That same Saturday evening, Evie sat in her living room surrounded by books. Being with Kyle and dealing with her parents had taken up all of her spare time for the weekend and now she had to finish all her homework at once. She had just finished management ethics and was about to pull out her chemistry books when the phone rang.
"Karen!" she yelled from her spot on the couch. "Can you get that!?"
When Karen didn't answer her, she pushed her books off her lap and dashed to the kitchen to get to the phone before whoever it was on the other line hung up.
"Hello?" she said into the phone after snatching it off it's cradle in the wall.
"Evelyn, honey, it's your mother. Father is very upset about what happened yesterday, and he would like you to come over so he can have a talk with you."
Evie fell down on a chair at the kitchen table and sighed. "Mom, Kyle wasn't being serious. I told him everything to say. He's not an art major, he doesn't even know what he's majoring in. I was only trying to get you guys to see that I can be my own person! I don't want to take all these business classes, and I don't want to go out with stupid guys from Dad's work!"
"He has a new man for you to meet," her mother told her as though she hadn't heard a word Evie had said. "We think you should dump Mr. Timberlake's brother. He's not good for you."
Evie sighed. "Mom, I don't want to go out with whoever this guy is, and Kyle and I were never dating in the first place!"
"Come home for dinner tonight, Evelyn. That's not a request. We'll see you at seven."
Evie's jaw dropped as she stared at the phone. Her mother had hung up on her!
Kyle walked down a sunny path on his way to meet some friends at the cafeteria as he reached out his hand and plucked a single leave from a nearby bush. He tore it into little pieces, dropping them along the way. When he looked up, he saw a face he wasn't necessarily expecting to see. He slowed his stride, not being able to take his eyes of her.
Evie threw her arms around him and buried her face into his T-shirt. "Oh, Kyle," she cried. "My life is a mess!"
He put his arms around her and held her close. "What's wrong?"
"It's my parents. I have to go home for dinner again tonight... and my mom says that my dad found a guy for me. I don't want to meet him, Kyle, and I don't want to see my parents tonight!"
Kyle pulled away and put his fingers beneath her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Then don't go, Evie. What are they going to do? Come here and kidnap you? You can't let them force you into going there whenever they call, and they can't pick your boyfriends for you!"
She put her head back on his chest and sighed. "It's not that simple. If I don't go, I'll sit in my apartment and feel guilty about it all night. Then, when I get back from classes tomorrow morning, I'll have ten messages on my answering machine demanding to know why I didn't show up."
Kyle slipped his hand through her soft hair to cradle the back of her head and lowered his face down to the top of her head, sighing. As he took another breath, the scent of her shampoo filled his airways, and he squeezed his eyes shut, remembering everything that had gone on between the two of them. Then, he remembered what Justin had told him; he shouldn't tell her how he felt... not yet anyway.
"I don't know what to tell you," he mumbled, his eyes still closed. "I don't think there's anything I can do."
"Will you meet me at the library tonight? I need to study, but I don't want to be alone."
"Sure," Kyle said immediately, even though he knew he shouldn't. At least she hadn't asked him to her apartment. "What time?"
"I should be back at nine-thirty. You don't have plans yet, do you?" she asked as she pulled back to look at him
Kyle smiled at her. The guys down the hall from him were going to a party, and he'd been invited, but he knew he couldn't get into any more trouble with drinking anyway. "Not really," he said slowly. "I should really get studying too. I have the hardest time reading those boring text books."
"I'll help you stay concentrated," she said, smiling at him, though he somehow doubted that he could keep his concentration on books while she was around. "One of my roommates has a new boyfriend and kicked the rest of us out for the night anyway. Hey, do you mind if I stay at your place tonight?"
Kyle's eyes widened. Where had that come from?
"I promise I'll be good," she added. "I know you have your roommate in there with you."
"Yeah," Kyle mumbled. "He's a little... odd. We don't talk much."
"If you don't want me to stay, I can stay at my friend Mary's apartment. She won't mind."
"No!" He told her. "It'll be okay. I'm sure Andrew won't care. He never looks away from his computer anyway. He probably won't even notice you."
Evie grinned at him. "Perfect!" she squealed, leaning up to kiss his cheek. "You're a really great friend, Kyle. I'm so glad we met."
He gave her a shy smile. "Me, too. But I have to get to the cafeteria. Some guys are waiting for me there..."
She let go of his arms and pushed him on his way. "Go on, then. I'll come to your room to get you around nine-thirty, okay?"
Kyle nodded as they parted. He almost ran into a tree as he watched her walk in the other direction, but shook himself out of the daze just in time. Smiling to himself, he turned around and headed toward the cafeteria.
