poor comfort

Who: Dodge and Evie
Where: Evie's place
When: Evening

Dodge's day had been bad. Like all sorts of bad. He'd cut Maddy off until she came to her senses, only to realize that he really didn't feel right cutting her off. Not with the damn orphanage and some cop's wife looking for her. The issue had been talked over with Roach and Mud, his top two boys, both of which were alright with putting out the alert to keep an eye on Maddy, but to stay out of it. Still, they'd follow her as well as they could.

Frustrated, he tried just hiding out in his room for the day, reading the book he'd lifted from Evie's place, but wound up just looking at the bed frame stacked against the wall longingly. The anger was starting to subside and he was left with more of an empty feeling in its wake. He hated being mad at Maddy. He hated the idea that he might have to walk away from her, give her up like that. But he couldn't justify it. He couldn't share her like that with those creeps. No, he'd given her a choice, them or him. Now he just had to hope she made the right choice.

Giving up on his room, Dodge hit the streets again. Evie had helped so much with the dark shadows crowding in on him before, that maybe there was hope she could help out again. So he struck out for her place, getting entrance to the boarding house with ease. After regretfully declining offers for tea and cookies, he took the stairs slowly, bouncing nervously on his toes after knocking on the door to Evie's apartment.

Evelyn wasn't in a particularly stellar mood herself. Too much had happened over the past two days, and it came with a resoundingly powerful bit of Just Awful to The Unfathomable-est Degree. Even the little bits of silver lining? Such as having a date tomorrow with a guy she found nice and attractive? Even that had some serious clouds associated with it. Namely, she had broken a significant personal tenet in agreeing to go out with her boss. It was one that had been a generally rule she had always followed by but had elevated to Sacred after her last job. And, normally, Evelyn had the discipline that could withstand being in freaking love with a guy and still say no if her sense protested the idea. But all of that had gone out the window, no True Love required. Evelyn was certainly attracted to Sullivan, or else she would never had agreed at all, but she wasn't daydreaming about wedding bells in any future. Although wedding bells daydreams would have been preferred to musing on just how incredibly she had fucked up: as if losing control of everything around her wasn't bad enough, she had lost a grasp of that important control over herself, it seemed. And, if there had ever been one comfort Evelyn took in rocky times, it was that -- even if circumstances couldn't be controlled -- one's mind and decisions could.

The knock on the door pulled her out from such thoughts, although Evelyn felt more apprehension and wariness than gratitude for it: was it Jesse? Did she want it to be Jesse? She didn't want to lose her brother, but she didn't want to come face-to-face with his disappointment and anger at her again. But, she was spared on that point: it wasn't Jesse. "Dodge?" Evelyn frowned, a bit surprised to find him standing there even if -- thinking about it -- she probably shouldn't have been.

"None other," Dodge said with a halfhearted smile. When normally the comment would be teasing, today it just sounded bland, an automatic reaction rather than a playful gimmick. "You busy? I was kind of hoping we could talk or something." Any other day Dodge would have just let himself in, not even bothered with asking, but today...well he wasn't quite feeling like himself.

Actually Evelyn wasn't in the mood for company at all. She had enough issue with baring the injuries from her attack, and had been even less inclined to admit the emotional repercussions to herself, much less share them with anyone else. And that had been something that, compared to recent issues, largely wasn't her fault. Now she was dealing with the emotional wounds of her own doing, feeling extremely off-of-things and vulnerable, and having absolutely no desire to have anyone around her in this state. But in the haze of her own misery and self-concern she at least picked up that Dodge seemed a bit off as well. And, even if Evelyn just had too many of her own issues overtaking her to give adequate energy and thought to Dodge's, that guilt at how she had turned him away last time was felt right at home plopping atop of her other messes. So, after lingering in the cracked doorway for a moment with her body blocking the entrance, Evelyn took a step back and opened it further. "Come in," she murmured.

Dodge's ego was bigger than his persona, and typically he was disgustingly self-centered, but his crush on Evelyn made him hyper aware of her and her actions. There was no exasperated sigh, or forced smile. No comment about him following her home or demanding to know what exactly it was he wanted before letting him in. So once he was in the door, he turned on her, hand at her arm with reassuring pressure. "Evie, you okay?"

