BETTER

Looking around and seeing nothing but water, a young child cried for help as she tried to stay afloat on the water. She was drifting away from dry land, her family and even her life. Seeing her mother swimming toward her gave her relief. She would be fine now that her mother had come to her rescue.

She stretched out her arms as she tried to move closer to her mother, making every effort to swim with her tiny legs. But it was futile. Her legs were either too tiny or she was just too weak or the tides were very strong. The more she tried to move, the more tired she became and the harder it became for her to stay afloat.

A bore hit her and she was submerged in the sea. She could feel herself drowning. Suddenly she felt a hand grip hers and pull her up. She opened her arms to see her mother, a look of distress on her face, as she held her afloat. She could hear her talk about staying afloat till the rescue boat reached them.

Relief spread through her face as she looked at her mother. She was going to survive. She wouldn't die here. But her relief was short lived. Her mother held her in a tight embrace as a large wave hit them sinking them. She felt her mother's tight embrace as she involuntary drank the water while gasping for air. Soon she felt nothing but water and fear as she lost control of her own body.

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

Evie screamed as she jerked away from the bed. She landed to the floor with a thud as she gasped for air. It was a terrible nightmare as she could feel herself drowning. Her body trembled as she slowly stood up and walked out of the room to get water.

She reached the water dispenser but her hands were shaky and it was a struggle to hold a cup. When she finally had a drink, her nerves calmed a bit. The dream felt so real. She began to wonder if it were just a dream or a past memory.

Walking into her room, she shut the door quietly so as not to wake Tori. She picked up her phone and made a call to Edwin. Her mother died on the same day she disappeared. If anyone knew why, it would be Edwin. He answered the call after four rings and from his voice, Evie could tell that she had awoken him from his sleep.

It was 3am in the morning and she felt bad for disturbing his sleep. She would try her best so he wouldn't have to worry about her. And she would also try not to disturb him anymore. Heart in her hand, she asked the question he hated and avoided answering the most.

"How did Mom die?"

A long deep sigh from him and his hesitation made her suspect her dream was real. Listening as he explained from his perspective, she couldn't help but cry. If she had not stubbornly insisted on swimming in the beach that day - if she hadn't snuck away while her mother wasn't looking - Nichole would never have died. It was all her fault that her mom died. She killed her mom.

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

"Go away, Mike." Evie muttered from under the comforter. She didn't want to see anyone.

After that night, she had lost her willpower to live. Guilt was eating her up and she shut herself off from everyone. But Tori had called Mike as she believed he was the only person that could talk sense into her.

"Not until you talk to me. You can't keep holding it in." Mike said, concern written on his face.

"That's my business not yours." Evie muttered, still in her comforter.

"Come on. It's about Caleb, isn't it?" Mike guessed. She was certainly grieving over someone or something.

"No, it's not."

"Then who? Or what?" He asked.

"Leave me alone, Mike." She answered coldly as she sat up on the bed.

"Is it that hard to open up? I get that you no longer trust people but you sometimes have to try before you know. Remember when we were younger. I always knew you were hiding something and found it difficult to trust you but when I opened up to you, you helped me." Mike uttered the last part softly. "Now I am willing to help."

Evie scoffed. "How can you help me when I am the problem? My mom died because of me. Because I stubbornly refused to listen to her. Caleb also died because of me. Because I only thought of myself. And who knows? My foster parents may have also died because of me. I bring disaster." Evie's throat tightened and her nose burned as tears filled her eyes. She tried to hold it in but it was futile. Sniveling, she gasped out tearfully. "I.. I.. I destroy everyone around me."

Mike took her hand in his in a gentle grip as his left hand wiped her tears. "No you don't." His voice was reassuring and gentle but it wasn't enough to ease the hurt Evie was feeling. "You're selfless and kind. Maybe you made some bad decisions but it's not your fault that they died."

He raised her head so he could look her in the eye and continued. "Forget whatever happened in the past and live. I know that if they were alive somewhere, they would never blame you. So you shouldn't blame yourself. Caleb would hate to see you so broken."

Evie shook her head as she sobbed. "Don't try to make me feel better. I'm a monster."

Mike inhaled deeply. He could relate to the guilt she was feeling. "Remember when I told you that I ran away from home when I was nine? That was because he was trying to make me another version of himself. A worse version. One that had no fears, no feelings, no limits. I could hold a gun and shoot correctly when I was seven. Pick people's pockets without being noticed. But I couldn't get over my fear of dogs. So one night, he locked me up with Viper - his dog."

"After crying for hours and trying to escape without success, I killed it. It was just being friendly but I couldn't stand it. In the morning, he released me saying he was proud of me but I had begun to hate him. I waited for him to leave the house and I ran to my grandparents' house."

"Every night I would cry myself to sleep over Viper. But I couldn't bring it back or undo what I did. What I could do however, was change. I could make sure what happened that day never happened again. Besides, I knew that David didn't train me that strictly to kill dogs."

Mike smiled softly at her. "It still haunts me but at least I changed. I became better. So can you."

"It's not that simple." Evie shook her head as she looked at him.

"It is. All you need to do is find a reason to be better."

"What reason did you find?" Evie's swollen eyes sparkled with curiosity.

Mike let out a soft chuckle. "Hatred for David. Desire to protect Mom. And right now," He tilted his head to the side as he placed his lips on hers in a brief kiss. "You."

Evie stared wide eyed at Mike. If she was in a right frame of mind, she would have slapped him. But in her daze, all that crossed her mind was one question. Was he enough to be her motivation to be better?

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

Evie groaned as she forced her shoes on. It was her first day of work and she was already late. And she would go to work looking like someone who had just escaped from a zoo. But she didn't care. As long as she got to work in one piece.

Isabel - under Mike's request - had offered her a job at Martinez Group and she gladly accepted it. After her discussion with Mike, she had promised to try and live a normal life. She would get a job, make friends and become a better person. He had insisted on getting her a job in the company if she was up for it and she agreed.

She sighed dejectedly as the umpteenth taxi passed her by, which just like the others, was occupied. She regretted moving to this quiet part of the city. In her desperation, she began waving down every vehicle driving across the road. To her relief, a vehicle stopped and its driver offered her a ride which she accepted.

The young man's name was Mark and he was a doctor. He was easy to talk to and Evie enjoyed their short conversation before he dropped her off at her destination. It was after he left that Evie realised that she didn't get his contact. However, she pushed it to the back of her mind and went in.

As the numbers on the elevator increased, so did her heartbeat. She pressed on her right pinky to reduce her anxiety as she waited for the elevator to reach her destination. It dinged as it reached the 13th floor and immediately the doors opened, she saw Mike standing in front of it.

Both spoke at the same time. "I've been waiting for you."

"I'm sorry I'm late."

"You're here now. Come on." Mike said and pulled her toward the office. "Gather around everyone." He said and all the staff of the Operations Management left whatever work they were doing and came closer. "I want to introduce your new teammate. Everyone, this is Evangeline Rivera." He said as a round of applause erupted from the group.

He watched as they all welcomed her and introduced themselves to her. His colleagues were exceptionally good at one thing - teamwork. So they welcomed every new member like family. Evie would surely be able to fit in.

Seeing Evie laugh sincerely with one of his male colleagues, he made a decision. If they saw what he saw in her, they would all fall for her. He certainly didn't want to compete with anyone for her love.

Plastering a smug smile on his face, he walked up to her and placed an arm around her shoulders. "Please treat her well. She is special."