Evelyn

My parents were at the airport to greet Whitney and me when our plane landed at LAX. My mother pulled me into a hug and my father followed suit.

"How was your flight, kiddo?" My dad asked me.

"Not too bad," I told him as we parted. "You guys didn't have to drive all the way up here. We could have gotten a rental car and drove the hour ourselves."

"Oh, nonsense, Evelyn." My mother said. She turned to Whitney, "Whitney how have you been?"

"I've been good," Whitney told her.

We began to head to the car, my mother was still chatting away. I kept looking over my shoulder half expecting Zack to be there, but he never was. Why would he be? He was probably at home in Huntington with a beer in his hand and his fiancée at his side.

"Now, Evelyn. Your father and I insist that you stay at the house while you're home. It only makes sense. I don’t know why you would ever want to stay in a hotel anyways."

I refused her offer. "No, mom. The hotel is already paid for, no refunds. Plus, I have some work I need to get done while I'm away so I could use a little alone time." The last part was a partial lie. I had a few sketches that needed to be drawn up for when I returned to New York, but they didn't need to be done right away.

My mother sighed. "Okay, if you insist."

"I do!" I told her. I didn't want to mention the fact that I wasn't sure if I could survive a week at the house that held so many memories of my brother and Zack.

The ride back to Huntington Beach wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be and that gave me a glimmer of hope that this week home wouldn't be as disastrous as I originally thought.

The first few days were uneventful which made me happy. More and more family began to show up and I was happy Whit and I stuck to our guns and stayed at a hotel rather than my mom’s house. I was also happy that my parents invited so much family to the reunion. More people meant I had more of a chance to be distracted from Zack. I knew I didn't want to see him but I knew I was going to, it was inevitable. What I didn't know was what I was going to do when I saw him. Should I try to talk to him or should I completely ignore him? After what happened at Jimmy's funeral nearly every part of me was screaming not to approach him. However, at the same time another voice within me was begging to remember how badly I wanted to reconcile with him.

By time the day of the family reunion arrived, I had decided not to completely ignore him but I wasn't going to approach him either. If he wanted to talk he was going to have to approach me and initiate the conversation. I'd be damned if I was going to make a fool out of myself like I did before.

I wasn't sure what I want wanted to wear so Whitney and I basically brought our entire closets with us. The family reunion was basically a really large barbecue and potluck so I didn't want to wear heels like I usually did but I still wanted to look cute. If I was being honest, I still wanted Zack to notice me even if he did hate my guts.

"I just want to look cute but not like I'm trying to look cute," I groaned.

Whitney laughed. "Wear that crop top with that skirt."

She pointed as she spoke and I picked up the items of clothing she mentioned. The top was a thin, white long sleeved crop top and the skirt was made of light coloured denim and looked like a partial overalls-dress. The outfit was super cute and my boobs always looked good in it, but still I stood in front of the outfit half naked trying to decide if I really wanted to wear that until Whitney clapped her hands at me.

"Ev! We're already late as fuck! Put some clothes on or I'm going to leave you here!" She shouted.

I shrugged. "Tell my mom I’m sorry I couldn't make it."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, either you put that on or I'm dragging you outside half naked. Either way we're leaving in ten minutes."

I groaned dramatically before pulling the crop top on and then pulled the skirt over it. I buckled the straps and looked at my reflection in the mirror. I must admit, I did look super cute except...

"But what about sh..." I started but Whitney was already ahead of me. She tossed a pair of teal studded canvas shoes at me.

"Two minutes," she warned.

"Well, that was a short ten minutes." I scoffed pulling on one shoe and then the other.

Whitney shrugged. "You know how much I hate being late."

"We're not even that late," I told her while grabbing a teal necklace from my suitcase and clasping it around my neck. A quick look in the mirror confirmed I was happy with my outfit.

"We were supposed to be there at noon!" She rolled her eyes again and grabbed her purse and the keys to the rental car.

I glanced at the clock; it was nearly two o'clock. I grabbed my purse and phone before following her out the door. "It's your fault," I told her. "You were supposed to help me pick out something to wear last night but you fell asleep."

Whitney pressed the elevator button and the doors opened immediately. She pressed the ground floor button and then continued to press the 'door close' button impatiently. "Oh, whatever." She said once the door closed and the elevator began to move downward. "You just took your sweet ass time this morning because you don't want to face Zack."

I didn't argue with her because she was right. I really, really didn't want to see Zack and I really, really, really didn't want to see him with his fiancée. Whitney glanced at me when the elevator doors popped open and her face softened.

"I'm sorry, Ev, that came out harsh. I understand not wanting to see him, but better to get it over with. Just think, this time in a few days we'll be back home in New York and you'll never have to see him again."

