He could imagine that this would either turn out really good or really bad. With his luck, he knew it would probably be the latter, but he still wouldn't allow himself to back down.
On his drive over, he'd been too excited and got there way too early. He'd killed the time by getting friendly with one of the school security guards, after he'd ratted out a couple of kids who were smoking on campus. It was the cop in him. He had to wonder if he'd ever lose that cop mentality.
Now, school was out and the children wandered around the campus looking for their rides. He didn't feel the least bit nostalgic. He had fun in high school, but that was only when he was getting in trouble. Then toward the end he'd worked his butt off, but that didn't turn out as expected. He sighed and shook his head. The last thing he wanted to do was start taking a trip down memory lane. Another long thirty minutes passed and now nearly all of the students had gone home.
He took note of what he gathered to be a father and son arguing in the parking lot. The boy paced nervously back and forth, and though he was yelling John couldn't make out what he was saying. The father just continued to shake his head and listened patiently with his hands on his hips. Every now and then he'd shout something and the boy would huff and puff before continuing on his rant. Suddenly, the boy's attention was diverted and he started pointing in another direction. John took note, and his heart started to pound when he saw that he was pointing at Evangeline, well Eva. The pair quickly made their way over to her. He thought about intervening but had to stop himself. Eva, if anyone, could handle herself.
With his hands clenched in fists, he watched the exchange. Both the father and the son were yelling at her, but she didn't seem the least bit perturbed. She stayed calm the whole time, and that only made the pair angrier. In the end, they both walked off in a huff.
John watched them drive off before he approached her. She was loading her briefcase in the car when he reached out and touched her shoulder. She whirled around and was none too pleased to see John.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Her usually warm brown eyes were now icy cold; much like the weather.
John couldn't help but smile. He was always giddy when he was around her, even when they were fighting. "I just wanted to see you. Check up on you and make sure you were alright from the weekend." He figured opting with the truth would be the easiest course of action.
Eva shook her head and rolled her eyes. She kept on thinking about the way she'd encouraged him, and how it was coming back to bite her in the ass now. She stared down at his chest refusing to make eye contact with him. They'd said all they needed to say to each other, or rather he'd said more than enough last night.
"This is my job, John. I work with children. I can't have you coming here and stirring up trouble." She looked around nervously. She didn't want to explain to anyone how she knew John.
"Who said I was here to stir up trouble?" John frowned at the way she refused to make eye contact with him.
Eva's eyes grew wide when the last person that she'd wanted to see appeared waving and smiling at her from across the parking lot. Now there was no way out of this awkward introduction. Befriending Jill had been one of few regrets that she had since taking on the Eva persona.
John looked down at her and followed her eyes. He only saw long blond hair blowing in the wind before he directed his attention back to Eva. "So, anyway, I was wanting to apologize for what I said last night." He blew into his hands and smiled when Eva looked back up at him. She wasn't quite smiling, but at least she was looking at him.
"Don't apologize." She shook her head and he could tell she wanted to brush him off. "Anyway, whatever else you have to say will have to wait." Eva stared at him intently hoping that he'd get the hint without her having to say anything else, but it was already too late. Jill had broken into a sprint to make sure she didn't miss her or her companion.
"Eva," Jill walked over smiling as usual. Eva too smiled, but to hide her annoyance. "I was hoping to catch you." She swiped her hair away from her face and tried to steady her breathing. She stood beside Eva and smiled up at John. He was more than handsome, and by the way Eva was interacting with him she could tell that she wasn't interested. Maybe this was the opportunity she'd been looking for.
"Well, you caught me." Eva's smile was more than fake. "John, if you'll excuse us."
"Eva, don't be rude. Aren't you going to introduce us?" She extended her hand to John. "I'm Ms. Dunning, Jill Dunning. I teach chemistry and biology."
"John McBain." John slid his hand into hers and gave it a quick shake. He stared down into her eager face and didn't like what he saw there. Unfortunately, he'd have to excuse himself for now and catch up with Eva later.
Eva could see how uncomfortable John was under Jill's piercing stare. Poor John didn't know what he'd just gotten himself into. Jill wasn't known to take no for an answer. She'd had more than her fair share of romantic entanglements, but she'd never had a long-term relationship. Her personality was always to blame.
"It was nice meeting you, Jill. Eva, I'll see you later on." John turned to leave before Jill called out to him.
"Don't go yet." Jill was overstepping her bounds, but that had never stopped her before. "Eva and I have plans to go see a show tonight. Maybe you'd like to come with us. You know what they say, 'the more the merrier'."
