An Illicit Gentleman II

                                      Chapter Twenty-Nine

            Eve walked down the hall towards the front door of their house.  When Alex had gotten out of the hospital pretty late and not wanting to have the cabbie fight with the paps they decided to try and sneak out the back of the hospital, taking a cab to a hotel where they spent the night.  Kevin then came and picked them up that morning and took them home.  He and Eve were talking about everything in the living room when someone knocked on the door.

“Thanks.” Brian said as he walked into the house but Eve stopped him, grabbing him by the arm.  The short, dirty blonde haired man looked at her with shock in his blue eyes.

“If I had my way you’d be walking back down that drive way and not stepping foot in this house.” Eve said to him.  “The only reason you’re not is because Alex says you’re his friend, his brother.”

“I am.” Brain replied with an annoyed tone.

“Really? Cause you sure as hell don’t act like it.” She snapped at him.  “After everything he’s been through, with and with out me, you’d think you would be happy for him but no instead you come into our house and start bickering at him.”

“How can I be happy when he goes off and marries some stripper without even thinking about it?” Brian snapped.

“Brian.” Kevin barked from behind him as Nick walked out from the living room.

“Well I don’t have to take this; I came here to see Alex.” Brian said angrily.

“He’s sleeping.” Eve told him. 

“You know you want to yell at me for upsetting him yesterday but you’re the one that brings all this bad stuff around, Mats, Thomas, you’re restaurant blowing up, the kidnappings, it all comes back to you.” Brian said as he stared at her and she stared back at him.  “He was fine without you, safe without you, and happy.”

“Oh yeah he was re-eal happy.” Eve replied sarcastically.  “He was so fucking happy you all thought he was drinking again.”  Brian stood there quietly.  “Are you done or are you going to bring up the fact I can’t have kids too? Huh? Come on Brian let it out because it stops now.” She told him angrily.  “The snide comments, the constant nit picking about what we’re doing, as of now you stay out of our business, as of now everything stops.”

“Eve you should calm down before you have a panic attack or something.” Nick said as he walked up to them.

“I don’t get panic attacks when I’m pissed off; I get them when I’m scared.” She said not taking her eyes off of Brian.  “I’m his wife now whether you like it or not so get use to me being here, you don’t like me, ok, I get it, move on because we have.”  She then walked past all three men and walked down the hall into the kitchen.

“Snap.” Nick said his lips made a popping sound when pronouncing the ‘P’ as he slowly turned around and headed into the living room.  Brian spun around to Kevin who just raised his thick eyebrows and put up his hands joining Nick in the living room.

Eve stayed in the kitchen and finished prepping for dinner; she figured Alex would have been hungry when ever he woke up.  She was glad Brian didn’t stay long once he realized no one was going to wake AJ.  Soon after Kevin and Nick left, Kevin letting Eve know if she needed anything to call.  While the food was preparing on the stove she walked upstairs and decided to check on Alex.  When she opened the bedroom door she was surprised to see him sitting up in bed.

“Hey” She said as she walked into the room and he smiled.

“Hi” He replied as she walked over to him.

“What’s up?” She asked.

“Nothing just thinking.” He replied.  Eve sat on the edge of the bed and he reached over taking her hand.  “Did I hear the door?”

“Yeah Nick left about five minutes ago.” She told him.  “Kevin and Brian were here too.”

“Brain.” AJ said quickly as he looked at her.

“He was good.” She told him with a light smile.  “And he wasn’t here long.”  Eve watched as he played with her fingers.  “How are you feeling?”

“Still tired, well more like lazy.” He said with a sigh.  “Starving too.”

“Well I have food cooking, I can bring it up too you.” She told him as she stood up.  “Which I should go check on.”

“I’ll come downstairs.” He said as he started to get up.

“No, you’re supposed to be in bed.” She told him as she turned around.

“Eve I can walk downstairs and lie down on the couch.” He replied with a light smile. 

A small embarrassed smile broke from her lips, she knew she over reacted a little but she couldn’t help it, she was worried about him.  She realized at the hospital everything was becoming too much for him and she wondered how much he could take before he came stumbling into the house drunk or stoned and now she had to worry about blood pressure and heart attacks.  He took care of her many times in the past and now it was her turn to take care of him.

