BIG TROUBLE [II]

Evie groaned inwardly at the person standing in front of her. Maybe it was the fact that she was fact that she didn't sleep enough before going out with Mike and Hope that morning or because she was mad at Mike for carrying her back to the car in the manner he did. Or maybe it was because she didn't like the way Ronald was ogling at her. Whatever the case, she wasn't the least enthused by his presence.

"You didn't have to trouble yourself to come visit me personally." Evie forced a smile as she took the flowers he had brought her. He was Edwin's close friend and also a family friend so Evie made sure she was always polite with him.

"How could I not? I haven't seen you since you came back." Ronald said and flashed another smile. "If I didn't visit, I would have missed out on yet another opportunity to see how beautiful you have become."

"I'm flattered. Thank you. Evie blushed." She wasn't immune to compliments and Ronald was good at giving them.

She chatted with him for a while before he left to answer a call. After he returned he told her he had an urgent business to attend and would like to meet her again. He offered to take her for dinner but she politely refused. He didn't give up and left his number with her instead.

She sighed as she watched him leave. He was tall and handsome. Rich, smart and funny. Probably everything a woman could want in a man. But he would never be able to raise her pulse. Maybe it was because she thought of him as a player and only thought of him as a friend. Or maybe it was because she still couldn't let go or her feelings for Mike.

It was not hard for her to know which was the case. She surely won't be falling for him - or any other person - anytime soon.

***** **** *****

Days crawled into weeks as Evie started working on her revenge plan. She used every method to dig out every dirt Joanna had on her. And to her benefit, Joanna had a lot of secrets. She decided to use them against her one at a time. The first in her list affected Mike personally so she had looked for a good opportunity to talk to him.

As she sat on the bar stool across Mike, who had just made fun of her by telling her that the bar had strip shows, she thought of how to tell him the information she had. It would change his life and he would probably hate his mother. But he had to know, whether or not she was taking revenge.

"You're right. I stalked you. I wanted to tell you something about Joanna."

"Yeah right. How terrible of a woman she is." Mike said sarcastically as he drank off his beer.

"She is really a terrible person. She's hurt a lot of people. But worse of all she hurt you. She and David have lied to you all your life." Evie paused and watched his facial expression before continuing hesitantly. "She's not your real mother. She killed your real mother."

"You've gone nuts, Evie. You need help." Mike replied indifferently.

"You're the one who needs help. David cheated on Joanna with her best friend, Jennifer Reyes. When Joanna found out, she pushed her off the stairs. When she had to choose between her life and the baby's, she chose to die. That baby is you."

"That's not true." Mike muttered with a squint. He knew there was truth in what Evie was saying but he didn't know how much of it was true. But he couldn't let her get to him.

"Why do you think she kept quiet when David took you away? Your real mother would have fought for you, especially if she had the resources to. But Joanna couldn't. Why do you think she didn't and hasn't divorced David yet after everything he's done? Because to get rid of him means to let go of you."

"Bravo!" Mike said as he started clapping. All eyes were on them but he didn't care. "You have become even more shallow. First you drag Tori into this. Now you've come to me. Who will it be next? Isabel? Or Hope? Evie I didn't like you when I first saw you because I felt you would cause trouble. As I got to know you, that feeling disappeared. But right now, it seems that my instincts were right. You. Are. Despicable."

Mike stressed each word of his last sentence and Evie was filled with guilt. She watched him say something to the bartender before walking out of the bar. He was right about her being despicable. She was no different from David. Using him to get to Joanna. But she didn't plan to stop.

A waiter brought her a glass of champagne Mike had paid for. It came with a message; he hoped she'd choke. She drank it hoping for the same. If she choked, he wouldn't hate her anymore.

***** ***** *****

Evie stopped dead in her tracks as the lights came on. It was past midnight and she didn't expect anyone to be awake or to wait for her. But seeing her father and stepmother looking at her made her realise that she was the reason. The look in Edgar's eyes was stern and Evie knew she was in trouble. Big trouble.

"Where are you coming from?" He asked sternly.

"I was bored in the house so I went outside for fresh air." Evie lied.

"Don't you dare lie to me, Evangeline. Were you out stalking Mike?"

"We had a drink together. It was a meeting between friends." Evie said nervously. Her heart was beating hard against her chest as she tried to avoid eye contact with him. She was afraid of him but it wasn't like the one she had of David. It was a normal fear that popped out when he was mad at her.

"A meeting between friends and he called your father to tell him you were stalking him. He even threatened to have you locked up if you ever came in front of him again." Edgar scolded. He felt insulted but he was also worried about his daughter.

"I'm sorry." Evie muttered as she stared at her feet.

"Very good. Look how sorry is fixing the problem."

"I'm sorry, Dad. What can I do?"

"Take that phone behind you. Call Joanna and apologise to her. Promise you won't do anything to upset her again. Then you can go back to the States and stay there for as long as you want."

"Dad, I'm really sorry but I can't do that." Evie muttered nervously.

"Then I can't continue to have someone who's bent on destroying my family and her life. You need to rethink your life. Outside of this place."

"Edgar, you promised." Cat reminded. She didn't want to interfere in their argument but she couldn't let Edgar throw Evie out.

"Does she look like she's remorseful?" Edgar scolded as he glared at Evie. His blood pressure had begun to rise.

"You shouldn't throw her out. She's your daughter." Cat persuaded.

Edgar inhaled to calm himself. He couldn't risk having a heart attack. "Daughter? Am I her father? She doesn't think so. When she does, she is free to come back." He said and stormed off angrily.

"Evie, your dad didn't mean that. He was angry so he made a rash decision." Cat told reassuringly.

"He's right, Cat. I'm a silly excuse for a daughter. All I do is bring him pain."

***** ***** *****

"I'm sorry. This shabby place is all I could afford." Tori said as the real estate agent walked out of the house. It was small and dusty and had cobwebs on almost every corner as a result of being unoccupied for a long time.

"This is wonderful. Thank you." Evie smiled and hugged her. After she had left home two days ago, her father had frozen all her credit cards. He had seized the keys to her car so she couldn't sell it. The money she had been saving in her private account had been used to buy shares in Joanna's company and she didn't want to use Edwin's card so she couldn't afford to rent a better place.

Tori had insisted on renting an apartment for then but the posh ones were too expensive so they had to settle for something small. It wasn't awful or shabby and it gave off a feel of home. All it needed was cleaning and it would be enough.

She smiled with a grateful heart as she hugged Tori tighter. Tears rolled down her eyes as she thought of everything Tori had done for Caleb and her. Seven years ago, she had given them a place to stay while asking for nothing in return. Now, she didn't just get them a place to live but she supported and help her in all she was doing.

"How did I manage to find such a great friend?" She asked rhetorically as she released Tori from her embrace. "You're the best."

"That means a lot." Tori smiled softly. It was the best compliment she had heard. She felt happy that Evie thought of her as a great friend. "Let's get you out of here before your friends start showing themselves." She subtly changed the subject before she would become emotional.

"Yeah, I think they're here already." Evie said and rubbed her arms. She could feel the presence of spiders and needed to leave before she started hallucinating. "Your doppelgangers."

"Ew." Tori exclaimed disgustedly. "Spiders are not my doppelgangers."

"Neither are they my friends. Let's go." Evie said and walked out of the house. She breathed slowly to calm herself down. She had come this far and there was no going back.