"You came all the way over here this evening just to ask how I'm doing?" Evelyn asked skeptically, circumventing the question as she headed down towards the corridor to the common room. She made a right to the kitchen, or more 'kitchen area' since it wasn't actually separate from the common room, and grabbed another mug from the cupboard and filled it with still-warm tea from the pot she had put on upon returning home. "I doubt it," she finished, handing the mug to Dodge, "What's up?" She was in about as little a mood to deal with someone else's problems as she was to deal with her own, but the fact that she didn't want to go into her problems and she didn't want to lie to him only left her with his problems to focus on.

"You act like I wouldn't walk all the way over here just to ask how you're doing," Dodge pointed out since they both knew he would do exactly that. He followed after her, taking the offered mug, blowing on it a little before taking a sip. It wasn't much but it was warm on his cold hands and warm in his throat. He was worried about her, but didn't push it, since she'd made it clear that she was changing the subject. "I got in a fight with DG today. Like the worst kind of fight. I told her I'm cutting her out of my life."

Evelyn picked up the mug she had used earlier out of the sink and rinsed it before pouring herself some more of the tea. She was trying to focus onto what he was saying, it wasn't that she had any trouble hearing him, but right now it was hard to connect to anything else emotionally. Especially when she could really use a temporary respite from all emotions, period. And, even though she considered Dodge a friend, it was harder to connect to the story about some fight he had gotten into with a girl that Evelyn could sort of put a face to but just didn't know. And right now, through the haze of her own fucked up emotions, Dodge coming to her about a 'worst kind of fight' he got into with some girl he was now 'cutting out of his life' just rang so much of the petty adolescent melodrama Evelyn remembered covering much of high school. But it didn't hit her in a way that made her judgemental on the issue -- she remembered that, at that age, things that were petty now had seemed Life or Death then -- but it just made everything all the harder for her to connect with as she brought the mug up to her lips with a look she tried to make interested and receptive, "What happened?"

Dodge couldn't help but watch Evelyn, curious what had her so off, but he still answered the question. He hated telling her what happened, hated explaining it, so it left him looking away, up at the ceiling, down at his mug and then back at Evie. "You ever heard of Little Angels?"

Evelyn's eyebrows drew into a frown for a bit and she shook her head slightly, obviously blank on that score. It wasn't that she was sheltered to how deprave mankind can be: just because she had a loving, stable if scrapping-by home life didn't mean that she wasn't aware of just how bad other homes in her neighborhood could be. Evelyn herself could recall some friends from school who would rather sleep with the library or sneak into the school afterhours than go home, and for good reason. But she wasn't a street kid, and before working at the Drake the closest she came to the seedier sides of the city life was the knowledge that Jesse, amazing brother though he may be, often managed to get a hold of things and afford his rent despite never really holding a job. So sketchy pedophile parlors, not exactly on her radar.

"Right, didn't think so," Dodge said, relieved that she didn't. Dodge preferred Evelyn in her ivory tower, safe from harm or the nastier bits of his life. Actually in some ways he didn't want to tell her about this but he had to tell someone. He'd been short on info with the boys even, just to tail Maddy, and that things with Maddy and Dodge were over until Dodge said otherwise. "Well it's like Babylon, only for a much younger age range of girls. It's not all sex, or so they say, but...well it's bad. It's fucking real bad news." The anger was coursing through Dodge again, thinking of Maddy all primped and painted for some creep. His fist clenched a little, lines deepening across his face, making him look older. "She's going there. Or went. Got a job and everything. I just...I couldn't do that. I can't be privy to that."

She didn't know what to say to that. What could she say to that? Undoubtedly, the thought that such a place existed made her sick. Hell, the idea of that -- selling oneself -- with somebody her age made her sick. It was what had brought her to the Drake in the first place, and it was yet another thing that strained her relationship with Rebbecca. But at the same time, sick though she felt, Evelyn could unfortunately emphasize to a certain extent. Maybe that was why it sickened her so. She understood that feeling of desperation, and she knew it could make people choose to do things they aren't proud of. A lot of times in this city, it seemed it wasn't about getting your happy ending as it was choosing the lesser of evils. But for a kid? Yes, she knew that a kid, especially a street kid, could feel just as much desperation and experience just as much shit (maybe even more) as an adult... but going to a pedophile's Babylon?

