Evelyn 21 - Accepting

“Oh, I feel like there’s something I should tell you,” Evelyn said flatly, handing Elijah the ketchup bottle.

“Yeah, what’s up?” He sprayed the ketchup onto his plate. It spattered with a wheeze.

They sat at a small diner Eljiah had recommended called Casey's Trailer. Its interior was decorated in polished metal accents, dark green leather, glowing amber light, and a collage of small-town trinkets that seemed to have come straight from the rainy streets of Portland.

Evelyn took a deep breath.

“I’ve made an arrangement with Ivan.”

Elijah looked up.

“Yeah? How so?” His words were cautious; they made Evelyn shift back into her shell.

“It’s not a big deal, he just has some exclusivity for a month. He’s paying extra for it. So I said yes.”

“How much?” Elijah asked. The question made Evelyn’s stomach churn.

“Two hundred fifty thousand.”

Elijah’s eyes widened.

“Wow,” he said.

“Yeah...”

Evelyn watched nervously as Elijah nodded slowly, twirling a fry in his ketchup. So far, the conversation was going exactly how she had anticipated. This was often the part when they would start yelling or accuse her of cheating. But, if she was lucky, they would simply tell her they just weren’t a good fit and leave.

Evelyn waited to see what kind of man Eljiah would be.

He sighed and ate his fry. “Well, I mean, if he paid for it. It’s your job, right?”

“Right,” Evelyn said quickly.

“Can I ask, what does exclusivity mean, exactly?”

Evelyn cleared her throat as she pushed her hair behind her ears.

“So basically, he will be taking me on dates, and I will be staying at his place a few nights a week.”

Elijah stared for a moment.

“Oh,” he said.

The conflict in his voice made Evelyn recoil.

“Yeah, so that’s the arrangement. One month, a little more attention. Then it would be over.” Evelyn stopped for a moment until the uncomfortable silence spurred her on again. “So, yeah, I don’t know. I thought maybe I should tell you, but... I don’t know, maybe I shouldn’t have.”

“I mean, obviously, you don’t need to check in with me. This is your job, and I trust you. But I’m glad you did.” Elijah’s voice was still level, but his body was stiff. Evelyn found herself tightening with him.

“You can say no,” she blurted out.

“Well, thank you. But again, this is your job. You were doing this before you met me. I don’t think I have the right to tell you what to do here.”

For some reason, that made Evelyn’s heart sink even more.

“For sure,” she said, her tone growing cold.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Yeah, go for it,” Evelyn tried to sound light and indifferent.

“How is that any different than dating or a boyfriend?" Elijah asked.

“It's nothing like it. It's just for money, it's meaningless," Evelyn spoke with no emotion. It was an old habit. And when she saw the hurt in Elijah's eyes, she wished she hadn't.

“But… you’re going to be spending nights with him.”

Evelyn laughed. She knew Elijah probably thought it would be something intimate. That, after a few nights, Ivan was going to whisk her away somehow. She hoped the laugh made it clear that wasn’t the case.

“It’s not funny, Evelyn. I’m trying to tell you how I feel," Elijah said firmly.

Evelyn's smile fell with her heart.

“No, I’m not laughing at you, I'm just–” She began to stumble over her words. Another nervous laugh nearly escaped her, but she forced herself to remain silent.

“Look," Elijah said softly. "It’s your job, I won’t tell you what to do, I’m just… I don’t know why you’re doing it with him.”

“I… it’s just… I'm...” Terror gripped her chest. Evelyn wanted to tell him she could stop. She wanted to let him know that Ivan meant nothing to her. That he was a paycheck, nothing more.

But she couldn't.

She was frozen still.

Just like when her mother would scream after she broke something. Just like when her stepfather threw dishes against the wall. Just like when her ex hit her for the first time. Just like when she hitched her first ride with a trucker, and his hand reached over.

Elijah stared for a moment, then went back to his meal.

“It’s ok, I just… gotta think a little bit,” he said.

Evelyn nodded, staring down at her food.

“Right," she said.

Elijah took a bite, then glanced up, freezing when he saw Evelyn tearing up.

“Hey,” he said gently.

Evelyn shook her head and wiped away a tear.

“I’m sorry,” Elijah said.

“Yeah,” Evelyn murmured, bracing for what was going to happen next.

Then Elijah reached for her hand, and her fingers interlocked with his.

