With a deep breath, I pushed the car door open and stepped outside. It was a bit warm today, and I was regretting leaving the house in jeans today.

I quickly brushed that thought away as I looked up at the building in front of me. Considering it was the middle of the day and also a Saturday, the place in front of me was rather busy. I just hoped that I will be able to do what I had set out to do when I left the house not long ago. Because of me, I drove a wedge in between both Hattie and Evan because I was quick to judge. I even followed up with James about the note, and it was all true. He just reused the note when he walked past her locker. He thought he was a genius for it, saying that he was so smart. Well, he wasn't smart enough to dodge my fist when it cracked against his jaw. When I pushed opened the door, I stepped up to the waitress who was in the front of the house.

"Table for one?" she asked as she looked up at me with a bright smile as she reached over to grab a menu.

"Actually, I'm looking for Evan," I say as I look around the restaurant, but there was no sign of him. "Is he here?"

"Yeah, I think he just got back from a delivery," she said as she set the menu back down. "I'll go get him."

"Thanks. Can you tell him I'm out front?" I asked as I motioned to the door that led to the outside and the girl nodded before disappearing behind a set of doors that led through the kitchen.

When I stepped outside, I immediately regretted not staying inside where it was cool. But what did I care? I wasn't going to be here long. Hopefully this will mend everything between the two, because I for one know that Hattie isn't taking what happened well. She has been avoiding me like I had the plague, but I didn't blame her. I was a jerk.

The door suddenly opened, and Even stepped out. He was no longer wearing the usual uniform he wore when he made deliveries. Instead, he wore a pair of tan cargo shorts and a short sleeved light blue button up that was open to reveal a white shirt.

Evan looked completely shocked to see me standing there. "What are you doing here?"

"I just wanted to talk," I say to him, but by the frown in his face I could tell that he wasn't convinced. "Look, I'm sorry about everything. It wasn't my place to show Hattie that letter, and I sort of put it into her head that you were lying to her."

"No shit," Evan said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You put your nose into where it didn't belong, and look at what happened? You drove me and Hattie apart. Well message received. You don't what anyone near her and you'll do anything to keep her alone."

I let out a sigh. "I shouldn't have done that, okay? I'm sorry."

Evans facial expression didn't shift as he stared at me. "Have you spoken to Hattie about this?"

I shook my head. "I haven't seen her since that day. No one has."

Worry flashed over Evan's face as he dropped his hands to his side. "Could something have happened? I mean, that house is basically a death trap for her right now."

Every worse possible scenario flashed through my head. Hattie could have fallen down the stairs for all he had known. She could be laying there unable to move or call out for help. She did slip down the stairs not long after she had first broken her leg, so the chance of her doing that again was extremely high.

"Have you heard from her?" I asked.

Evan shook his head. "I've been ignoring all of her calls, but they stopped coming a few days ago."

"You ignored her calls?" I questioned loudly.

"Yeah, because I was pissed off and I didn't want to say something that I would regret," Evan said as he ran a hand through his hair. "Look, she's probably fine, alright? She's survived you for years. It will take a lot to take her down."

I opened my mouth to say something, but then closed it. He was right. Hattie managed to get through all of the awful things I have done to her. Nothing could take her down. Well, except maybe a window.

"Look, can you please call her?" I asked him. "She was happy when you were around, you know?"

Evan perked up when I mentioned that. "Really?"

"Yeah," I say to him with a smile on my face. "A lot of things have happened to her that you don't know of, but when ever she was with with you, she was happy."

A confused look appeared on his face. "What do you mean? What happened to her?"

I shook my head. "It's not my place to tell, but she's been having a lot of problems lately with her mom. I don't know the whole story, though."

Evan's face fell. "I had no idea."

I nodded. "No one did. I had no idea until I overheard her on the phone."

"Shit," Evan said softly as he turned to look at me. "I've been wanting to talk to her lately, but I kept chickening out every time I picked up the phone. I've even drove past her house more times then I'd care to admit when I was making deliveries."

"Yeah, that's not creepy at all," I chuckle.

Suddenly, the phone rang in my pocket. My eyes widened in confusion as I reached in the back pocket of my jeans and pulled out the phone. When I saw my mom was calling, I was even more confused.

"Mom?" I asked into the phone when I lifted it to my ear. Normally she would never call me when she knew I was out. That is, unless it was a mystery.

"Are you over at Hattie's right now?" she asked, and by the tone of her voice I could tell something was up.

"No, I'm actually downtown right now," I say to her. I didn't tell her about what happened the other day. If she knew that Hattie had thrown me out of the house the other day, the chance of me being sent to military school would rise. "Why?"

"I heard yelling from other there, and your father saw two people walk into the house before it started," she explained to me.

"Wait, people just walked into the house?" I question as I immediately started to walk over to my car. "Did dad recognize them?"

"No, but he wasn't sure if it was Eleanor or not," she told me.

