Chap 11: Failed Attempts

A few months passed, and it was Triston's 19th birthday, and Evelyn planned a party for Triston with the help of Reese.

When Triston arrived at the restaurant, he was surprised to see many people waiting for him with a birthday cake. He saw Reese and his wife Samantha, his Martial Arts trainer James, his wife Rachel, son Josh, and Evelyn with her best friend, Ava.

Triston was taken back to the time 12 years ago when he celebrated his birthday with his parents at the hotel with a grand party. He was overwhelmed by their gesture and felt that he was not alone anymore.

After the cake cutting, Triston approached Reese. " Thank you. It reminds me of Mom and Dad," Triston said, feeling delighted.

" You should thank Evelyn. It was her idea."

" Is it?" Triston asked, surprised.

" Why are you even surprised; I expected nothing less from her," Reese remarked. " Did you tell her how you feel?"

" No," Triston said sadly. " I don't think I can ever tell her."

" Why not?" Reese asked, appalled.

" What if I lose her friendship? For now, I am content with only being close to her."

" I don't think Evelyn is the kind of girl who would break her friendship even if she rejects you."

" I know, but... I don't think I am worthy of her love."

" Why do you say that? You are the most amazing guy I know, and I am sure Evelyn would agree with me."

" No, Reese, I am not. What kind of boyfriend would I be? I can't even protect myself, then how will I protect her?"

" Is there a hard and fast rule that always the boy should be the one protecting the girl? " Reese said, exasperated. " Why do you have to stereotype your relationship with Evelyn? You are different from other men, and Evelyn is unlike any woman I have ever seen. She is perfectly capable of taking care of herself and even you. Please don't beat yourself into thinking that you are unworthy of her."

Triston still didn't seem convinced, and Reese held his hand and encouraged him. " Tell her today. It's your birthday; it's the perfect time."

" But..."

" No but's Triston. Tell her," Reese said with finality.

Once the celebrations were done, Evelyn took Triston to the side to give him his birthday gift. Triston was excited and felt butterflies in his stomach when he received a gift from the girl he loved.

" Awwww!!! Are you blushing?" Evelyn teased him.

"B-Blushing? M-Me?" Triston stuttered, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He opened the gift and saw that it was a smartwatch. " Thank you so much, but it must have cost you a lot."

" Nah...!! I could manage it since I have been working for a few months now," Evelyn said excitedly. " Look, I got one for myself too. Do you know why?"

" Why?" Triston asked.

" So that we could track each other, silly," Evelyn said, patting Triston on his head. " Now we can know each other's location at all times, and this button here..." she presses a button on Triston's watch, and they hear a beep on Evelyn's watch. " ... when you press it, I will get an indication on my watch. So whenever someone is bullying you, you can let me know so that I can come and help you." She takes out the watch and wraps it around Triston's wrist. "You have to wear this all the time. Remove it only when you take a bath."

Triston was lost for words. He couldn't imagine the lengths Evelyn was ready to go to keep him safe. How could he not fall in love with this wonderful person who cared so much for him?

" Why are you not saying anything? Did you not like it?" Evelyn asked, looking worried. She had racked her brains for so many days thinking what gift to give.

" I-I like it. In fact, I love it; I just didn't know what to say."

" Really?" Evelyn asked hopefully.

" Yes, It's the best gift I ever received," Triston said with a smile, and Evelyn immediately hugged him.

Triston stiffened, and he felt his heartbeat rising. His hands were twitching, and finally, he mustered up the courage to hug her back. He felt a warmth in her embrace and never wanted to get away from her. This was the best birthday ever. Possibly now was the time he could express his feelings. He just had to say he loved her.

Triston was about to speak when Evelyn broke the hug and said, " But remember, you have to learn to fight for yourself; I can't be present everywhere. James said you are a quick learner and good at fighting, so I hope that next time anybody attacks, you should be able to fight back."

" I-I will try," Triston said reluctantly, but he was not sure he would be able to face his bullies because he still feared them.

" I have high hopes from you," Evelyn said, encouraging him.

Triston nodded and looked down, the magical words he wanted to utter getting stuck in his throat. Now he was scared that he wouldn't be able to live up to Evelyn's expectations.

A few days passed by, Evelyn was doing her swimming practice, and Triston was waiting for her near the gate. Unfortunately, Fred, Jeff, and his bully gang spotted Triston alone and approached him.

" So your savior isn't with you today?" Fred smirked at him.

" Guys, we cannot miss this golden chance," Jeff said to his friends. " Grab him."

The bully gang pounced on Triston and dragged him towards the storeroom in the basement. Triston cried in pain when he was roughly shoved towards the wall. 'Fight back,' Evelyn's words were continuously running in his mind, and he recalled all the moves he had been taught for the last few months.