Feeling bad for having internally dismissed the possible severity of Dodge's issues earlier, Evelyn forced herself out of her own misery for a moment to watch him, go over what he said and how he said it, and actually take it in this time. "Did she say why?"

"Money," Dodge said, his voice sounding like it was completely ludicrous. "She has this stupid idea that she's going to buy a house and now she needs money. So she goes there. Because she's good at it." The last part was said rather sarcastically in a mocking sort of tone. "I told her no, no DG, this is bad. That place will eat your soul and you'll be nothing left. You know what she told me? She told me I was jealous. Jealous." Dodge's eyes were getting a little wild, and he'd started pacing. That had been it. That had been what made him say he was leaving. Anything else he would have threatened to lock her up, storm through the doors and save her out of that hell hole, but no. She told him he was jealous of those creeps, with that smug smile and he'd decided he was done. She wasn't going to hurt him again. Only it was eating at him every moment.

Evelyn surveyed Dodge from behind the mug at her lips as he paced about. Even though she was trying to get out of her head enough to focus, what he was saying required a lot to process -- this wasn't a subject, even if part of it concerned a girl she didn't know, that should be pondered idly -- but with everything else she just didn't have enough mental and emotional resources to process everything and react to it. As a result her expression came off largely impassive as she leaned on the counter and sipped from her mug, trying to think about what he was saying. There were a couple points that he brought up, and she tried to think over which one of them she should respond to first... or should she try to respond to those nonverbal cues of frustration she was giving?

And how should she respond? Her heart wasn't into just siding with him, even if her sense told her that he was probably in the right here. Yeah, pedophile parlors most certainly went in the 'Wrong' column in every situation. But that little inkling subconscious of hers, that knew all her ugly faults and fears better than she preferred to think about, told her that she couldn't take the moral highground on this one. It told her that, if she felt desperate enough, she would probably sell herself too. Hell, had she stayed at that lawyer's office any longer and not found the job at the Drake? She damn well might have... and she wasn't even a street kid. So, with all the options of which point to respond to and how she should respond, Evelyn just couldn't manage making a decision on that point; and so she didn't say anything, but just watched him, allowing him to continue venting or pacing or elaborate or stop or whatever he opted to do.

Dodge had mostly stopped venting, although he was still pacing. He'd run out of things to say, having hit that jealous comment. That had hung him up enough that he was now visualizing her face looking up at him patting his face. The worst part? Dodge was certain part of him was jealous, that they'd have her for their own and he wouldn't. That made him even more sick, wondering what that meant about him. It was a full minute or so before he realized that Evelyn wasn't speaking, that she'd just sort of stood there staring at him with nothing to offer. Hell she looked almost bored, when he glanced over at her. "You think I'm acting childish don't you?" he asked. The tone was somewhat accusing, but not loud. "That's the looks adults give children when they think they're being silly."

And this was why she probably shouldn't have let him in, why she shouldn't have company -- especially company in need of support. Evelyn couldn't properly handle being supportive right now. And Dodge, what with being her friend, and being so clearly distressed about something that fully warranted extreme concern, deserved to have somebody supportive; somebody who wasn't too stuck and self-centered on her own problems to not be there for somebody who was genuinely upset about their friend. "No," she answered softly, almost sighing the words, pushing herself away from the counter, "I don't think you're acting childish." It was the truth, even if she just couldn't rid her tone of some of that drained weariness the day had left her with. "And there's nothing silly about this." Not particularly thirsty for tea, she had only poured herself a mug to give her hands something to do, she placed the half-empty mug atop the counter and then slowly drew her gaze over to Dodge, "What do you want to do?" He had said he was going to cut the girl out of his life, but if Dodge was really okay with that... well, he would be here pacing a trench into her floor, would he?

Evelyn's tone and her question brought Dodge to a halt. "I..." he started, but the words just didn't come. He wanted Maddy to choose him, to decide he was too important to lose. He wanted to be sad, to let himself be sad, because he was almost certain that she wasn't going to choose him. He wanted to just outwardly and visibly hurt for a little while. Instead of answering he moved towards her. Once there, he was touching her, fingers across her cheeks until he was holding her head in his hands, fingers tangled in her hair. As he'd done before he pressed his forehead against hers, breathing slowly. "I want to save her, I just don't think I'm strong enough."