“Evelyn,” he said.

“Yeah?”

“I’m not leaving. You know that, right? I just have to think about it.”

Evelyn nodded, forcing a trembling smile. “Y-yeah…”

He placed both hands over hers.

“I’m not leaving Evelyn,” Elijah said again.

Evelyn turned as tears began to run down her face.

“Ok…” She said. And then after a pause. “I’m sorry.”

"Don't be. We're talking about it, right? That's what conversations are for. We're just talking. You haven’t done anything wrong."

Evelyn nodded and pulled her hand away, wiping the tears delicately from her eyes.

"Ok," she said.

She could feel him watching her, and so desperately wished she could melt away.

"Should we get going?" he asked.

Evelyn nodded. "Sure."

Then, she buried herself away. Pretending she was happy and safe.

—

Elijah sat somberly at his makeshift desk in the back of the design studio. Working away at their marketing strategy while Val and Jackie argued over their latest print release.

"Jackie, I love you, but I'm telling you, it won't sell," Val said, looking over several of Jackie’s design drafts.

"That is a fucking lie, you KNOW it will sell. You just don't want to do anything risky with the brand."

Val shook her head.

"Jesus, Jackie! This isn't a horror print company, look at this man! His fucking intestines are the fucking words! And what the fuck does human salad even mean?"

Jackie burst out laughing. "That's the best part."

"Mira sweetie, why not use this on your own brand? We can collab like we normally do."

Jackie grumbled, glancing over at Elijah. "Yo! Are you going to back me up on this one or what?"

Elijah barely glanced in their direction. "Hm? Oh, yeah sure uh… what are we talking about again?"

Jackie scoffed.

"Poindexter over here. Not even paying attention," she said with a snort. "The design! What do you think of the design?"

"Which design?"

"This design pendejo!" She held up the print. It was an incredibly well-painted scene of a group of zombies jamming on guitars. All while feasting on a man, his entrails exploding into lettering which said ‘human salad’ on the front.

"It's… nice," he said. Val smirked.

"Ah, you see? He's thinking the same thing."

"Shut up! Don't put words in his mouth," Jackie said, waving Val off. "What do you think? You think it'll sell?"

"I don't know, maybe," Elijah said gloomily, returning to his laptop. Jackie and Val looked at one another.

"You're a little more sad than normal today," Val said.

"Am I?"

"A little bit, yeah."

Elijah shrugged, but didn't say anything. Jackie and Val looked at one another again.

"Ok, what did she do?" Jackie said.

"Who?" Elijah said.

"Who, like you don't know. Your fucking girlfriend."

"Did she hurt you?" Val asked coldly. "Do we need to fuck her up?"

"No! No… it's… we're just figuring some stuff out."

"Mmmmm, figuring some stuff out, he says." Jackie stood and dragged a chair to his desk. Val quickly followed behind.

"Spill it," she said. Elijah glanced at Val with a pleading gaze.

"You heard her,” Val said. “If this girl’s got you moping around at work, we need the details."

Elijah sighed and leaned back in his chair. He knew they would keep peppering him until he talked. And, for once, he was grateful for it.

"Alright, fine. So you both know she's an OnlyFans model, right?"

"Yesss," they said in unison.

"And you know that she… sleeps with other men for money?"

Both of their eyes widened.

“Wait, like a full-blown escort?!” Jackie said.

Elijah felt his cheeks redden.

“Yes?” he said sheepishly.

"Uh, we did NOT know that," Jackie said.

"Elijah Godfrey," Val said, crossing her arms.

"You can't judge!" he said defensively.

Val and Jackie looked at each other once more.

"Fine," Val said. "So she's an escort and an OnlyFans model, assuming THAT isn't the problem. What is, exactly?"

Jesus, when they put it like that. Elijah took a deep breath and continued.

"She's… got this new client who I really don’t like and—”

"Wait, you met him?" Jackie said.

Elijah hesitated. "It’s… complicated."

"What the fuck does that mean?!" Jackie said.

"It's not important,” Elijah said quickly. “What is important is that he offered to pay to be with her for an entire month. It would be exclusive, kind of. He'd get to take her on dates, and she would spend the night and… I honestly don't know what else."

Val and Jackie nodded. Waiting for him to continue.

"Is, is that it?" Jackie asked.

"Well, yeah. I guess that's it."

"Oh, sweetheart,” Val said gently. “That's what escorts do.”

