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call came a new injection of despair.
    When Evelyn heard the keys, she pushed the throw from her face. She forced a smile when she saw Kate standing alone in her apartment. The last thing she needed was Tyler seeing her in such a state. “You’re alone.”
    “He walked me to the door and left after I came in. What’s wrong?”
    She looked away from Kate, staring at the lone black heel she had kicked aside while she sat up straight, making room for Kate.  
    “I don’t know…” She gasped and shook her head. “I don’t know.”
    This was what she wanted right from the start, for Dan to know they would never be more than just friends.
    Now that she had gotten what she wanted, she couldn’t ignore the ache in her heart. “It’s over. It’s really over.”  
    Then she felt the heavy droplets of tears on her thighs as Kate scooted closer to her, gently rubbing her back.
    “I’m so sorry, Eve.”

    Dan took a swig of his beer and scanned through the channels, trying to find something to occupy his mind. He wasn’t paying attention to anything on the screen, he just wanted to vent on something and the incessant pressing of his remote control was rather therapeutic.
    The ache in his heart had faded and was replaced with frustration. He should have headed to the gym to vent it off instead of sulking at home, but he didn’t feel like going anywhere so the buttons on the remote control would have to bear his vexation.
    He couldn’t get over what a complete idiot he was.  
    Why did he even bother turning up at her apartment? Why couldn’t he stop worrying about her when he heard about her gastric?
    He should have known it was going to end this way, it always did.
    How could he still be deceived into thinking that her smile was evidence of her missing him? Her sweet smile, revealing a hint of nervousness, was nothing but a fragment of his imagination.
    Sighing, he took another gulp of beer before tossing the empty bottle into the nearby trashcan.
    Until an hour ago, he would still swear that he could see the feelings Evelyn had for him. He was sure of the yearning he saw in her eyes, and he was certain she felt the same way about him.
    Now, he realized he was merely seeing what he wanted to see. He was merely pulling things out of nowhere to convince himself of what he wanted so much to be true.
    The more he thought about what happened, the more idiotic he felt.  
    When she had told him to leave, all Dan wanted was to talk to her, to ask what was wrong, and to make her feel better. But he knew Evelyn wouldn’t entertain him. If he hadn’t left, she would start screaming at him to do so in the next second.
    Even when he was standing at the door, he had paused and hoped that Evelyn would change her mind and ask him to stay, only to have his heart crushed by her silence.
    On his drive back, a new sense of determination rose.
    Evelyn wasn’t ready, and he was beginning to doubt if she ever would be.
    His thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell rang. He groaned, then chose to ignore it.  
    But whoever was outside wasn’t cooperating. Whoever it was, he or she wasn’t giving up.
    With an annoyed sigh, he got off the couch and opened the door, ready to unleash some of his peevishness.
    “Hey!”
    “What are you doing here?” Dan asked as he peered over Ryan’s shoulder. “You came here alone? How did you get up the steps?”
    Looping his hand over Dan’s shoulder and using him as a crutch, Ryan leaned onto Dan and half-hopped his way in.  
    “Tyler dropped me off, then I got up the steps on my own. He thinks I’m Superman. That guy didn’t even bother to help me get out of the car. The whole ‘new Tyler’ thing only exists when Kate is around.”
    Dan laughed at Ryan’s ramble. “Did he kick you out? You should’ve asked Marianne or Mr. Sawyer to drive you over,” he said while helping Ryan to the couch.
    “Kate went over to Evelyn’s house. Though he was too idiotic to bother with helping me up