The Heart System

Chapter 865: Chapter 865

I knocked on the door and took a step back. I still couldn’t believe I had actually kicked a door down. Though, knowing what Cora had done to me before Silk rewound time, it was pretty understandable. She was crazy, beyond crazy. I couldn’t leave anything to chance. I was afraid she would hurt her own sister because of some idiotic reason.

I heard footsteps from inside.

Good, she was home.

After a few seconds, the door opened, and Cora greeted me. She was wearing an oversized black T-shirt with a pair of loose pants. Her hair was as messy as ever, and the darkness under her eyes seemed permanent, whether she got enough sleep or not.

”Cora,” I began. ”We should talk.”

”Oh.” She fidgeted with her fingers in front of herself. ”Um, okay. Come in.”

I stepped inside and closed the door behind me.

Right. Now what? Where would I even start? Asking her to stop being a lunatic probably wasn’t going to get me anywhere. I had to play my cards right because I didn’t want to anger her. Even though I was at 100/100 interest points with her, I still didn’t want to find out what would happen if I pushed the wrong button.

”So,” I exhaled. ”Tell me, Cora. Why’d you leave without talking to Esme first?”

”I...”

”No lies, please.” I looked at her seriously. ”She’s upset, and she deserves to know the truth.”

”I already told you, Evan.” She stood in front of me with her hands still linked together. ”I don’t want her to stick herself to you. She needs someone else in her life.”

”Too bad, Cora. Because I’m in her life.” I took a step toward her. ”And I’m in your life, too, whether you like it or not.”

”I’m...”

”I’m going to ask this once, okay?” I raised a hand slightly before she could continue. ”Stop being this stubborn. Accept and respect your sister’s life choices. And instead of trying to bring her down, be with her.”

”I just...”

”No.” I cut her off. ”Whatever you were going to say, zip it for a second and think about what I said, okay?”

Cora actually listened. She kept her mouth shut and looked down at the floor, her hands still linked in front of her.

Man, she killed me.

This girl was Cora? How would she even hurt me? She looked fragile, like I could push her with half my strength and she’d fall over. Then again, I had seen what she did to Charlotte. She had nearly bitten her breast badly enough to cause serious damage because she’d gotten angry. Cora might have looked harmless, but there was something seriously wrong with the way her jealousy worked.

”I don’t want to share you,” she finally blurted out. ”Especially with Esme. For a few times, it was okay. She was still new, and I wanted someone she knew to be her first. But she keeps... wanting it.”

”So what?” I asked.

Cora looked at me as if I had just said something ridiculous.

”So what?”

”Yes. So what?”

”She keeps wanting you.”

”And?”

”Evan.”

”What exactly do you want me to do?” I asked. ”Tell Esme that she can’t be with me anymore because you’re uncomfortable?”

Cora didn’t answer.

”That isn’t fair to her.”

”I know.”

”Then why are we having this conversation?”

”Because I don’t like it.”

”I know you don’t like it, Cora. You’ve made that pretty obvious.”

”I don’t want to see her with you.”

”You don’t have to watch us.”

”That isn’t the point.”

”Then what is the point?”

She rubbed her fingers together nervously. ”The point is that I want you to myself.”

I sighed and sat down on the couch. ”Come here.”

Cora hesitated.

”I’m not going to yell at you. Sit down.”

She slowly walked over and sat on the opposite side of the couch. She kept her body turned slightly away from me, as though she still wasn’t comfortable with where this conversation was going.

”I love being with you,” I told her. ”I love being with Esme too. Why can’t you just accept that?”

”I can’t.”

”Yes, you can.”

”No.”

”Cora.”

”I can’t, Evan.”

”You’re saying that like it’s physically impossible.”

”It feels impossible.”

”Why?”

”Because every time I think about you being with her, I get angry.”

”That’s jealousy.”

”I know.”

”And jealousy isn’t an excuse to hurt someone.”

”I know that too.”

”Then you’re already halfway there.”

She looked at me with confusion. ”What?”

”You know the problem. You know your feelings aren’t fair. You know you shouldn’t hurt Esme because of them. Now you just need to figure out what to do with those feelings.”

Cora looked down again. ”I don’t know how.”

”Then we’ll figure it out.”

”We?”

”Yes, we.”

Cora frowned and pulled her knees slightly closer to herself. ”I don’t want to lose you.”

”You aren’t going to lose me.”

”You don’t know that.”

”I do.”

”How?”

”Because I’m telling you.”

Fuck. I wanted to lose her because I knew she’d fucking killed me! But... for Esme’s sake, I had to play this little game for now. I couldn’t just tell her that I knew she was a nutcase, that I knew she killed me. But... like I said, for now... I had to play this little game.

”That doesn’t make it true.”

”It does when I’m the one making the decision.”

She looked at me quietly.

”I’m not going anywhere just because I care about someone else too. You’re still you, Cora. Esme is still Esme. You don’t have to compete with her.”

”But what if she becomes more important to you?”

”She won’t.”

”You can’t promise that.”

”I can promise that I won’t suddenly stop caring about you.”

Cora’s fingers slowly relaxed. ”But what if I can’t stop being jealous?”

”Then you work on it.”

”What if I get angry?”

”Then you tell me you’re angry instead of doing something stupid.”

”What if I don’t know what to say?”

”Then say exactly what you’re thinking.” I smiled. ”Right?”

She nodded slowly. ”I think I can do that.”

”Hmm.”

”I don’t want to hurt Esme.”

”That’s a good start.”

”And I don’t want to lose you.”

”You won’t.”

Cora nodded and leaned back against the couch. ”Then I’ll try.”

”That sounds good enough for me.”

She gave me a small smile.

”But I’m still not happy about sharing you.”

”I know.”

”And I probably won’t be happy about it for a while.”

”I know.”

”But I’ll try not to make it Esme’s problem.”

”That’s all I wanted to hear.”

Cora glanced toward me, then quietly added, ”Maybe I can get used to it.”

I smiled. ”That’s the idea.”

She rolled her eyes, but this time there was no anger behind it. She looked tired more than anything, as if the argument had taken more out of her than she wanted to admit.

At least for now, I had managed to get through to her. It wasn’t a complete change of heart, and I wasn’t expecting it to be. Cora was still Cora, and jealousy wasn’t something she could simply switch off because I asked her to. But she had agreed to try, and considering where we’d started, that was more than enough for me.

”Now,” I clapped my hands. ”Let’s go out.”

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