Chapter 36. It’s Up to You Now

Evelyn

Bottling up my emotions, desires, and the twisted dreams my heart dared to whisper despite what it went through—dreams I deemed too bizarre, too dangerous for the future I craved—I stepped out of the room and agreed to go out with Cameron. No trauma, no doubts, no pain. That was the life I envisioned for myself, so here I was, sitting beside him, my safe choice, our feet sinking into the cool lake water. The bench, which Cameron described or I would say guessed as specially designed for this—soaking feet and relaxing—did little to calm the chaos in my mind.

In my memory, this bench used to sit a foot away from the water. I vaguely remember coming here as a child, back when the lake seemed smaller, more innocent. But time and rising water had expanded it, so now, the bench sat at the perfect level for someone to sit and let the water gently touch their feet. I suppose, in different circumstances, it might have been calming.

But my mind was a battlefiel