Elijah shifted uncomfortably.

"I know that, it's just… this guy… this guy in particular." Elijah shook his head. "He's so fucking awful."

"They all are, babe, but that's her job," Val said. "Out of curiosity, how much is he paying her?"

"Two hundred fifty thousand," Elijah murmured.

"TWO HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND?!" Val said, jaw dropping as she looked at Jackie.

"Bruh, what the fuck?! We are in the wrong line of work," Jackie said, laughing loudly as she shook her head. "This dude has got to be so fucking ugly, is he ugly?!"

Elijah remained silent.

"He's hot too?!" Jackie shouted.

"Let's not get off track," Val said coolly. Jackie grumbled as Val continued, "Ok, so she does this escorting thing, and you've never had a problem with it before, right?"

"No, not yet,” Elijah confirmed.

"But with this guy specifically, it bothers you."

Elijah nodded.

"Have you talked to her about it?" Val asked.

"Actually, she's the one who brought it up," Elijah said. Val nodded.

"Ok, that's a start. So she clearly cares about what you think."

"She does, she actually got pretty upset when I mentioned being uncomfortable with it."

Val's brow furrowed. "How, exactly?"

"She started crying."

"She cried?"

Elijah sensed the tension in Val's voice.

"Yes? Why? Is that bad?"

"It can be," Val said. "Did you apologize when she did?"

"Uh…" Elijah laughed uncomfortably. "I… might have."

Val’s tone switched in an instant.

"I don't like this bitch," she said.

"Oh my god, Val, you don't like anyone," Jackie interjected.

"I like you," Val shot back.

"No the fuck you don't."

"Most of the time I do," Val murmured.

Jackie rolled her eyes and looked at Elijah. "Ok look. When she cried, and you apologized, was she fucking mean about it?"

"No!" Elijah said firmly. "Not at all, she apologized too. She was more afraid I was going to leave."

"Aw, her poor little heart." Jackie pouted and looked at Val. "See? She's just scared."

"Yeah, or she's a fucking manipulator," Val shot back.

"Stop! You're going to fuck this up with that kind of talk."

Val waved her off with a long sigh.

"Fine," she said, looking at Elijah. "Listen, I was worried from the start with this girl. You're too much of a sweetheart, babe. And while I’m not judging her, you gotta ask yourself if this is something you can handle long-term. Because honestly? This guy probably won't be the last client she has that you’re going to hate."

Elijah nodded slowly.

"But," Jackie interjected, "It's clearly been working for you guys up to now, right?"

"It has," Elijah said.

"So, don't throw it all away yet. She’s the one who brought it up, right? Does that mean she was giving you a chance to say no to it?"

"She was, but Val is right. I knew what I was getting myself into. I can't start asking her to change her whole life for me."

“Ok, well, don’t take it too far,” Jackie said. “Like, yeah, it’s her job and her life. But also, relationships ARE about negotiating. Right?

Val cursed in Spanish as she crossed her arms.

"Jackie’s right, but you are too. You have to find a middle ground for this to work. Just make sure this bitch isn't manipulating you, ok? I don't want to see you get your heart torn out by someone like her. Sex is her job. Making guys feel important is her job. So make sure that whatever it is you're building with her is real."

"Val! Don’t call her a bitch!" Jackie hissed.

"Ahhh, don't pester me, girl, I know!" She looked at Elijah. "I'm not trying to fuck this up for you. But I care about you. Let me say this. If your gut ever feels like something is wrong, listen to it, ok?"

Elijah nodded.

"No, you're right. Both of you," He said, smiling.

"Eh! There he is!" Jackie said. "You feelin' better?"

"A lot, thank you."

"No sweat it, we're always here for you," Val said. "Now let's stop messing around, we have orders to fill, come on, Jackie."

"But what about my design?" Jackie said.

"For the love of God, don't start again."

“But it’s a good idea!”

The two went back to their bickering while Elijah pulled out his phone. He quickly typed a message to Evelyn.

Elijah: Hey, just wanted to let you know that I'm ok with it. I trust you, and I accept you. Just be careful, ok?

It was sudden, but it was true. Up to now, Evelyn had been nothing short of amazing. And if they were going to make this work, he would have to find a way to live in these uncomfortable moments.

For anyone else, he likely would have left. But Elijah knew Evelyn was worth it.

--

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