Like last time, the touching foreheads just felt too intimate a thing for her. Especially considering Evelyn had already been in one fairly intimate situation today, and she was not one for intimate encounters with two different guys in the same day. At all. "Dodge, don't," she took a step away, even if she didn't like hurting him further at all, she knew she had to make that stance very clear, especially now. And right now she was torn between responding first to his statement or letting him know that she had a date tomorrow, knowing he had a crush on her. "What do you think you'll do?" She asked. She would undoubtedly tell him about the date, but the whole thing with DG seemed more important.

Dodge let her go, knowing before he grabbed her that she'd pull away. Eventually he'd realize she wasn't interested, but for now he kept at it. Moving to lean against the counter he stayed close to her, but not touching. "I'll wait. For now at least. I gave her a choice, me or the job. I guess I have to hope she makes the right choice." Dodge left out the part where he'd follow her or have someone else do it.

"And what... if she chooses something else?" She asked, kicking herself out of her haze long enough to tone the question gently. Because the pragmatic side of Evelyn knew that he should be prepared for either outcome.

Dodge frowned. That would be the ultimate insult, her choosing it over him. "I'll figure something else out. I could talk to Roy about it." Dodge hated the idea of talking to Roy. Actually he still had an overwhelming desire to punch Roy and having to go to him for help again was just degrading. Maybe he'd just send someone else.

Evelyn blinked. "Roy?" She only knew one Roy, but there were plenty of Roys in the city, right? But, still... "Roy who?"

"Huh?" Dodge hadn't expect Roy of all things to catch her attention like that. "Roy...Grady. Surly kid, angry all the time. General pain in my ass." The distaste was starting to leak through and into his tone.

"Marian's brother?" Evelyn clarified, frowning further. Wow, it really was a small world, wasn't it? And she wasn't sure how she felt about that. Although Dodge's assessment of Roy didn't coincide particularly well with her impression of the boy. Well, to be fair, Evelyn didn't have much of an impression of Roy other than he was polite, and quiet. Although he had been nice enough to fix her stove, an tried to refuse any offer to pay him back... although she did recall the impression she had been left that he had seemed eager to leave, which was awkward. "Fixes stuff around the Drake?"

"Yea he's got a sister. How do you know her?" Dodge barely knew Marian, just an old face from the city, but he hadn't had much interaction with her, especially not recently. "I dunno where else he works. Works down at the garage for Dutch, helping out 'round there. But that's all I know he does." It was obvious Dodge really didn't care and that Roy was the least of his concerns.

Unfortunately for Dodge, having him follow up with Roy and Dutch in the same sentence heightened the interest Evelyn had in the subject, or well, the apprehension. Because she was pretty sure there was only one guy who went by Dutch in the city who worked at a garage. "Marian Grady, she lives just down the hall," Evelyn answered. "Her brother Roy helped me out with the stove about... a week ago? Maybe more?" Then, after a moment, "The Dutch at Occam Automotive?" she asked, really hoping despite sense that there were two Dutches with garages out there.

"Does she now," Dodge said, looking towards the door more than interested. Not really sure how that was a great idea, but it was still tempting. "Um, yes. I believe he's the only one in town. Kind of like there's only one Dodge. Why?"

"It's just... it's a small world, isn't it?" Yeah, Evelyn was considerably disturbed by just how small the fucking universe was, and that didn't help her mood any. Logically, she supposed there wasn't really any need to be so concerned that Dodge knew Roy and Roy knew Dutch but she was easily predisposed to be perturbed at the moment. Enough so that she didn't quite catch the somewhat ominous edge to Dodge's interested tone there. "Dutch is a friend of mine, well, of Amelia's, I suppose," she answered absently. "He's helping me get a car, actually." Although she wasn't sure if she was really answering Dodge's question, because she had gotten gotten lost in her apprehension to really remember what exactly the question was. In fact, how did they get onto Roy and then Dutch again? Oh, DG, right. "But what exactly do you think you'll do, Dodge? You can't save people from themselves -- only they can do that." She again tried to keep the tone gentle, but she couldn't help that it came out somewhat distracted.