I nodded and we walked out of the elevators and into the lobby of the hotel, and then out the hotel doors. She was right, it was better to just get this over with.

We arrived to my mom’s house shortly later. A quick glance around the room told me that Zack either hadn't arrived yet or was outside with the other guests.

"You're late," my mother told me when she spotted me. If anyone hated late arrivals more than Whitney it was her.

"I'm here now," I told her. She didn’t know the true reason why Zack and I broke up so she wouldn’t understand my tardiness.

Whitney spotted one of my cousins across the room and with a wave she dismissed herself and joined them. My mother was talking to me but I was too busy searching for Zack or any of his bandmates to listen to her.

After a few minutes, we were interrupted by my grandma walking up. "Grandma," I greeted taking her into a hug.

"Evelyn, I thought that was you. What on earth are you wearing dear? You look like you should be standing on a street corner."

I laughed. "This is what's in, grandma."

"Is that what everyone in New York is wearing?" She asked, shaking her head. "You should move back home."

I smiled at her, "Maybe one day." I lied. I had no intentions of ever moving back to California, but if it got her to move on to another subject, so be it.

After a few minutes of talking she went to find another family member and I decided to go outside.

Another quick glance and still no Zack, but Matt was standing next to a blonde female I recognized as his wife. He saw me too and waved me over. I reluctantly walked over, afraid Zack was hiding behind a bush waiting for me to approach one of his friends so he could tell me to get the fuck away. I reminded myself that Matt was my family and walked over with my head held high and a smile on my face.

"How have you been?" I asked him as he pulled me into a hug. It was moments like these I was glad I grew up a lot since high school. The old me wouldn't have touched Matt with a ten foot pole, and that was awful because Matt was, and has always been, a really great guy. Matt was super kind, smart and funny and I was glad to call him my cousin and it wasn't because of his fame, although that was pretty great too.

"I've been amazing," he told me. His wife, Valary, took me into a hug after we parted.

"You look great," I told her.

"Thanks, you do too." She smiled. Valary and I didn't talk very much in high school even after I started dating Zack. But afterwards - once I stopped being so stuck up and kept in touch with Matt a little better - I was able to see how cool of a chick she was, and though we still don't talk much at least we're on good terms and I consider her a friend.

"Have you seen Zack?" Matt asked me. I shook my head. "Maybe you'll get lucky and he won't come."

I laughed. "I don't think my luck is that good."

Brian walked up to me, Matt and Valary. He looked at me but didn't greet me. Brian took Zack's side on this whole ordeal, Matt took mine and Johnny tried to stay out of it, but I think secretly he took Zack's side. He whispered something in Matt's ear and Matt nodded.

Brian walked away without looking at me. "Sorry about that, Evelyn." Matt said.

"It's fine," I shrugged. Brian not liking me didn't mean much.

"We're going to go...er...smoke, so I'll talk to you later, okay?" He said.

I'm sure by 'smoke' he meant marijuana, so I nodded and he walked off. I turned around to face my crowd of chattering family members and picked out who I wanted to talk to next. I decided to join Whitney and my cousins who were now talking with a glass of wine in the hands.

Before walking up to them, however I decided if there was going to be liquor at this get-together I definitely needed some in my system, especially if Zack was supposed to show. I walked back into the house and into the kitchen in search of the biggest glass I could find. I settled for a wine glass that was already out and filled it to the brim with a white wine. The first glass was gone soon after it was poured, and so I filled it again, this time not so close to the brim. After all, I couldn't seem like an alcoholic in front of most of my family now, could I?

I walked back out of the house and stopped dead in my tracks. Zack stood a few feet from me, hand in hand with his date whose back was towards me. How did he get passed me without seeing him?

My eyes connected with Whitney’s and I nodded my head in Zack's direction, who was still in conversation with a family friend. Her eyes widened and I watched as she excused herself and made her way to me. I met her half way, eager to get a little further from Zack and his fiancée.

"Oh shit," Whitney whispered. "He actually came."

"Of course he actually came," I rolled my eyes.

Whitney shook her head. "I know, I know but...holy shit he actually came."

I groaned, annoyed and ready to go home but instead took a large gulp of my wine, and then another. My second glass of wine was soon empty and I'd have to pass Zack and his perfect date to retrieve another.

"Here," Whitney said offering me her half-full glass, "You seem to need this more than me."

"Thanks," I mumbled.

"Did you see his fiancée?" She asked me.

I shook my head. "No, her back was towards me. Is she totally beautiful?"

Whitney's eyes moved past me and I could tell she was examining her. "Honestly, yeah. Switch me spots so you can see her."

I nodded as the butterflies in my stomach woke and we switched spots so now I could see Zack and his fiancée.

