As the days went on, Evie found herself more and more living for her time with Roxy. Suddenly bored by the incessant chatter of superficial gossip from her inner circle, or the preening chivalry of her boyfriend, Evie felt less and less present at school.

She focused on her school work instead, if only to get Roxy Adams out of her head. My grades are improving. She mused to herself, seated in homeroom on a Thursday afternoon. I even got a B in a French presentation.

"Okay, spill." A voice next to Evie said and she jumped. At some point May had dropped into the seat next to Evie and was staring at her intently. Evie resisted the urge to squirm.

"Hmm?"

"You have not been yourself lately. The ice-bitch mask is still there, it's always there, but the Evie underneath is gone. Either you're in love, which is impossible since you seem to barely tolerate that hunky man of yours and haven't told us of another dude, or you're on pot." May stated blandly, as if that were the only two possible reasons that a woman would keep to herself. Maybe for the first time ever, I am myself.

"Neither," Evie said with a laugh, enjoying how truthful that response was. It's refreshing, after weeks and weeks of lying, to be honest. "It's just family shit. I have to pick up my grades to get into a college, or end up stuck with my mom for another year. And Dylan... we're okay. I'm just not a romantic like you."

Evie paused, unsure of what was truth or lie in such a complex statement. May just looked at Evie, expression unreadable. Then she nodded, got up, grabbed her bag and walked out.

A month ago, Evie would have been really hurt by that. Would have run after her friend to see if she was okay, begged for forgiveness, cleared her afternoon for a remedial shopping trip. But something made Evie stay in her chair and turn back to her Pre Calc questions.

Later that afternoon, Evie watched as Roxy parked her car by the bottle shop and hopped out. That had become their usual hangout, sitting on the roof of the bottle shop. That, or the 70s diner, or the abandoned park by Shepard Highway.

Evie smiled, watching the beautiful Roxy Adams saunter across the car park, hands in the back pockets of her ripped denim shorts, hips swinging. Roxy hoisted herself up a moment later and lounged out on the roof. Today she wore a black bralette underneath a knotted floral shirt, testament to the warming weather.

"Hey E," she said, voice husky and deep. After all this time Evie could still not get used to that sultry voice, or the angel before her.

"Hey Rox," she responded, lying down to face her. The silence was broken only by a crow cawing in the background.

"I think I'm starting to change," Evie said, the statement tentative but revealing her excitement. Roxy grinned.

"Course you are. You're becoming confident in who you are, caring less about what others think. And you're friends with me, so, it's a given." Roxy lifted a hand to her chin and posed. Evie laughed and swatted her friend on the shoulder playfully. But she's right. It is because of her. She's setting me free.

"Hey, um... I wanted to talk to you about something," Evie said hesitantly, twirling a strand of hair around her fingers. Come on, get it together Evie. Do you want her or not? "Do you think... you and I... would ever be-"

The clang of boots on steel cut Evie off. Evie lifted herself up on one arm and looked over Roxy's shoulder, who was still staring at her. As if waiting to see what she was gonna say.

"Hey sugar." An unfamiliar voice called out, followed by a head of auburn curls. Pretty heart shaped face, with clear blue eyes and a smattering of freckles across a perky nose. The head was followed by a petite body, with a small waist and sizeable assets. The dreaded girlfriend.

Roxy spun around and leaned up. She walked over to the girl, and they embraced. Evie looked away, and watched the setting sun.

"What are you doing here?" Roxy asked, turning back towards Evie.

"I thought I'd come meet your friend," she said, and took a step towards Evie. The girl held out her hand and Evie took it reluctantly. "Hi, I'm Kate. You must be Evie?"

Kate's smile was warm, her eyes genuine. She was pretty, the sort of girl you took home to meet your mom. Evie felt resentment claw at her stomach, but smiled back. You're Roxy's friend. You need to get along with her girlfriend.

"Yeah, that's right. Nice to meet you." She almost added 'You're a pretty lucky girl' but stopped herself in time.

"Likewise," Kate responded, bouncing on the heels of her feet. Awkward silence ensued. Roxy just watched, head slightly tilted to the side, as both girls looked at her.

"So, um, are you a student at Kleppers?" Evie asked politely. As if coming alive, Kate leaped over to Roxy and grabbed her hand.

"Nope." She popped the 'p'. "I'm an art student at Kleppers Community College. Roxy and I met last year at a gallery I was working at, she came in and asked to borrow a lighter." Kate stared up at Roxy lovingly, as if it was the sweetest story imaginable. Evie fought against her gag reflex.

No no no no, too much, not ready for this.

"I think imma head off," Evie said quickly, clearing her throat. Too awkward.

"That sounds great Evie. It was lovely to meet you, hope to see you around." Kate turned to Roxy. "How about me and you go out for dinner sugar? Then spend some alone time-"

LALALALALALA. Evie's brain rang out like a siren, trying to protect her. She was tempted to put her fingers in her ears, but resisted the juvenile behaviour.

Evie reached down, grabbed her bag and walked past the two lovebirds, as quickly as she could without looking like she was running away.

"E, wait," she heard Roxy call, but Evie was already half way down the second set of stairs. Hitting the ground with a soft thud, she barrelled across the gravel towards her car, fighting back the tears.