Phil set a bowl of pasta on the table and then reached into the silverware drawer for a fork. He turned and stuck it right into the top of noodles before plopping down in his seat and smiling across the table at Lalie.
"You look happy," she observed as she pushed a glass of milk in his direction. "Anything I should know about?"
"My new agent called," he reported, sliding the glass in front of his plate and watching as she scooped some noodles from the bowl.
"Your agent? Phil! My boyfriend is going to be a published author!" she exclaimed with a grin.
He stared at her. "Would you love me if I were just me?"
For a moment, she only looked at him. "Are you kidding me? I already do love you for just you. Where are all these insecurities coming from? I thought you knew I loved you. Phil, honey, I tell you every day."
Phil looked down at his plate.
"Did your brother say something to upset you?"
"No," he said quickly, glancing back up at her. "This isn't about Justin. He was actually trying to make me feel better about it." He pushed his plate away and sighed. "I'm not hungry anymore."
"I don't know what you're talking about," she told him. "Tell me what's bothering you. It can't be so bad that it takes your appetite away."
His eyes met her blue-green ones in a stare. "The thought of losing you takes away more than my appetite," he said, his tone serious.
Lalie was looking at him in awe. "Phil!" she exclaimed. "You're not going to lose me! What do I have to say to get you to believe me!?" "You don't know the half of it, Lalie. You don't know the half of it." He crossed his arms as he quickly glanced up at her again.
"Is there something I should know that you're not telling me? Because when I look at you I see the man I love, and nothing else. Nothing will ever make me change my mind about you. Nothing, Phil."
He glanced up at her once more. "I can't tell you," he admitted. "I can't."
"Why not?" she demanded. "What could be so horrible that I'd leave you? I can't imagine anything that you could of done that would make me stop loving you."
Did she really love him that much? If so, then maybe it would be okay to just tell her... "Forgive me if I find it hard to believe that anyone can love me that much," he told her. "All my life I kept getting the same message. 'You're not worth it.' How can I believe you when you tell me that I am?"
"Is that what this is about, Phil?" she asked, getting up from her chair and walking over to stand next to his. "You don't think you're worth my love?"
Phil looked up at her, but then looked away quickly as he folded his arms even tighter across his chest. "How can I be? You're so wonderful... and I've never been in a relationship this long. I just can't help but think that maybe you should have moved on by now." He felt her fingers on his face, and he closed his eyes at her touch.
"You say I'm wonderful," she said softly as she pried his arms away from his chest and then pulled him up from his chair. "But it's you that's wonderful, Phil. I'll never understand why you can't see that. For God's sake, Phil, you drove across the country looking for me, and you didn't give up until you found me and brought me back home in your arms. How is that unworthy of my love?"
"I love you," he muttered, giving in and putting his arms around her waist. "Why wouldn't I drive across the country to bring you back? Why wouldn't I?"
"The same reason why I would never leave you," she answered as she pressing her lips against his in a head spinning kiss. "I love you more than anything."
"I love you," he repeated. "And what Justin was saying when you walked in is the truth. I am a pathetic fool without you, Lalie Mills... and I'd die if you ever left me."
"Forget dinner," she said, reaching up and unbuttoning his shirt. "Make love to me instead."
Phil didn't argue.
Kyle put his hand to the doorknob of the door and tried to turn, but it was locked. "Odd," he muttered, wondering where Andrew could have gone. He was usually always in the room. Finally, Kyle found his key in the bottom of his pockets and turned it in the lock. He swung the door open and went to drop his backpack on the floor when he noticed that Andrew was in there... and instead of being in front of the computer, he was on his bed.
"Ah... why is the door locked?" Kyle wanted to know as he shut it behind himself and then set his backpack by his desk.
Andrew turned over and looked at him from his loft. "I was taking a nap and didn't want anyone to come in and try to..." he trailed off. Kyle stood there staring at him. Was he ever going to finish? "To steal anything," Andrew finally concluded.
"Oh," Kyle replied. "Whatever. Hey, I have this friend who needs a place to stay tonight. Do you mind if she sleeps here? She promised she'd be quiet and all."
Andrew waved his hand before turning back over in his bed. "Yeah, sure. I'll probably be sleeping anyway. I haven't slept in forever. I kinda have insomnia."
"I noticed," Kyle muttered. "We'll be quiet."
Andrew didn't say anything, and Kyle went to his desk to pull out his books. If he was going to study with Evie tonight, he needed to at least be prepared. He didn't want her to think he was a complete idiot.
Chapter 13
Keeping the Peace
Family: Timberlake
Non-Nsync Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
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