Dodge shrugged. "Not that small, I just know a lot of people." Which was true; Dodge knew people and people knew Dodge. That was just the way the world worked. "Lucky me I'm a friend of both Amelia and Evelyn." The subject changed back to Maddy, so Dodge lost the lightness that had seeped into his tone. "I know that, but I can give her a damn good reason to change. Or just lock her in my room until she comes to her senses." The locking Maddy up wasn't really an option anymore, but it was the best he had at the moment.

Evelyn frowned at his comment about being a friend of both Amelia and Evelyn, bringing to mind how fantastically bad things had gone with her brother when he had found out -- not that he really knew about 'Amelia' moreso that he knew Evelyn worked at the Drake and used a different name. But her frown deepened at the comment about locking the girl up. One thing Evelyn valued the most was independence; and maybe there were more than good reasons for locking somebody up for their own good, but it went against her nature to take that decision away from somebody else -- no matter how fantastically dangerous or stupid or desperate their decision might be. "You can't lock her up," she stated, still keeping a gentle tone -- one not so distracted now -- but being undoubtedly firm in that statement, "even if her decision is a fantastically bad one? You can't just take somebody and force them under lock and key, especially if they're your friend."

That surprised him a little, how adamant she was about that, about what he did with Maddy. "Well, no I realize that, mostly. She got hella pissed last time I did it and it was only for a night." Dodge pulled the fedora off his head, running his hand through his hair then back on again. "So no, I'm out of ideas. You got any?"

A troubled shadow fell over her frown, "...the 'last time' you did it?" As to what he could do? She honestly couldn't say what to do in that situation. Hell, Evelyn felt like she was the last person qualified to ask that question. Her best friend was now a kept woman to that perverted asshole of her ex-boss, and Evelyn honestly couldn't say whether keeping that secret while still trying to be there for her friend was the right thing or not. She only knew that she just couldn't bring herself to air out such a personal secret that wasn't hers to share, just as she only knew that putting somebody under lock and key against their will didn't sit right with her... even if she couldn't think of other ideas.

"Yes, last time. When she tired to go down into the tunnels she wouldn't listen. It was for her own safety. She wouldn't have made it out of there alive. So I held on to her long enough to go down there myself." Dodge was a little ashamed of how the night had gone down, but still thought he'd been right to keep her there. And it wasn't like she left after he let her out. Actually she'd crawled into bed with him.

Here was where Evelyn's nature was at odds with her logical and empathetic side. Her nature alone riled against the idea of locking somebody up, but she also knew that walking into the tunnels was on par with suicide -- especially for a young girl. And the logical side of her, what little of it seemed to be functioning lately, could see how locking somebody up for a night might be preferable to letting them walk into a situation that would certainly get them killed. And the empathetic side, which was usually more predisposed towards leaning with people she knew and cared about over those who were practically strangers, was also leaning with the logical side on this one. So, unable to back the decision of locking up the girl yet equally unable to continue her criticism against it, Evelyn let it drop. "I don't know what you can do -- much less what you should do -- if she chooses to..." she admitted. She didn't finish the sentence, the idea of it all too disturbing for her to stomach saying aloud. "But I really hope she doesn't," Evelyn added, drawing out of her funk just enough to express it sincerely.

"I know, I'm in the same place." Dodge sounded a little defeated, tired and drug down. "And me either. God, I hope she doesn't." He looked over at her again, reaching out to brush the edge of her hairline. "You okay princess? You seem a little distant."

Now it was Evelyn's turn to fidget, although she wouldn't let herself stand there awkwardly and be obvious about it nor would she let herself just how troubled she was by pacing about -- not that she begrudged Dodge at all for doing that, she didn't. She didn't begrudge moments of distress and weakness in others, only in herself. She debated deflecting the answer again, but she had already done that once. And, ever since Dodge had stumbled upon her secret, Evelyn really needed to have at least one person she wasn't lying to. So she took a step over to the stove, turning the burner back on to re-heat the now cool tea in the pot.

