Episode 47: Scene Three
Brent halted in mid-step. He quickly put his foot back down and reevaulted his decision. Was this the time and place? Should he draw her into his own problems? For a moment, he was ready to turn around and head back toward his table in the lunchroom. Still, something inside of him told him to talk with her. He advanced again towards her table.
There sat Chloe, as bright and vibrant as ever. Oddly, Brent felt the need to slap an angel on the backside to get the chorus going. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of a feeling he knew he shouldn't feel yet was.
Brent was just about to walk up to Chloe when he was intercepted by Eve. Eve, shaking and pale, pulled on his elbow and brought him down to her level.
"I need to talk to you."
Her voice was so weak, so fragile. He feared the slightest touch would make her break. This was what worried Brent. Eve was usually a strong woman, never afraid to talk to anyone. For her to speak so faintly to her own boyfriend pulled on the strings of concern as well as conscience in Brent's mind. He'd long thought about the way he'd spoken to her sharply and accused her of being clingy. In a way, he regreted it, but he was not fully sorry that he had said it. Brent was one for freedom, and on top of the worries of that day, he had just been a ticking time bomb that Eve happened to set off.
Walking over to a deserted table, Brent pulled out a chair for Eve. No matter how serious the situation may be, one must never forget their manners. Looking intently into her misty eyes, he asked softly, and ever-so-gently, "What's wrong, Eve?"
Eve's gaze broke from Brent's. Looking up at the faded yellow ceiling, she bit her lip. "It's," her voice broke. She took a moment before beginning again. "It's complicated. I-I can't say exactly, Brent, but I can tell you one thing: I'm scared. I-I can't believe I'm saying this to you, but I'm so scared, Brent."
Brent took Eve's hands in his. "Why? Is it because of what I said? If it is-"
"It's not just that, Brent," Eve's voice broke in sharply. A small tear fell from her eyes and cascaded slowly down her cheek. "It's much more."
"Then what is it? Come on, we've always been able to talk about this before."
"Yes, Brent, we could talk about it before. That's all it is now: what we could do before," Eve's voice was harsh and bitter. The emotions of the past few months were building up and overflowing. "It seems as if everything was before and not now. I need now, Brent, and I know you do too. Why can't it be now?"
Brent remained silent for a moment. His gaze fell to the floor. Finally, "I don't know. I honestly don't know."
Eve laughed, but it was not a merry laugh. "Neither do I. I haven't known since last summer, Brent. First you were gone for weeks without an explanation, then school started and you had football practice, then basketball, then baseball and track, and on top of all that you had school. There was never time for us. What you don't realize is that if we don't find time for us soon, Brent, there will be no us."