Stupidstupidstupidstupid. You knew she had a girlfriend, why are you feeling like this? But sometimes the heart refuses to acknowledge what the head already knows.

Evie hopped in her car, gunned the engine and drove through the streets. She didn't look back once.

—————————————————

A couple hours later, Evie lay on her bed, flicking through a magazine. She looked at the pictures without really seeing them, mind running at a hundred miles an hour.

Her phone buzzed with an incoming text. Evie dove to it, grabbed it, but when she saw it was just May to the group chat she tossed it aside. This sucks. I should be studying.

Resigned to her fate of a dreary afternoon in the books, Evie got up and sat by her desk, pulling her books out of her bag. She'd only opened one when her phone rang. Without thinking, she answered it.

"Hello?" She said hopefully.

"Hey baby." Came Dylan's voice.

"Oh." She said in disappointment. "What's up?" On the other end, a sigh of frustration.

"Look, sweetheart, I ain't getting any love from you. And if daddy ain't getting any sugar, then you at least gotta be nice to me." Nice. Evie thought. Even his voice is annoying.

"Sorry. How are you?" I can at least try to be civil. Today must be the day for pesky partners.

Silence. An exasperated sigh on the other end of the line. Evie frowned and continued to flip through her text book.

"I think we should break up." Dylan's voice was cold, unrelenting. Evie wasn't surprised. Things had been deteriorating for weeks now.

"Okay." She said and was about to hang up, when she heard:

"No, no, no, wait. You're supposed to beg for my forgiveness and convince me to keep dating you." Confusion evident in his voice. Evie rolled her eyes. Now that he'd started it for her, she certainly wasn't going to change her mind.

"Okay. I think we should break up. Bye." She said sweetly and hung up. Relief coursed through her veins. At least something good came of this day.

"EVELYNNNNNNN!" The scream split through the house barely ten minutes later, like a tsunami. Shit. I forget about her.

Evie sighed and trudged down the stairs, following the screaming voice into the kitchen. Gloria stood by the granite counter tops, busy making herself a martini, phone in one hand. She looked livid.

"I just got off the phone with dear Miriam Fresh. Did you just break up with sweet, precious Dylan?" Her voice had gone deathly quiet. Her eyes promised violence.

"No. Yes. Well, he sort of broke up with me first. I just finished the deal." Evie responded. She'd had too much of a shitty day to deal with her mother's crazed antics, and didn't really care what her mother thought of the breakup.

"How dare you." Gloria hissed, knuckles turning white. "This is how you repay me? By stabbing me in the back?" What the f is she talking about?

"Mother, it's my life. If I don't want to date him, then I shouldn't have to." Evie said, immediately regretting the words as they left her mouth. Gloria grabbed a wooden spoon sitting on the counter top and lugged it at Evie's head.

Evie screamed and ducked. WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT? The spoon hit the door frame with a dull thump. Evie and Gloria stared at each other warily, like gladiators assessing an opponent. Gloria opened her mouth to say something when the front door opened.

"Honey, I'm home." A masculine voice called into the air. Gloria's head snapped up, her hand dropped to her side. She fitted a perfect smile onto her face and grabbed the martini, gliding past Evie into the entrance hall.

"Darling." Evie heard her mother coo, trying to hand the man the martini. Evie turned around and stared at them, at the hand swatting the martini away. "You're home early."

"Yes. My business trip was cut short. I'll be heading out to Florida tomorrow morning. Have my business attire laundered and packed before then." And with that, he handed her the suitcase and went into the study, his powerful steps reverberating through the room.

Evie watched as Gloria just stood there, holding a martini and a suitcase, looking like a child whose favourite pet had just died. Evie was filled with sadness and pity. She reversed out of the kitchen and used a back staircase to get up to her room.

That was insane. I wonder if she's off her meds again... Evie pondered, making a mental note to check the medicine cabinet when her mother was out.

Her phone screen lit up. Evie walked over and grabbed it, expecting to see an onslaught of messages from her girls over the break up, which was no doubt circulating in every gossip circle by now. But stared in surprise at only one message, from Roxy.

Hey E. Kate and I broke up. I'm moving out and am a bit strapped for cash right now. Can I borrow some cash from you, to pay for a motel tonight? I promise I'll pay you back, with interest xx Roxy

Evie slapped a hand across her mouth. No way... did I do this? Her heart skipped a beat at the two 'x's'.

Fingers flying, she texted back as quick as she could.

No need for a motel. Why don't you stay here for the night? xx Evie

Evie held her breath, watching the typing bubble appear. Roxy had mentioned sharing a flat with Kate since she'd moved out of her uncles place, and that she hated asking people for help. Evie felt honoured that Roxy came to her.

Sure, if that's okay. If your mom doesn't flip at having a lesbian in the house 😝

Right... But by now, what her mother wanted or didn't want, was on the bottom of Evie's priority list. Besides, with father home tonight, she'll be too preoccupied anyway.

Leave her to me. Meet me at the neighbours place in 20. Evie texted back. Blood thrumming with the thrill, she turned around and surveyed the room. Right. Gloria first, room second. And with that, she leapt into action.