"Do you want more tea?" she asked, holding her hand out for his mug. After a pause in which she opened the kettle just to make sure there was enough, she finally answered, "I saw Jesse yesterday. He found out about the Drake." She said it softly, still busying herself with the stove burner and teapot. It was funny, really; just how simple and harmless that issue sounded when she spoke it in such an off-hand manner like that. Her brother knew about the Drake, that was all. It certainly didn't sound like something that had spent the past 24 hours ripping her apart and into a breakdown. Hell, it sounded wholly unimportant even, and she wouldn't have been surprised if Dodge or anybody else would've asked 'So what?' after she phrased it like that.

Anyone else might have assumed it was no big deal, but Dodge wasn't that guy. He knew Jesse James, and the man's reputation was enough to give him an idea of how he probably took that news. Dodge didn't like Evelyn working at the Drake, even though he trusted her to stay out of trouble, but he didn't have the big brother card either. Setting the mug down out of her reach, Dodge to her hands, turning her towards him. "What happened?"

She didn't turn away, but she did bring her hands back down and shrugged lightly -- even though that shrug was in no way indicative of how she felt. Evelyn could never just shrug off or away her family. And, even if she felt so awful and wished she could just take a break from emotions at the moment, she would never even want to try just shrugging off her family despite everything she had done. "He didn't exactly take it well," she said, smiling wryly -- or, well, she tried to. The wryness just came off a bit bitter and hinted more at her vulnerability than she cared for. Especially since Jesse not taking it well was the understatement of the year, and Evelyn could only blame herself. She knew she hadn't been forthcoming; God, she knew it. And there had been so much that she wanted to say, that she should have said, both to apologize and to explain and to try to start to fix things and to tell him just how sorry she was and how she would never ever ever want to bring harm to their family... but her stupid, stupid mouth had just stayed shut.

"So what exactly is 'not well'?" Dodge asked, reaching behind her to turn off the stove and move the kettle off the heat. Although he knew she'd protest, Dodge put an arm around Evelyn, guiding her back towards the small couch in the common room.

"About as not well as someone finding out their sister has been lying to them for months can take it?" She answered, really not wanting to elaborate further. Hell, the fact that she even admitted that was what was bothering her -- even if her tone had been nonchalant -- was already momentous in and of itself. But Evelyn didn't want to go into the details: she already had to relive that memory over and over in her mind, she had no desire to herself say it aloud too. And she wanted to change the subject, she was hyper aware of the arm around her shoulder, and recalled that she still had to tell him about her date. But she didn't want to tell him, because she didn't want to hurt him and push away the one person who knew about both Evelyn and Amelia and who she hadn't pushed away with her lying. ...But, by not telling him, that would just violate the very foundation of that logic, wouldn't it? And, maybe as some small way to make things up to the universe as it was trying to do right by Dodge or maybe she just needed to prove to herself that she wasn't a complete bitch, she really needed to have somebody she was honest with right now... "Dodge," she started, stepping out from his arm just as they got to the couch, "I've... I'm... starting to see somebody."

"Well can you really blame him? Did he tell you how he found out? He doesn't strike me as the type to just show up at the Drake for afternoon tea," Dodge said, still set on guiding her to the couch to sit and talk about what was going on. Or at least he was until she stepped out of his touch and said...well actually he wasn't sure he heard her right. "You're what?" he asked even though he wasn't really sure he wanted to hear that answer again.

"I have a date tomorrow night," she answered, unsure whether it was better for him to deliver that news straight up and matter-of-factly or as gently as possible. As a compromise, she kept her tone level and steady, but her expression revealed that she found no pleasure in doing this.

"A date?" Dodge still seemed a little shocked, but he tried his best to go along wit it. "Who is this guy? And how long have you been going out with him?" And why didn't Dodge know about this guy ahead of time.

"I haven't been going out with him," she answered. Because it was true: she hadn't been. And she suspected that if she had better control over herself that would still be the case... at least until she after she landed a new job. "The date is tomorrow -- he's a guy from work." She didn't want to clarify that it was her boss, because that fact still bothered her on a significant level. And she realized that, saying it was a guy from work, meant Dodge could probably put together that the guy didn't know her real name. And that really was a fact Evelyn wasn't proud of. Hell, actually? There was a lot about the way she went about this whole date thing she wasn't proud of.