Eva smiled a wicked smile and quickly thought of a way to kill two birds with one stone. "That's a great idea. We could all meet for dinner and then go to the show." John looked at her wide eyed. He knew she could tell what Jill was thinking. Somehow this was a set up, but he didn't know how to get out of it. "Jill, you could invite Chase and we could just double."
John had to smile at that. He decided that the piercing stare that he was getting from Jill was just friendly flirting. Apparently, he hadn't made a total ass of himself last night because Eva was not only talking to him but inviting him on what seemed like a date.
"Is that okay with you, John?" Eva smiled at him sweetly and looked at him with pleading eyes.
John didn't give it a second thought. He couldn't think of one good reason why he should turn her down. "That's fine with me." His attention now fully focused on Eva; he didn't notice the confused look on Jill's face. "You can call me a little later on and fill me in on the details. I've actually got to head back and make sure things will run smoothly with me not there tonight."
"Sounds good, John." She smiled uncomfortably when John briefly reached out and grabbed her hand giving it a gentle squeeze. His whole face was smiling and it was unusual to see him this way since she was told that he was normally such a gloomy guy. For a second she thought about sparing him, but that thought was fleeting. She would get her point across tonight once and for all.
John finally released her hand and then smiled politely at Jill before excusing himself. He had a lot of preparation to do. Giddy, he looked over his shoulder at her a few times as he walked back to his car.
"Chase? Um, Eva…did I miss something?" Jill swiped her long hair away from her eyes and stared at her confused.
"I'm about to do you a huge favor and trust me you're going to love me for it." Eva wrapped her arm around her shoulder and whispered in her ear as if John was still in earshot.
It was already after seven, and John was running late. For the first time in history, he'd spent too much time getting ready. He hadn't been this nervous since he was thirteen and asking Wendy Douglas to the Winter Solstice dance. His palms were unusually sweaty and he'd resorted to sticking napkins in his pockets so that he could keep his hands dry.
The honorable side of John was likening tonight to what Todd had done to Marty. The less than honorable side helped him to see reason. Todd wasn't just an asshole. He was a rapist. No matter what he did, he would always bear that cross. That was why he'd manipulated Marty when she'd lost her memory. It was his sick way of trying to gain her forgiveness for what he'd done to her all those years ago. John had hurt Evangeline, but nothing like how Todd had hurt Marty. He also wasn't hiding the truth from her. Eva knew who she was supposed to be. If she chose to be with John it would be with the understanding that things had turned out poorly for them before.
By the time he got to the restaurant where they were meeting, he was only five minutes late. He stopped just outside the door and sucked in a few deep breaths. He grabbed the cold wooden handle of the door and pulled it open, letting some of the cold air in with him.
He started to slip off his jacket and smiled, uncertain of what he was in store for. In the past, Evangeline was always making him try new and different ethnic cuisines, and tonight would be no different. There were going to some upscale Chinese restaurant where you took off your shoes and sat on the floor. For the life of him, he couldn't understand why anyone would pay to eat like this, but for Eva he would suck it up.
A young woman dressed in a black and red kimono approached and smiled at him brightly. "Do you have a reservation?" She walked over to the hostesses' podium and started scanning the names that were scrawled in the notebook on top.
"I'm with the Dunning party. I think they've already been seated." John checked his watch again and hoped that his tardiness would not be held against him. The woman simply nodded and motioned for him to follow behind her. John barely took in the décor of the restaurant. He was focused on one task tonight, and that was to impress Eva.
"Here you go sir," she pulled back a long satin curtain and unveiled the room where they would be dining, "enjoy your meal."
The woman hurried off quickly before John even stepped in the room. John took one final deep breath before stepping inside. He smiled politely at Jill, as hers was the first face he saw. Her long blonde hair was pulled back in a bun and she was wearing a kimono similar to the hostess's. He knew they were going to an Asian inspired play, but he didn't know that the women would be wearing Asian attire. Suddenly he worried that his suit wouldn't get Eva's approval.
With that thought, his eyes started scanning the room for her, and when he didn't see her he started looking for Chase. His eyes again came to rest upon Jill who was still seated and staring up at him. It was then that he noticed the intimate atmosphere and the table setting for two.
"Did I miss something?" He smirked and rubbed the back of his head nervously. He'd talked to Eva a little less than thirty minutes ago to let her know that he was running late, and she hadn't said anything about being late herself.
Jill smiled seductively and finally stood, walking over to John. She wrapped her arms loosely around his neck and giggled. "I guess I should come clean now."
John quickly pulled her hands away from him in the politest way that he knew how. "Where's Eva?" Now he was annoyed. "What the hell's going on?"
