Goodbyes

That day when she went home in her beaten up and exhausted state, Grandpa Parker was extremely worried. Before questioning her, he called for a doctor who checked up on her, and after providing her medication for external injuries, he left.

After this, Evelyn asked, "Can I change schools?"

The desperation in her voice caught Grandpa Parker off guard. He was aware of how Evelyn felt troubled at school. But because of Evelyn's reserved nature, he thought it would make her feel uncomfortable. He waited for her to open up.

"Sure, you can, Dear. But what happened?" he gently asked.

That made her break down into tears. All the pain she had been holding in exploded as she cried and broke down in front of Grandpa Parker. Her words were barely coherent, but still Grandpa Parker was able to get the story behind it.

In the end, he felt equally angry and saddened that she had to suffer through this. He awkwardly pulled the child into a hug and patted on her back.

Evelyn cried until her head ached and her throat started to hurt. Her eyes were all swollen.

Grandpa Parker then said, "Poor child, I can't imagine how hard it would have been for you. I am sorry that you found it hard to consult me about it. I should have been better."

Evelyn shook her head. There was no way she would blame Grandpa Parker.

"No, of course not, Grandpa Parker. You are the best. You are the first one to care about me this much. It feels truly unrealistic."

"You deserve all the love in the word, sweetheart," Grandpa Parker expressed, "and as for those bastards, I won't let go of them."

"No, no, there is no need for that. I will be fine with just changing schools."

"How can that be? Can one get away easily by hurting my precious grandchild?" Grandpa Parker asked almost aggressively.

Evelyn said nothing more.

She didn't want the bullies to have it easily as well. She wished for each of them to suffer badly. She had the murderous intent blooming inside of her, but Evelyn had to be rational. She knew that.

On that day, as she walked through the hallway, she encountered Landon and stopped him by saying, "Thank you for everything."

He nodded.

"That letter," he started.

Before he could carry on, she cut him off by voicing out, "I am so sorry. May asked me to send that letter in Ashley's place. I didn't think they would do this to me. I am sorry for having you involved in this."

"Alright," he responded before he left.

Evelyn's heart fluttered, and now, she was sure of her growing feelings towards this aloof boy.

After that, Grandpa Parker took actions, and he didn't spare them a bit. While keeping her identity a secret, Grandpa revealed about the entire situation to the media. The abuse and the neglect she faced in the family.

This was no small issue, especially with competitors being on lookout to find faults. The stocks of the company immediately went down, and they were taken by police for investigation. A huge amount of money had been to be paid for the police to be off their back.

As for Annalise, for the repeated offense towards Evelyn, which could be considered as attempted murder, she was sent to juvenile detention center. Her parents tried their best to rescue her.

But their face was all over the country. With how popularized it became, they couldn't take actions behind the back. Moreover, Grandpa Parker placed immense pressure on their company.

All in all, Stone Family had a hard time over all with the new problems that came one after another.

This incident had serious repercussions, and although the school asked to meet her few times, Grandpa Parker declined, taking the matter into his hands. The involved students were punished accordingly.

Evelyn had her phone flooded with messages from May and Ashley. At first, they cursed at her and then they apologized, begging for her to forgive them. Following this, upon seeing how Evelyn didn't give them the time of her day, both of them started cursing and threatening her again.

Bored of them, she blocked the two of them.

Later on, she got to learn that May was expelled due to her misbehavior, and this left a bad mark on her record. As for Ashley, the incident made her be ostracized by her classmates.

And finally, Evelyn felt happy.

That's when, Grandpa Parker suggested for them to move. Evelyn was surprised to hear that and denied. She would be fine attending a school here. Moreover, there was also Landon.

However, Grandpa Parker said that Landon planned to move abroad to continue his education. Apparently, he got the chance to transfer to his favorite university. This made Evelyn feel a sense of loss and disappointment.

Grandpa Parker suggested moving to the countryside. Since he was getting older, he would prefer to be closer to the nature, and he felt exhausted of dealing with the issues here at his age.

Evelyn also thought that sounded refreshing since she never actually saw the countryside.

Later that day, when she encountered Landon, she brought up, "I heard that you are moving abroad. Uhm, hopefully, you will succeed in what you are pursuing, and I will always cheer you on."

Then, Evelyn blushed at how ambiguous her word seemed and corrected, "I mean, you helped me a lot, and in return, I just hope you will be happy. Yeah, that's all."

He nodded.

"Take care."

Following that, he extended his hand and patted on the top of her head. Evelyn's heart fluttered, and she smiled shyly while looking at the floor.

As he was about to walk away, she recalled about something and mustered up her courage to ask: "Hey, can I text you at times?"

Glancing at her direction, he responded, "Sure."