"So Amelia has a date tomorrow then," Dodge said, hope obviously brewing underneath the surface. He took a step or two away from her, thinking, then doubled back looking at her this time. "Let me take you out."

"Dodge, I have a date tomorrow night," she repeated, some mix between pleading and incredulous. She wasn't okay with saying yes to two different guys in one day. Or, well, saying yes to two different guys at any overlapping time. It wasn't as if she could do a one night stand thing with Sullivan. She had done one-night stands before, not very often, but that was always an absolute 'no strings attached' and 'never see each other again' situation. It was impossible for her to pull something like that with a guy she saw almost everyday and who had liked her for some months. "And if it goes well tomorrow, then it won't be the only one either." Although, she aimed to keep any second date after getting a new job.

"And you have another the day after. This guy gets a shot, then I should too." Dodge stepped closer again, taking her hand in his. "That's all I'm ask Evie, one date." With his other hand he pushed her hair back again, the smile on his face devoid of all the games. Just a genuine, true smile. "Please."

Genuine smile or not, Evelyn was taken aback and not in a particularly good way at the moment. "You should get a 'shot' too?" she repeated, looking a bit stricken, visibly not appreciating the phrasing there as she pulled her hands away and took a step back. "No, Dodge." His expression, earnest and genuine though it may be, did little to assuage her as she recovered from what seemed his cheap evaluation of her character. "It doesn't work that way. I don't work that way." And she was actually a bit hurt, as well as a bit angry, that he seemed to think she did. "I don't go around booking dates with a different guy each day because he's apparently entitled to a 'shot' at me."

"Evie," Dodge sounded confused. More than confused. "Why is this suddenly a bad thing? You know how I feel about you, or if you don't you have to have guessed. Haven't I proven enough times that I could love you more than this guy could if you just give me a chance? That's all I'm asking Evie, just a chance."

She didn't want to deal with this. She really didn't need this on top of everything else going on in her life. She didn't know how to deal with this, right now. Honestly? Love and the like hadn't really been in the equation for her -- she wasn't looking for her future husband or her Prince Charming. It wasn't as if she was against love or had never been in it -- she had. She had been pretty damn serious about her last boyfriend; hell, maybe even 'seeing wedding bells in the future' serious. But that had lasted only eight months, not even a year, and Evelyn was more than content to just date somebody she liked and was attracted to but not get into worrying about Love or that kind of level any time soon.

And now Dodge, who was seventeen for crying out loud!, was asking her out the day after her date with Sullivan and that was something Evelyn just couldn't do. Casual with Sullivan or not, and even if Dodge wasn't seventeen? If things went well with Sullivan she knew she'd go out with him again. And she couldn't date two guys at once, or agree to booking one guy the day after another. It just smacked too close to cheating for Evelyn to be comfortable with. "Dodge, I'm seeing somebody," she stated, firmly, hoping that phrasing would drive the point home and settle the issue. It being that, even if it were only a first date right now? Evelyn was regarding it as seeing someone.

"You technically haven't even gone out with him yet," Dodge pointed out, even though he knew it was futile to even try. The last technicality he gave her she just threw away. "Is it because I can't take you to some fancy place?"

And that was another seeming evaluation of her character that both offended and hurt her. Before working at the Drake, the fanciest Evelyn's life had ever gotten was the going to the movies or once in a while going to a restaurant just outside her neighborhood only a little better than Nighthawks. Hell, usually the dinner parts of her date were at Nighthawks, and Evelyn had enjoyed them plenty. If anything, the fact that Sullivan lived at the Drake and was obviously well off had only been making her more nervous, although she'd never admit it and (hopefully) she would never let it show. "It's because I'm seeing someone -- or, starting to, if you want to get technical-- a guy I like, and I'm not going to do something that feels like cheating."

"Cheating? Evie, seriously?" Dodge gave her a solid look. Did her moral code really run that completely insane. "It's one date." He moved in closer again watching her. "You're not...already...Evie?"

