April 14, 2010
4:00 a.m.
Rush Copley Hospital

“Thanks so much for your time,” she told me once she’d finished interviewing me.
“No problem,” I replied. It had actually been kind of great to be able to just sit down and talk about things with someone. And Liz was a really great listener too. She didn’t judge me or tell me that I’d been wrong in the decisions I’d made. She just listened and asked questions. I guess that was what all reporters were supposed to do, but it was still nice.
“I’m really sorry about all that’s happened to you too. It must have been awful having to go through all of that,” she told me, clearly sympathetic.
“Yeah, it wasn’t the greatest experience,” I remarked with a weak smile.
“Evalynne!” I was surprised to hear Cole’s voice, but when I turned around, he was there. He came rushing up to me and wrapped he up in his arms, soothingly running his hand through my hair as he held me. “Are you ok?” he demanded.
I pulled away from him, watching as Shaun and Addison walked in too. “Yeah, I’m fine. How’d you even know to come here?” I asked him.
“Addison told me what happened. Shaun and I got over here as soon as we could. I can’t believe Michael got away again! I swear to God, if I ever find him…” he trailed off at the end, clenching his teeth and shaking his head in rage.
“Cole, calm down,” I told him, holding his hands in mine. “People are staring,” I glanced around the waiting room, taking in all the wandering eyes that had found their way over to us.
“Sorry, he just gets me so mad,” he uttered. I could see the fury in his normally soft brown eyes.
“Me too!” Shaun exclaimed. “It especially makes me mad that he always ends up getting away. That guy’s like a freakin’ ninja! Except ninjas don’t wear sweater vests,”
Shaun always managed to make me smile, even in the darkest moments. He was like a full grown 5-year-old. But he had sort of became like a brother to me, so I couldn’t help but love him…and all his randomness.
“Can we not switch the topic to ninjas, Shaun?” Cole remarked. He was obviously too angry for Shaun’s comments.
“Sorry,” Shaun murmured back, like a turtle crawling back into it’s shell.
“Don’t get mad at Shaun. He was just trying to lighten the mood,” I pointed out. “I know that Michael gets your temper going, but just try to calm down a little bit, ok?”
“Fine,” he replied, taking in a deep breath. “Um, who’s this?” he asked, noticing Liz standing behind me.
“Hi, I’m Elizabeth, but you can call me Liz. I’m a reporter for the New York Times,” she introduced herself, flashing a wide, perfect smile.
“Nice to meet you, Liz,” Shaun said, grinning back at her. “I’m Shaun,” he said, holding out his hand for her to shake. It was pretty obvious by the way he was acting that he was into her. She was really beautiful though.
“Hi, Shaun,” she replied, looking kind of amused by the crush he had on her.
“Not to be rude, but why are you here exactly?” Cole asked her.
“Don’t question it, just enjoy it,” Shaun told him.
Liz smiled back at him and then turned to Cole. “I actually came her because I wanted to interview Evalynne. We wanted to do a report on the Michael McKnight story, so I volunteered to cover it. It’s really interesting to me how someone as smart as him can do such crazy things. Because it’s pretty obvious from what Evalynne told me that he’s a smart guy. But what would make a guy so smart want to go around killing people? It just doesn’t make sense to me.”
“Yeah, none of the things Michael do make sense to me,” I told her. “He might be smart, but he’s also psychotic.”
“Yeah, he definitely is,” she agreed. “I’d love to meet him. Just to see what he’s like in person. That would be so awesome,”
All four of us looked at her as if she was the psychotic one. “Trust me, you definitely don’t,” I replied.
“Yeah, that guy is seriously out of his mind,” Addison added. Cole nodded in agreement, beginning to grow all mad once again.
“He really is!” Shaun cried. “And he’s freakishly preppy too. He wears sweater vests and like, pressed khakis. It’s freakin’ creepy!”
“Well from what Evalynne told me, he thinks pretty highly of himself.” Liz said. “He probably dresses like that because he thinks he’s some amazingly intelligent person, so he feels like he should present himself that way.”
Wow, this girl was smart. She was even able to start to figure out Michael. I couldn’t say I wasn’t just a little jealous. I could tell that she was your typical gorgeous, brilliant, popular girl. The one all the guys wished they could date and all the girls wished they could be. Part of me didn’t like her for that reason, but it was kind of hard to not like her since she was so nice.
“Whoa, you’re like as smart as a Jedi!” Shaun exclaimed.
She smiled, although she looked kind of puzzled by how strange Shaun’s comments always were. “Um, thanks,” she replied, laughing.
“No problem,” he said. He didn’t take his eyes off her though.
