Chapter 71 CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE

Chapter 71 CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE
 JOSH’S POV

Eva actually looked surprised to see me.

Which made a lot of sense cause just like her, I was surprised I was actually standing at her door that late at night.

But I couldn’t help it. Especially not after everything that happened.

For a moment, she didn’t speak and neither did I. All I could do was stare at her and realize how much could changed in such a short period of time.

She was now dressed in comfy clothes, her hair hanging loosely around her shoulders. The hurt and anger in her eyes from earlier were no longer as prominent and I still felt as miserable as I did when she stormed out of the locker room.

“Hey.”

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her hand still on the door knob. “Are you here to see Peter?”

“No,” I immediately shook my head. “I’m here to see you. I saw your text.”

“Oh.”

“And I didn’t want the day to end without me talking to you,” I added. “So, can we talk now?”

For a second she was silent, her grip on the knob loosening. I watched her hand fall to her side, her fingers now curling.

“Um, Peter’s in,” she turned slightly to peep behind her. “He’s in the living room, actually. Does he know you’re here?”

“Oh, no, not at all,” I shook my head. I’d been reckless and didn’t even consider the fact that I could have run into him. “Can we talk in my car then?”

She looked behind her again, my fingers curling by my side as I impatiently waited for a response from her.

“Yeah, sure,” she finally nodded slowly. “Just give me a minute. I need to tell him I’ll be outside.”

She didn’t wait for a response from me before slamming the door in my face and then vanishing from my side. I watched the trace of her disappear then took a step backwards, followed by several others as I returned to lean against my car.

I checked the time on my phone, trying not to think too much about what I was about to say, and exactly two minutes and thirty-seven seconds later, the front door opened again, Eva stepping out. I watched her look around before finally catching sight of me waving my hands in the air, and she slowly made her way towards me.

I intentionally parked my car farther than usual, Eva taking a while to get to my side. She announced her presence with mumbles and I helped her with the door, watching her get in before I walked over to my side of the car.

Without the need to fasten our seatbelts, the first couple of minutes were silent. And awkward as I rehearsed every word I’d practiced to say on my way here.

I glanced at her. She was staring straight ahead, her hands folded neatly over her lap as if she were waiting for me to say something worth listening to.

I exhaled through my nose, leaning my head against the headrest.

“Do you have anything to say?” she spoke up. “I need to head back before Peter starts looking for me.”

“Yeah, I do,” I turned to face her. “I do.”

“I realized simply telling you things between Indianna and I are complicated without actually telling you the details was unfair to you.”

Her expression didn't change, but I could tell she was listening.

I paused then began again. “Indianna and I grew up together. We've been friends since we were kids, and because we were around each other all the time, somewhere along the way, feelings grew.”

“I don't think I know how to explain the rest without making myself sound like a complete pervert,” I looked down at my hands. “But when my parents started fighting, Indianna was always around me.”

My throat tightened slightly.

“There were a lot of moments during that time when I wasn't exactly okay, and she was the person I went to. She knew what was happening at home, she knew when things were bad, and she was always there when I needed someone.”

“I was young, angry, and I didn't know how to deal with any of it. I didn't want a relationship, and I couldn't handle the idea of committing to someone when everything else in my life already felt like it was falling apart. And Indianna understood that. At least, she did for a while.”

I looked at her again, her expression slowly changing.

“For me, it became casual. We both knew what it was, and for a while, we were on the same page about it. I wasn't promising her anything, and she wasn't asking me for anything.”

“But eventually, I realized I was being selfish.”

Her eyes flickered slightly and I continued. “I was getting everything I wanted from her without having to give her anything she actually needed from me, and that wasn't fair. So, we had to stop.”

I leaned back, staring through the windshield.

“But Indianna and I had been friends for so long that completely staying away from each other was almost impossible. Even after everything, we still cared about each other. At the very least, we were still friends, and eventually we agreed that was what we needed to remain.”

“I didn't care what people thought back then,” I rubbed my palms together, unable to look at her directly in the eye at that moment. “And, honestly, I felt guilty about what happened between us, so I let her do whatever she wanted. If she wanted to pretend we were still something, I didn't stop her. If people assumed we were together, I didn't correct them.”

“People assumed we were still together. They always had. We were close, we spent time together, she appeared in my videos and I appeared in hers, I went to her events, and neither of us really bothered correcting anyone.”

I looked at her now, daring to reach for her hand. She didn't flinch and with a quiet sigh, I gently squeeze it.

“But that was the past, Eva,” my voice was firmer this time. “I'm not going to allow that anymore.”