"Look, sit down, have a glass of sake, and I'll fill you in." She grabbed at his hand and tried to pull him to the table. John was a statue and didn't move an inch. He shook his head 'no' once and gave her his 'I want the truth right now' stare. It had worked on many perps, and it would probably work here as well.
"Okay, okay." Jill smiled, not even slightly embarrassed. "Eva was just trying to help me out. She saw the way we were looking at each other in the parking lot and she wanted to play matchmaker." Jill touched his arm gently and bit her bottom lip gently. "I'm not looking to get married or anything. I'm just looking to have a good time. There's nothing wrong with that right?" Her hand slid down his arm and stopped at the rim of his pants.
John grabbed her wrist and held it firmly. He was practically seeing red now. That whole thing back at the school had all been a little show and he'd fell for it. "I think there's been a misunderstanding." She was clearly in on the deception as well, but it was all Eva's doing so he wouldn't hold that against her. He actually pitied her.
"What's there to misunderstand? You're obviously an attractive man and I'm an attractive woman. How could we not have a good time tonight?" She tried to reach around him with her free hand while pressing her slender frame into him.
"You'll have to accept my apologies. Have a good night." John put his strong hands on her shoulders and pulled her away from him. He snatched the satin sheet back nearly tearing it as he stormed out of the restaurant. He hadn't even remembered to retrieve his jacket.
Eva paced back and forth in front of the sofa and bit on her thumbnail. For the past twenty minutes she'd been staring at the box that was carefully placed on her coffee table. Lisa had sent it express mail and marked it urgent. She hadn't been expecting the package and she had half a mind to call Lisa, but she knew this was some kind of set up.
Her original plan was to just throw it out, but against her better judgment she lugged it inside and left it near the front door. She'd gone on with her normal afternoon routine, and it was only after she found herself glued to a series of shows on CourtTV that she decided she needed something else to entertain herself with.
She checked her watch and cell phone for the time. She expected that John or Jill would have called her by now. Then the thought hit her that they might actually have hit it off. That simple thought had annoyed her to no end, so she needed a distraction.
Now here she was staring at the mysterious box. "Don't be stupid, it's not like she sent you a box full of snakes." She yelled at herself and took a step toward the box. She snatched at the tape and pressed the flaps back so she could see inside. From the looks of it, it was just a few photo albums and a few more boxes.
"And this was so urgent," she rolled her eyes and grabbed the letter that was folded pushed into a corner of the box. "Eva, I hope that you are doing well. This box was sent to the house a week ago and I didn't know what to do with it. It was sent over from a storage company in Llanview. I thought that Layla and I had retrieved all of your things, but clearly we missed some things. I really hope you can find some time to come and see us for the holiday. I love you always, mom." Eva finished reading the letter out loud and tossed it in the waste basket. Lisa's kindness was starting to wear on her nerves again.
She pulled out one album and started to thumb through it. The book was filled with pictures that were mostly of her and Layla. She flipped the book shut and tossed it aside. She started to throw the book back into the box but thought better of it. She set it on the floor and pulled out another album. She remembered how this had been a part of the memory recovery therapy. She could remember some of the stories that had been told to her, but she couldn't recall the actual details from her own memory.
She flipped open the next book and frowned almost immediately. Her mother must not have looked through the contents before she forwarded them to Evangeline. The picture of her and John huddled close together was not one she'd seen before. Their faces were pressed together. Evangeline was smiling brightly. John was smiling as well, but it was clear the photo had been taken by surprise.
The intimacy displayed in the photo confused Eva. She'd always just assumed that Evangeline's and John's relationship had been little more than sexual. At least that's the way her mother and Layla had described it to her. Lisa had insisted that she'd gotten close to John in an attempt to reconcile issues that had never been resolved with her father, Robert, before he died. Knowing what little she did about Evangeline, she still couldn't believe that she had daddy issues.
All this thinking about John was starting to annoy her. She glanced down at her phone noting that neither John nor Jill had called. She wondered if they'd hit it off. Jill could come on strong, but she was an attractive woman.
When the wondering became too much she'd finally broken down and called Jill. "Hey, how'd it go?" Eva tossed the photo albums back in the box and pushed it out of the way.
"I think you can guess how it went." Jill didn't try to hide the irritation in her voice. She chased after John when he stormed out of the restaurant. She apologized to him profusely. She was under the impression that John may have liked her from the way Eva insisted on setting them up. "I made an ass out of myself."
Eva bit her bottom lip to stop herself from laughing. She didn't feel bad at all using Jill in such a way. "Oh no. What happened?" She tried to sound sympathetic, but it sounded more like she was being sarcastic.