She followed him out of the room and down the stairs and after she had settled him onto the couch she went into the kitchen.  As she stirred the vegetables that were in a mixing pot of spices, chicken, and broth Eve heard the TV in the living room come on.  She heard people talking and thought she even had heard her and AJ’s names a few times. 

“Do you want something to drink? No Dew though.” She asked him as she walked into the living room.

“And coming up on ET the jail house interview everyone’s been dying to get but only Entertainment Tonight has.” The woman’s voice spoke with excitement and pride.  Eve looked at the TV as a jail house flashed across the screen and they showed a woman in an orange jump suit.  “What happened that tragic night?” The womanly voice over said as they flashed pictures of Eve’s old house, not the one in Nashville, or the one in Cali where Mats had attacked her and AJ, no they showed the one where she grew up.

As another woman’s voice talked they cut to a picture of her brothers gravestone. “I was so intoxicated and high, I still don’t remember what happened.” An older woman’s voice said and Eve gasped as the camera cut to the woman she hadn’t seen in almost fifteen years, her Mom.  The woman’s hair was grey, lines and winkles on her face made her look older than she really was but nothing changed in the woman’s eyes.  Eve could still see the cold, heartless, and empty eyes staring back at her.

“What does she think about her daughter now?” The womanly voice over said.

“I’m so proud of my baby girl.” When her Mother spoke those words a panic ran through her.  With a scared moan she spun around and headed into the kitchen.  ‘Baby girl’, maybe to most Mother’s that was a term of endearment to their daughter but not her Mother.  Eve closed her eyes tightly as she heard the woman’s voice screaming at her. 

“Where’s your Father now, huh? Where is he to protect his precious baby girl, from the evil drunken whore!” Her Mother screamed with a drunken slur as the image of her own head slamming into a cupboard flashed in her mind. Eve whimpered at the mental image and covered her mouth as she grabbed the kitchen counter.  “If he loved you so much why did he leave!?” Her Mother screamed at her.

“Eve?” AJ said from behind her but she didn’t really hear him, she lightly shook her head, not at Alex she barely knew he was there, it was more at what she knew would be coming.  She didn’t want to have an attack right now, she wasn’t going to upset Alex, and she needed to be strong for him.

Eve closed her eyes tighter when she saw the image of her brother laying on the floor, their Mother standing beside him, wobbling, and laughing.  “There’s my baby girl, your brother came home late.” The woman slurred.  “Then he said he was going to take you from me.” The woman slurred more as she stumbled towards Eve.

“No!” Eve shouted when her Mom put her hands on the side of her arms but when her eyes opened she saw Alex and had realized somehow she sat herself down on the kitchen floor.  She looked at him terrified as he looked back at her worried and scared.  Not being able to say anything, the image of Sean lying on the floor still stuck in her head, Eve grabbed onto her husband as tight as she could. “Sean” she cried like she did that night hoping her brother would get up, hoping his eyes would open, hoping he would start breathing again.

“It’s ok Evelyn.” She heard Alex say as his hand rested on the back of her neck and he held her close to him.  Eve wanted to tell him she was ok, she didn’t want him to worry not now but she couldn’t, her whole body shook as she cried, her mind paralyzed by the fear those images gave her every time they snuck into her thoughts.  “She can’t hurt you anymore.” He whispered to her and she so desperately wanted to believe him.  When she felt Alex pulling away she whimpered and grabbed onto him tighter.

“It’s ok sweetheart, I’m not going anywhere I’m just getting up to get your Ativan.” He told her as he took her by the arms and looked into her blood shot, tear soaked eyes.

She lightly shook her head.  “I-I’m ok.” She replied almost forcefully,  if she took her Ativan she would be out for at least a couple of hours and how could she take care of him if she was past out cold.

“Evie you’re not ok, you’re shaking and crying just let me get your pills and you can rest for a couple of hours.” He told her as she started to stand up.

“No, I said I’m fine.” She replied back and the snippiness made her wince a little, she didn’t mean for it to come off like that.  “I just need a minute.” Eve told him as she made her way over to a kitchen chair and sat down.  She put her head in her hands and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in.  She needed to fight this one off, she needed to be awake and aware and she needed to take care of him.