Shattered

Evie excused herself from the group to go to the bathroom. While she was gone the group who had been quiet since they saw Evie casually kiss Frank were now in the clear and could question Frank about it.

"What was that Frank?" Gerard asked.

Frank was looking off into the distance where Evie had walked away to. "I don't know."

"She kissed you. Not on the cheek, she like... kissed you." Mikey said.

Frank looked around. A couple of girls from their school were looking at Frank and talking to each other and it was obviously about him. He ignored them. He was focused on his racing heart. The girl he lived with, that he was so attracted to, had spontaneously kissed him and just walked off like it was nothing. Frank wanted to believe that she was attracted to him too and wanted something more, but he wondered if maybe it wasn't so innocent. So many things had happened in the few days he'd known her. The flashbacks, the panic attack after she broke a stupid glass, the gentle kiss on the palm of his hand after he cupped her cheek, asking permission to go to a store with Gerard. And now this actual kiss. There wasn't much romance in it. It was kind of like the quick kiss a girl gives her boyfriend when she's in a hurry and has to run off quickly. It still confused Frank but there was a pattern in her behavior. Everything strange that she did seemed to come from a place of fear or submission.

"I think I know what this is about." Frank said.

"What?" Gerard asked.

Frank hesitated because he wasn't sure if it was right to tell things he believed Evie wanted to keep private, but questions were going to keep coming up if he didn't. He took a deep breath. "Evie's been abused in the past. A lot. I think it's worse than she's letting on."

"Abused how?" Ray asked.

"I'm certain she was beaten and had cigarettes put out on her, but... there might have been other stuff."

"Sexual stuff?" Gerard asked.

"I don't know. Maybe." Frank admitted.

"She did just kiss you randomly. She wouldn't do that if she was sexually abused." Mikey argued.

Frank watched as Evie appeared and started walking back to them, unaware that they were talking about her.

"I think she would Mikey." Frank countered.

They stopped talking about it when Evie got close enough to hear them.

"Are we ready to go now?" Evie asked, smiling.


********


The rest of the weekend was uneventful. They all just spent time at Gerard and Mikey's house and Evie took some time to do the review work she was concerned about.

A whole week went by and the attention Evie received at school didn't let up at all. She was the prettiest girl in the school and with that came a lot of attention and people trying to be her friend. She was friendly with everyone but didn't go out of her way to spend time with anyone but Frank and his friends. That meant that they were startiing to be noticed by everyone too.

After the kiss at the mall which a few people from school had seen, the rumours started. People were claiming that Frank had already slept with his foster sister. It raised Frank's profile and his popularity level at school instantly. It was only further fueled by how closely Evie stuck to Frank. At first it looked like Frank was following Evie around, but it became clear quickly that it was Evie who had latched onto Frank. Things changed when everybody thought that the 'It Girl' of the school was obsessed with Frank. Suddenly girls who had never paid him any mind at all were looking at him and trying to talk to him, flirt with him. He was never unpopular among his classmates, just average.

Over the week Evie was starting to settle into the Iero household more. The idea of them sending her back to the group home wasn't right at the front of her mind anymore. Linda and Steve were so nice to her, never got angry. Frank was an angel. She was starting to believe that neither Steve or Frank were going to make her do anything sexual against her will, but she didn't want to get too comfortable with that idea. She'd thought that about men before and ended up being wrong and it hurt so much more to be abused in that way when she had believed she was safe with them.

So far Evie had not had an 'episode' at school, and only one episode in front of Linda and Steve. The two got into an argument in front of her and Steve had raised his voice at Linda. Evie had backed away from him trembling and trying to get as much space between herself and Steve as possible. The argument stopped instantly when they noticed her reaction. The two tried to comfort her but every time Steve came closer, Evie panicked even more. She tried to call for Frank, who was upstairs, but her voice failed her and she could only call his name softly. Linda and Steve who were looking at her with great concern were close enough to hear that she wanted Frank. Linda called out to him and he rushed downstairs because he could hear the urgency in his mother's voice. He walked in just in time to see that Steve was trying to approach Evie again and she was cowering closer to the ground with each of his movements. He had to stop this now.

"Get back!" He yelled and Steve did so immediately. Frank rushed to his foster sister and crouched down to her, cupping her cheeks in both of his hands to face her to him. "It's ok Evie. I'm here-I'm here. Nothing's wrong. You're with me."

Evie looked wide eyed into Frank's eyes and she gripped his shirt tightly, scared he would just disappear. "Frank." She panted still in the midst of her panic.

"I'm here sweetie. I'm not going anywhere."

As if there was nobody else in the room, Evie threw herself at Frank, clinging to his chest.

Linda didn't need to ask Frank what was going on. She had worked with troubled and abused children so she knew what she was seeing. She was concerned for her foster daughter, but the pride she had for her son in that moment was even stronger.

Evie calmed down quickly now that she was in Frank's presence. Frank would protect her. She didn't have to be afraid when she was with him. Once she had completely calmed herself, she realised she had freaked out right in front of her foster parents.

"I'm so s-sorry, Linda, St-steve." She stuttered.

"You have nothing to be sorry about honey." Linda reassured her.

Frank helped her upstairs. He knew his mom would want him to come back downstairs to talk to her about it but he was just to exhausted to. Instead of taking Evie into her room, he took her into his own and laid her down in his bed, then got in with her. Somehow he knew Evie wouldn't panic. She needed him right now and her bed wasn't big enough for both of them. Once Frank laid down, Evie rolled over to him and rested her head on his chest. Frank put his arm around her and held her protectively. And there she slept feeling completely at peace with the first man she had ever truly trusted.

Notes

I don't know how much longer I will continue this story. I don't know if anybody is following it anymore.