SIXTEEN

"Nope, I'm not doing it." Evelyn stated, "All I wanted was this problem to be over once we got here and everything but that seems to be happening."

"I get that you're mad." Amelia said, "But we don't seem to have a choice here. I received the information after all this was planned. That is what ticks me off."

"Whatever the reason is, I am not doing it."

"Evie, I told you, we've got no choice."

"Why is it that we attract unnecessary issues?"

"This is not about that."

"I don't care!" Evelyn hissed, "Ugh, I'm out of here."

"Where are you going? Lemme come along." Amelia grabbed the younger by the arm.

"You stay back and keep an eye on these six." With that, she walked to her room.

Amelia heaved out a sigh.

"I'm sorry..-" Lucas started.

"No, it's totally fine." Amelia spoke, "I'm just worried about her."

"Do you think it's gonna be-" James's words were cut short by a yawn of his.

Amelia chuckled at him, "Must've been a long day for all of you, how about you rest?"

They all agree and leave for their rooms.

"Hey, I've picked a good one. Come take a look" Patrick nudged Ian.

________________

Evelyn walked back from her room and found that the rest of them have already left the kitchen and the living room. Assuming they'd be back at their rooms resting, she shrugged it off and walked towards the exit. Outside the manor, she saw a man sitting on her bike, waving a hand at her.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be back in there?" She asked.

"Nope, I'm going with you."

"I never said I'm taking you with me."

"I never asked for permission."

Evelyn gave up after arguing for a while and decided to take Ian along with her on the ride.

The long ride went quietly. None of them bothered to speak. They rode through a bridge, entered a couple of highways, and finally came to a stop at a place that looked away from the city. Evelyn got down followed by Ian, they walked for a while and stopped at an abandoned building. The place in inferior condition as a result of disuse and neglect somehow seemed to worsen the woman's mood.

Evelyn looked around and spotted a passerby, "Excuse me," She called out to him.

The middle-aged man walked towards them, "Yes?"

"By any chance, do you know what happened to this place?"

"Not really, young lady." He started, "I've heard the place used to be a highschool years ago but not anymore. I'm not sure about why."

Evelyn thanked him and walked back with Ian, disappointed.

"Do you know the place?" Ian carefully asked.

Evelyn just continued on her tracks. Once they reached the place where the bike was parked, Evelyn got on and waited for the other. Deciding not to ask more about it, Ian quietly hopped on.

The long trip continued, Ian didn't know nor wanted to know what was going on. Never did he know that someone who kept commenting on his hairstyle during the flight and always seemed to boss around could have another side that showed the total opposite.

Evelyn on the other hand had a hard time focusing on the road. She thought she'd had the only way to find him, but now it just turned into nothing. All the while she'd convince herself that not being able to find him was because they were oceans apart. But now, all she had to blame was herself to have such childish hope. Not being able to think straight, she vented down emotions of sadness, anger, and disappointment into the ride.

She suddenly picked up the speed. Ian decided to stay silent since he thought she liked to use a fast pace with her rides.

'𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦.'

She clenched on the handles.

'𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶?'

And suddenly accelerated the bike which took the other by surprise.

Ian slightly flinched, eyes widened.

"H-hey, there's no need to go this fast." He said, but the latter never bothered to respond.

He couldn't bear it any longer, anxiety took over and his breath hitched for a moment.

"Please stop..." It was barely a whisper. He tightened his grip on her jacket and squeezed his eyes shut.

Evelyn slowed down the pace and soon took the ride to a stop.

She heaved out a sigh, "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah..", Ian opened his eyes to find the evening sun's rays reflecting on the water from which above they stood on the bridge.

"Sorry… I shouldn't have done that." Evelyn breathed out a sigh, "Everything happening got too frustrating to take in and I just...-" She diverted her eyes to the ground, "I'm sorry, I should've known you can't tolerate speeding by now."

"No, it's okay. I never really told you that so you can't blame yourself on that."

They both turned to look at the view in front of them.

"Can I ask you something?" Ian spoke.

"Sure."

"About earlier, what place was that?"

"My old school. It was before all this mess." Evelyn replied, "Life just seemed perfect."

"You were upset because the place is now run-down?"

"No," She let out a small chuckle, "It's a whole different thing."

"It's better to let things out you know. The longer you keep it to yourself, the harder it gets."

"If you say so," Evelyn said, "I'm looking for my best friend. A long lost one."

Ian nodded in curiosity, "Say, if you do find that friend, what would you tell them?"

"I'd apologize for leaving him. And make things clear between the two of us."

"That's all?"

"If necessary, I'll ask if he still likes me." She turned to face him.

"So you were in a relationship?"

"Nah, he liked me and acted obvious about it. And I just never realized until it was too late."

Ian could say nothing but a short "Oh..." before he shot her with another question, "What if he still likes you?"

A sad smile spread across the latter's face. "The possibilities are one in a million. No one would still have the hope to meet a person lost for years." She said, "But if he does... I guess it'll just make things complicated. So I hope he doesn't. After all, it was the friendship the two of us treasured."