"What about the other person?" I asked as I started to fumble with my keys, but they slip out of my hands and crash to the ground. At this point, I was panicking. Why would there be yelling coming from Hattie's house? What was going on there?

"It was some guy. Your dad didn't get a good look at him."

"Shit, I'll be home in five minutes, alright?" I say as I pick them up before hanging up the phone.

"What's going on?" Evan asked as he suddenly appeared by my side. I didn't notice him there behind me this whole time.

"There's yelling coming from Hattie's place," I say as I unlock the car.

"Yelling?"

"Yeah, apparently some people just walked into her house. Possibly her mother," I said as I pulled open the drivers door. "Look, I gotta go and see what the hell is going on there."

"I'm coming with you," Evan spoke up suddenly as he started to make his way the passengers door. I opened my mouth to object, but then closed it.

When we got in the car, we drove in silence towards Hattie's house. The radio was low, and the music kept the awkward silence away. However, Evan turned the music off and turned to look at me.

"Why do you hate Hattie so much?"

I sighed. "Does it matter? I don't hate her anymore."

"But what brought it on?" he questioned as he looked straight out the windshield.

I thought for a moment. "I can't remember anymore. It was so long ago."

Evan narrowed his eyes in confusion. "So, you can't remember why, but you're still mean to her?"

"I'm not mean to her anymore, alright?" I say as I try to steer away from this conversation. I knew I had messed up, and I wanted to put all of this behind me. However it was impossible to do when people keep bringing it up. "That's all that matters."

Evan looked at me before he nodded slowly. "Right."

Haven was a small town, so we were able to pull onto the street within a matter of minutes. When we pulled up, the car in the driveway was the first thing I noticed. It was clearly a new car, but I wasn't sure if Hattie's mom had purchased a new on or even a rental. I pull up right behind Hattie's car that was parked on the street, and just as I turned on the engine, something on the porch of Hattie house and my eyes widened.

Hattie was walking faster than she probably should have. The closer I looked at her, I noticed her eyes were red as if she were crying, and there was even a visible hand print on her face. My stomach dropped when I saw her like that.

"Oh my god," I say under my breath as I immediately get out of the car with Evan following behind me.

Hattie didn't even notice that we were there, and she continued to her car with he duffel bag on her shoulder. Just as she unlocked her car and tossed her bag in, her looked up to see both Evan and I standing there only a couple of feet away. However, both Evan and I stopped in our tracks when we heard somebody yelling from the house.

"Where do you think your're going?" questioned as visibly drunk Eleanor. Both Evan and I turned to look, but Hattie's eyes remained on the ground. "Oh come on, I want to show you the pictures from my wedding last night. You'll never guess who married me and your new dad. Elvis!"

I had no idea what was going on, but by the look on Hattie's face, I could tell she did. Before either one of us could react, Hattie opened her car door and got inside as quickly as possible. Swearing under my breath, I tried to reach out and open her door, but it was too late. She saw me coming and locked it.

"Unlock the door," I tell her, but she ignores me and started to turn the key in the ignition. It was obvious that she wanted to leave, but she shouldn't be driving in her condition. I quickly motion Evan to stand in front of the car, which he did without a second thought. There was no way she would run over Evan. Me on the other hand, she'd do it in a heartbeat.

"Evan, please move," she shouted at him as tears started to stream down her face.

Evan just shook his head. "I can't do that Hattie."

"Please, you have to move," she says as she wipes away her tears with the back of her hand. "I have to leave."

"Where are you going?" I asked as I glanced back up to the house, but this time Eleanor was no where to be seen. Hattie kept her mouth shut. "Come on Hattie. You can't be driving like this. You're a mess."

"You could get in an accident if you go off driving like this," Evan calmly told her.

"How about this," I told her softly. "You get out and sit in the back and calm down. I'll drive you where ever you want to go."

Hattie was silent for a moment, and I thought that she was going to reject my offer. However, Hattie slowly unbuckled her seat belt and started to open the car door. Both Evan and I let out a sigh of relief as she got out of the car.

Evan quickly walked around and was by Hattie's side. As I held the car door open, Evan helped Hattie get into the back seat of her car. She was still crying, and her body was shaking. Just as she got in the car, Evan placed his palm on her cheek and wiped away a tear on her face.

"Want me to sit back here with you?" he asked her softly. Hattie looked at him and slowly nodded as she began to slide over. Evan got in the car without another word and shut the door behind him.

Just before I walked over to the drivers side, I looked up at my house to see my mother standing there in the window. I gave her a small wave just before getting into the car. As I was putting on my seat belt, I looked up in the rear view mirror to see that Hattie had her head on Evan's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Evan said softly as he wrapped an arm around her wait and pulled her closer.

I tore my eyes away from the mirror and started to drive. At the moment, I really wished the roles were reversed, but I knew that would never happen. I knew I would never hold Hattie in my arms like that, but it is my fault that it will never happen.