Yes, her moral code did run that 'insane'. She had known Sullivan was interested for months and, even if her own regard for him didn't run nearly as strong as his did for her, she was attracted to him, and she could even say that she liked him now. And she had known that, when she said yes to dinner, she wasn't saying yes to 'just one date'. Evelyn had said yes knowing full well that, bar something going horribly and catastrophically wrong tomorrow, she was saying yes to a series of dates and 'going out' in general. Even in her frazzled state of mind she had been aware of that. And honestly? Right now if she found out Ian had a date with another girl planned for Tuesday she would be pretty damn pissed. And Evelyn had a good sense that -- if he found out about her booking a date the day after theirs? -- that would hurt him pretty bad. She didn't want to start things out by hurting him, she was already lying about her name and had no desire to pile on more guilt.

Initially, confused as to what Dodge was asking her about, she frowned. "'Am I already?'... what?" she asked. Then, an idea dawning on her, "No." She crossed her arms, not particularly amused with the question, "Dodge, I said yes knowing full well that it, bar something catastrophic?, this isn't just one date, but a first date. So yes, I said 'cheating'. Because if I found out he had a date planned with somebody else this week? I would be pissed off and hurt." And then, feeling the emotions and discomfort in this back and forth wearing down on her, she sighed. Really? Telling the truth could be overrated sometimes. "And if you don't get that by now, Dodge, then me explaining it any further isn't going to help."

Dodge just sort or stared, not really sure what to say. He wanted to plead more, but he supposed she had a good point. "No, I get it. You don't have to, just forget it Evie." If she didn't understand what he was saying either then there was no explaining it further on his end either. Moving in he did probably the last thing she wanted, but he didn't care. One hand at her cheek he kissed her forehead, hard and obviously hurting, but he kept the words to himself. "I'll see you soon princess." She could date who she wanted, Dodge certainly wasn't going to remove himself from the picture.

Evelyn worked hard to keep her breathing steady, fully catching onto how hurt he seemed. And, generally, she didn't like the idea of hurting anybody. And hurting people she cared about hurt her. But she didn't reach out to hug him or try to say something that might initially make it better, because she knew that would just be more hurtful in the long run: she couldn't give him what he wanted. And doing so would also ended up hurting somebody else, which didn't help any situation.

When he told her he'd see her she gave a small but silent nod as she stepped away. Yes, that statement worried her, but she also felt a bit relieved. Because even though she knew just how damn selfish it was? She wanted him as her friend, especially now with how her lying seemed to screw all her other relationships up. Hell, maybe she even needed him to stick around. But in this very moment Evelyn really felt that she just needed to be alone, that it was a good idea if she just kept away from any further human interaction that she just couldn't handle and end up fucking up. So after giving her nod to show that, yes, she had heard him and wasn't denying him to see her later (even if doing that very thing was probably best for both of them in the long run), she also angled her body away to allow him to pass her on the way out.

When she stepped back, Dodge let his hand trail across her cheek. As much as he wanted to stay, Dodge knew when to leave and he made his way out, headed towards the door. A few steps away though, he stopped looking back at her. "Thanks Evie, for being there. And you know where to find me if you need me." Tipping his hat enough to pull it down over his eyes, leaving just the Chesire Cat grin, which he flashed at her before he turned to leave, slipping out the door easily.

After he had left, Evelyn walked over to the small table in the common room and collapsed into a chair, unceremoniously plopping her head against the tabletop with her arms sprawled out before her. Hurting Dodge, feeling like an utter failure with being supportive when he arrived with a more serious problem than any of her own, and just the emotional mess leftover from yesterday and exacerbated today all brought her to the verge of tears. In fact, her eyes watered and her breathing became something dangerously like sobbing for a couple moments before she forced herself to keep still, not even breathing, and not letting any tear fall out. She wasn't going to cry. Last night she had done enough crying to last a lifetime, it seemed, and it hadn't helped. It had only left her eyes feeling dehydrated and itchy and had only left her the same violent emotional peak that had preceded the crying fit.

Instead, managing to feel both drained and on-edge at the same time, she pushed herself up and away from the table and trudged her way to her bedroom, immediately opening up the nightstand drawer with the sedatives and popping a couple into her mouth. The second the last pill hit the back of her throat she let herself collapse onto her bed, not bothering with pulling back covers or getting out of clothes or worrying it was far earlier than her usual bedtime. Instead she just focused on trying to block out, oh, everything from her mind and, failing that, opened up the drawer again and took one more pill for good measure and then closed her eyes.