“Shaun, did you forget about Megan?” Cole piped up. “You know, your girlfriend,”
Shaun pressed his lips together in irritation and turned his head to look at Cole. “What are you trying to say?” he asked him, crossing his muscular arms over his chest.
“That you’re flirting with another girl even though you have a girlfriend.” Cole remarked smugly. Liz looked beyond awkward now. She bit down on her lower lip, obviously uncomfortable with the situation she had just been put in.
Shaun gasped, as if he couldn’t believe what Cole was accusing him of. “I am not flirting!” he cried.
“Oh, so you’re not into Liz then?” Cole asked, smirking at him.
“No!” Shaun shouted back. “I mean, she’s a very attractive woman and all. But I’m with Megan!” Liz smiled nervously, still feeling awkward.
“Yeah, whatever,” Cole uttered back. “Fidelity is such a freakin’ lost cause. Why can’t a guy and a girl just have a relationship without any lying or cheating? Why does there always have to be another person in the picture ruining things? I mean, you try your hardest and you be the best boyfriend you can possibly be, but it’s never good enough. There’s still someone who’s better.”
I swallowed hard, knowing exactly what he was talking about. He was hinting at the situation with him and Ash. He was obviously still upset about it. I felt awful, but I couldn’t help it that I was in love with Ash. I just wished that Cole could accept that. I wished he could understand that I wasn’t trying to hurt him.
“Cole, can you not do this right now please?” I asked him. I was already going through a lot. I really couldn’t take anymore guilt at the moment.
“Yeah, sorry,” he muttered. He still looked kind of angry about it though.
“Um, I’m starting to feel a little awkward being here,” Liz said after an awkward moment of silence. “I think it’s about time for me to go,”
“You don’t have to leave yet,” Shaun said immediately. Yeah, he was definitely into her. He could deny it all he wanted it, but we could all see that he liked her.
“Yeah,” Cole added, sounding kind of unsure. “Don’t leave yet,” I glanced over at him, kind of surprised by what I saw. He was looking up at Liz with those beautiful brown eyes of his. Looking at her the same way he used to look at me when he first started liking me. She definitely noticed too, because when he looked at her, she blushed and looked back up at him through her long lashes.
“Well I guess I could stay just a little longer,” she caved, smiling flirtatiously at Cole. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Shaun’s jaw drop. He looked pissed. He had a right to though. He’d made it clear that he liked Liz and then Cole went and flirted with her. What the hell was that all about?
Why was Cole looking at Liz like that? He was supposed to like me, not her! Who did she think she was anyways? She just walked in like she owned the place with her big brown eyes and glossy lips. Then she goes and steals both Cole and Shaun. Why doesn’t the skank just go back to New York and sink her fangs into some other guys?
“Awesome,” Cole replied with a seductive grin. That was how he used to grin at me! Every time he time he tried to get me to sleep with him, he’d flash me that sexy little grin of his. Liz didn’t deserve to be grinned at like that! She wasn’t even that pretty.
“Well I don’t know about you guys, but I’m starving.” Addison stated. “Wanna go grab a bite to eat at the diner?”
“Sounds good to me,” Cole agreed. “I’ll even pay for your meal, Liz.”
“No, I will!” Shaun cried, obviously desperate to win his skank back.
“I offered first,” Cole remarked, narrowing his eyes at who was supposed to be his best friend.
“It’s true. He did offer first,” Liz pointed out, smiling at Cole.
“I’m rich!” Shaun announced. “I have a butler and everything!”
“Um, congratulations?” Liz replied. She didn’t even care that he had money. She was too busy trying to hook up with Cole. It was probably because she knew I liked him. It was obvious that she had it out for me.
“Ok, diner time,” I declared. I just wanted to get out of there. What I really wanted was to leave Liz behind, but that wasn’t going to happen. Not as long as Cole was there. She was all over him. She’d probably follow him wherever he went.
“Yeah, let’s go,” Addison said. So we turned to leave the hospital, with Liz walking awfully close to Cole. “Ooh, cute shoes, Liz,” Addison told her, looking down at her black stilettos.
“Thanks,” Liz replied with a smile. I rolled my eyes as I looked at her shoes. They were total hooker heels. Addison was probably just complimenting her because she was too nice to tell her how trashy they were.
“You’re welcome,” Addison said. She stepped up closer to Liz, asking her where she got them. As they talked about shoes, Cole walked close to Liz and Shaun walked next to Cole, keeping a close eye on him. This left me in the back. By myself while all my friends crowded around Liz.
I gritted my teeth together, deadpanning the back of Liz’s head. If looks could kill, she’d be so dead right now. Maybe it was best that she met Michael. Then he could prey on her and all of her perfection. The thought made me smile.

Author's Note: So what do you guys think of Liz so far? Do you hate her as much as Evalynne? Or do you like her?