I took a sip of wine as I looked past Whitney. God, Zack was still so attractive, maybe even more so than he was in high school. I shook my head, tossing the thoughts from my head and darted my eyes towards his date.

She was tan, blonde, slender and...familiar. I narrowed my eyes, trying to think of where I knew her from. Did we go to school together? No, that wasn't it. Was she one of Zack's exes? No, that wasn't it either.

Recognition nearly knocked me over. Gena.

Sure enough, something caught her attention and she turned so I could see a part of her new tattoo sticking out from the side of her dress.

"Holy shit," I whispered.

Whitney rolled her eyes. "She's not that pretty, Ev."

I shook my head. "No, I know her from New York. She was one of my clients. Actually, I just finished her tattoo, but..." I stopped myself.

"But what?!" Whitney asked.

I tore my eyes from the couple and focused on my best friend. "She wasn't alone when she came into the shop, Whit. She was with some guy; they were kissing and touching all over each other..."

Whitney's eyes enlarged again. "And it wasn't Zack?" I shook my head. "Holy shit," she whispered. "So what, are you going to tell him?"

I nearly laughed out loud. "He wouldn't believe me if I did."

"True," she nodded. "I could tell him."

I shook my head. "I don't think he would believe you either." I sighed. "I'm just going to leave it alone."

"Ev, you can't just let him stay with a cheater. He's supposed to be marrying her next month."

I didn't know what to do. I know if I brought it up to him he wouldn't believe me, but I also knew Whitney was right. I couldn't let him marry her. "I'll talk to Matt about it," I told her.

Whitney opened her mouth to reply but Gena's eyes caught might and before I could look away she was waving at me and I think she said "Oh my God." She was pulling Zack towards me and Whitney before I could even think about running away.

"Fuck," I whispered. Whitney gave me an odd look but I didn't have time to explain.

"Oh my God! Evelyn? What a small world!" Gena smiled at me. "What are you doing here?"

My eyes jumped from her to Zack, who was staring at me with a confused expression on his face. I shook my head. What had Gena asked me? I couldn't remember. "How are you?" I asked, hoping she didn't realize I wasn't paying much attention.

"I'm so good. My tattoo is looking so good!" She said, she turned to Zack who still had his eyes on me. "Baby, this is the tattooist I was telling you about. She did my tattoo."

I tried to smile at him but I didn't succeed. My heart was beating faster than a hummingbird’s, and I felt like my chest was tightening. A flash of shock swept across Zack's face when Gena told him I did her tattoo for her. "Oh," was all he said.

"I'm Whitney," Whitney introduced. She stuck her hand out to Gena and Gena took it.

"Gena," she said with another smile. She turned back to me. "Zack's best friend Matt is around here somewhere, he's a part of the family throwing this party. How do you know..." She trailed off.

"I'm Matt's cousin," I told her. "This is actually my mother’s house."

"Oh! So you must know my fiancé then?" She asked.

My stomach began to feel queasy. My throat tightened and I wasn't sure how to answer her question. Zack's eyes narrowed. "Yeah," I squeaked. I didn't realize how tight I was gripping the neck of the wine glass until I felt a sharp pain in my hand and felt the warm blood. "Shit," I cursed.

"Ev!" Whitney gasped. "Come on; let's go get you cleaned up."

"Oh my God, are you okay?" Gena asked me.

I nodded as Whitney took the bloody, broken glass from my hand. "I got it," I told Whitney as she handed me a napkin. I wrapped it in my hand before walking away, leaving Whitney standing alone with my ex and his fiancée.

I walked into the house and instantly caught my mother’s attention. "I'm fine, just a cut," I told her, heading upstairs and out of habit, into my old bedroom. I headed for the bathroom, and winced as I ran my hand under the warm water. I leaned against the sink with my head down and hand still under the water and held back the tears as I skimmed though the conversation that just happened.

I wasn't sure why I was so upset, but it was nearly overwhelming. Maybe it was because I was hoping Zack would have forgiven me by now or maybe it was because I knew Zack was going to get hurt by a woman he loved and trusted again. Maybe it was a mix of both, who knows.

The gash in my palm was worse than I thought. I searched the cabinets for some type of gauze or large bandaid or something, but found nothing. I groaned and grabbed the toilet paper and began to wrap it around my hand so I could walk across the house without dripping blood everywhere. I turned to leave and nearly jumped out of my skin when I noticed the figure standing in the entryway, my mother’s familiar first aid kit in his grasp.

"Zack..."

Notes

In case you missed it: Evelyn's outfit

Thank you for reading and all the feedback! Please keep it coming, I love hearing from you guys! I also have a new story out called The Fire and the Flood, it's a love triangle with an OC/Zack/Matt (not a slash). If you want to read that click here.

Title credit: Of Mice & Men "Something to Hide"