With great effort, Triston managed to land a punch at the guy standing nearest to him. This, in turn, angered the bullies even more.

"How dare you hit back?" Fred roared and pounded Triston on his stomach and signaled at his lackeys, who then rained punches and kicks on Triston one after another.

Triston felt pain course through his body, and he curled into a ball, trying to escape from the hits. He stared at his watch and was about to press the button to call Evelyn for help but abruptly paused. He couldn't let Evelyn see him like this, weak and pathetic. She would be genuinely disappointed in him. She expected him to fight back, but whatever he did, he was not strong enough.

Suddenly Triston's phone started ringing, and Jeff took out the phone from Triston's pocket. " Ohh... Your girlfriend is calling. Is she worried for you?" he taunted. " Today, you cannot be saved." Jeff smashed Triston's phone to the wall breaking it into pieces.

" Do you probably think she loves you?" Jeff mocked Triston. " No, she pities you. She feels great about herself when she helps a pathetic guy like you. She is doing it for her satisfaction, not for you. Nobody will ever love a coward like you."

Triston was in tears now because of Jeff's words which hurt more than the bruises on his body. Jeff's comments had confirmed his earlier beliefs that he wasn't deserving of Evelyn.

Meanwhile, Evelyn had been waiting near the gate for Triston for the past five minutes, but he didn't show up. When she tried calling him, his phone was suddenly switched off. Is something wrong with him? Did the bullies...? Evelyn was worried and looked around the University, searching for him frantically. Then she remembered the watch and immediately checked it to track Triston's location. She raced towards the basement, where she saw five bullies ganging up on Triston.

Evelyn was furious. " I warned you...," she screamed, grabbed one of the guys by his shirt, and elbowed him on his stomach. Another guy's head snapped back when she punched him in the face.

Fred tried to attack Evelyn, but she instead kicked hard, sending him flying towards the boxes placed on the corner. Jeff then managed to grab Evelyn's hand from behind while his friend Brad came forward to punch her on the face, but Evelyn ducked at the right time, so the punch landed on Jeff, who fell and lost the grip on Evelyn. She tackled Brad by smashing her knee on his stomach, making him bowl over in pain.

All the guys were groaning in pain when Evelyn helped Triston stand up.

While Evelyn and Triston were nearly out of the basement, she heard Jeff speak. " You will regret this bitch."

" Fuck off," Evelyn spat and went on her way. She took Triston to the infirmary, where the nurse tended to his bruises and bandaged him.

Triston occasionally glanced at Evelyn, who hadn't said a word after leaving the storeroom. Evelyn spoke to him once they were outside the college premises, looking anywhere but at him. " You should go home. I will tell James that you are hurt."

Triston felt his heart constrict at Evelyn's standoffish behavior. When she was about to leave, he whispered, " Are you angry with me?"

" No, " Evelyn said, still not looking at him.

" I am sorry," Triston said, desperately thinking of a way to appease Evelyn.

Evelyn didn't reply and just looked down in disappointment.

" Please talk to me, say something."

" What do you want me to say?" Evelyn frowned. " Four months of training and efforts were all for nothing. I expected better from you, Triston."

Triston felt like Evelyn had punched him in his gut. Never had he felt so miserable and helpless. " I-I tried t-to..."

" It didn't look like it," Evelyn scowled. " Anyways, we should talk tomorrow because right now I am pissed, and I don't want to say something that I would regret."

Triston wanted to stop Evelyn but didn't say anything fearing she would be angrier than she already was. He wouldn't be able to bear it if Evelyn looked at him disgustingly. Her disappointment towards him was hurtful enough.

" Can you walk? Or do you need my help going home?" Evelyn asked in a softer tone after calming herself.

Triston's stomach was severely bruised, but he didn't want to look weak in front of Evelyn, so he lied. " I am fine; I can manage it."

" Ummm... Then I will leave now. Call me if you need anything... Okay?"

Triston nodded, and Evelyn left, waving at him.

At home, Triston stared at his bruised body while Evelyn's words of disappointment were running through his mind. He was a loser. He doesn't deserve her. She was surely going to leave him. The negative thoughts were continually cropping up in his mind.

Suddenly he felt a tightness in his throat and found it hard to breathe. He was trembling and shaking, and an intense wave of fear coursed through him. He knew what was wrong with him because he had faced this situation many times in the past. He was having a panic attack.

With great difficulty, he managed to take out the prescribed pills from his drawer and shove it in his mouth. After a few minutes of hard breathing, he slumped on the floor, completely exhausted, and lost consciousness.