"John walked out on me when he realized you weren't going to be there. You knew he wasn't interested in me. Why the hell would you set me up like that?" She shouted into the phone. She was at her wit's end with Eva. She'd tried to be her friend, but Eva was always trying to push her away.
"I was trying to help you out." Eva shot back. She felt as if Jill was attacking her and that put her on the offensive. "You're blaming me because he didn't like you. You knew I wasn't going to be there."
"But he didn't know," Jill interrupted. "I'm blaming you for putting John and I both in an uncomfortable situation. I thought you would clue him. You're acting just like one of the students. At least they have puberty an excuse." Jill paced back and forth in her small apartment. This was going to be it. She wouldn't keep begging Eva for friendship if she didn't really want it.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Eva clenched her fist and shouted into the phone. She wasn't used to this from Jill.
"I don't know why I've tried so hard. You seemed like you were so lonely when I first met you." Jill spoke over Eva. "You almost reminded me of one of the students. I knew you were running from something painful and I didn't want to push. I just wanted to be there for a colleague, but at every turn you pushed me away." Jill sat down on her sofa and put her head in her hand. "This isn't working for me and it clearly isn't working for you."
Eva shook head in disbelief. This was sounding strangely like a breakup. She was actually at a loss for words and could only listen to Jill.
"There's no reason that we can't be professionals at work, but other than that I don't think we have anything else to say to each other." Jill had the satisfaction of hanging up first.
"Hello?" Eva checked the phone before noticing the call had ended. She wanted to be rid of Jill, but this wasn't how she expected things to end. Not wanting to spend too much time worrying about it, Eva decided it was for the best, and that was the end of it.
John blew out a breath as he unlocked the door to his apartment. He didn't bother turning on the lights. He let his jacket and keys fall to the floor as he made his way to the kitchen. John looked for a glass before deciding he would just drink whisky straight from the bottle.
"You know what your problem is John," he was now talking to himself out loud. "You really thought it was going to be that easy? You told Eva that you were relieved that your relationship with Evangeline had ended, and then you really thought that she would just…just," John swallowed a big sip of alcohol. He set the bottled on the bedside table and sat down on the bed with a heavy sigh.
"You thought that she would be Evangeline about it, right?" He knew how Evangeline would have reacted. She would have pushed him for an explanation. Whether he was forthcoming with one or not, she would be grateful for his honesty, and she'd forgive him. She always forgave him. "But she told you. She said she's not Evangeline, only that wasn't what you wanted to hear."
John closed his eyes and fell back against the pillows. The familiar scent of Evangeline's shampoo overwhelmed him. He grabbed what he thought was the offending pillow and tossed it off the bed. Her scent still lingered, so he grabbed another pillow and then another. Before he knew it he was angrily snatching the sheets of the bed and throwing them across the room. Her sweet smell that he enjoyed the night before was now just a painful reminder of things past.
The pain only fueled John's anger. He hurled the nearly full bottle of whiskey across the room and watched as it shattered against the wall. Watching the destruction was satisfying. John threw everything in arms reach, and when he'd run out of things to throw he wrestled with the mattress and flipped it off its frame.
After an uncharacteristic display of anger, John stopped to survey the damage. The apartment that he'd worked so hard to clean was now completely trashed. John walked through the chaos to his recliner and sat down. It hadn't just been Eva's rejection that had set him off. This was the release he'd been building up for years.
John was used to things not going his way in life; he counted on it. Happiness had always been fleeting for him, but this thing with Eva had really driven that point home. He'd allowed himself to hope. Dream. Believe. What were the chances that the two of them would end up here? Why wouldn't he think that maybe this was their chance to try and make it work again?
He told himself he'd come out here so that he could get himself together. It hadn't even been a week and he'd gotten his feelings hurt trying to rekindle a romance with the woman who'd sent him here. In the few days he'd know Eva, she'd gone from one extreme to another when dealing with him. Even after she'd shown him her anger, John still tried to get close to her. That he'd believed her complete change of attitude with little suspicion was just bad judgement.
John forced himself to swallow his remaining anger. When he thought it about it calmly, he realized being angry at Eva was not productive. She would be unapologetically cruel as long as she considered him an enemy or until she regained her memory. It wasn't a good sign that her memory hadn't returned in the two years since she'd recovered from her coma, so waiting on that was a long shot. That left befriending Eva as his only option and that seemed even less likely.
There was no option for rekindling his relationship with Evangeline, and that broke his heart. He'd lost her twice before and it nearly ended him. This would be the third time now. This time it felt final.