Chapter 57
Evie
Diego’s the one who moves first, frowning as he stands up.
“A lil’ late for solicitors,” he mutters, “I’ll go check.”
Not taking any chances, I hop to my feet, and Aiden’s on the same wavelength - he quickly plucks me up and guides me into his pocket. I catch both Star and Moira’s worried glances in my direction before I slip down inside the fabric shelter.
The only sound is Diego’s footsteps growing more distant as I settle into a seat and hug my knees to my chest. The door opens and his voice carries his surprised exclamation.
“Camila? Wha–”
“You weren’t answering your phone! What the hell,” a female voice responds, sounding flustered and frustrated. I curl further in on myself in reaction to the new voice.
"I’ve been busy, it’s in the other room… Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, I’m just stressed out. I need your car."
“Huh? What for?”
“My roommate’s dumb brother’s coming into town. It’s a long drive to the airport so he doesn’t want to pay for a ride.”
“And you’re telling me this now? I could’ve been out tonight!”
“I tried to tell you half an hour ago but you didn’t check your phone. And you’re not out, so it’s fine. Right?”
Diego sighs heavily and the door creaks open further. "Alright, whatever. Come in for a sec. We just got our house keys replaced so they’re not in the usual spot, uhhh… Wait right here, I’ll go find them.”
My breath has grown shallow and I try to stay steady as I hear the door close again, this time with the girl now clearly inside the house. Diego hurries away to find his keys, and Star pipes up to make conversation.
“Hi Camila! How’s school going?”
“It’s going alright. Sorry to interrupt dinner… Oh my god, Aiden! You’re here too?”
I tense up. Hold still, I tell myself, attempting a steadying breath through my nose, You’ve done this a million times. Hold still and she won’t notice anything.
My nerves aren’t exactly settling as I notice the thumping of Aiden’s heartbeat growing faster. “Hey, Camila,” he says with a smile in his voice despite sounding a little tense, “Nice to see you.”
I hate that I can’t see anything, but I definitely hear footsteps, and then I have to keep from yelping as my giant partner suddenly stands up. For a moment I’m confused, and then I figure out that he doesn’t want to be sitting as she approaches, since she’s on her feet and might be able to look straight down at me in his pocket.
“It’s soo good to see you!” Camila’s voice rings emphatically, and it’s close. Too close. Aiden makes a small, strained sound in the back of his throat and I can feel all of his muscles tense as he shifts backwards. A second later I realize why - half the pocket suddenly buckles inward. There’s the sweet, floral scent of perfume and a warm weight of a second giant, pressing up right beside me, sandwiching one of my feet, but I don’t dare try yanking it away. I don’t know how tall this girl is so I don’t even know what exactly is pushing against me right now, but she’s clearly gone in for a hug.
Don’t move, I think desperately, holding my breath, Just hold still…!
“I haven’t seen you all semester,” the stranger says softly, having no idea this intimate moment involves a third party. “I missed you.”
Thankfully the pressure withdraws as Aiden carefully maneuvers his way out of her grip. “Yeah, last semester was rough… Eighteen credits on top of the TA gig. Never doing that again.”
With the slightest hint of urgency, Star interjects, “Come sit and chat while we wait. You know Moira, right?”
“We’ve met a couple of times,” Mo says warmly, “It’s nice to see you again."
“Yeah, you too.”
Camila’s voice recedes - it sounds like she’s going to park herself where Diego had been sitting - and I finally feel like I can breathe again. That was a really close call. A more direct hit and I could have been crushed, or more likely, Aiden wouldn’t have let her and I would have risked being discovered. I continue to hold as still as I can as the titans make small talk with the unwitting intruder.
The minutes pass and I gather that she goes to the business school, she’s younger than the rest of us as she recently turned 21, and apparently she’s known Aiden since childhood since she makes reference to some vacation their families had been on when they were kids. I remember that Aiden’s also known Diego since he was young and that their parents were friends. Maybe Camila and Diego are siblings or something?
It’s an agonizingly long ten minutes before I hear the triumphant jingle of keys as footsteps enter the dining area. The small talk wraps up and goodbyes are exchanged. My partner’s a bit more prepared this time as he stands up less abruptly, and he’s more deliberate in the way he gives Camila a side hug so that my hiding space is spared. I’m so tense and stiff that my muscles ache, but at no point do I budge in any way. My eyes do trail upwards, up towards the thin sliver of the pocket’s opening.
I glimpse the edge of Aiden’s face - an ear, some dark locks of hair, one end of his jaw. And as he pulls away from the farewell hug, an unfamiliar hand comes into view. It has a slender shape, honey tan skin, white and gold acrylic nails. It rests above me, on his shoulder, fingertips lightly tugging at the collar of his shirt.
“Let’s hang out sometime, yeah?” Camila says quietly, her voice once again far too close for comfort.
“Sure, just shoot me a text,” Aiden mumbles, tense and rigid.
She hums in agreement. And then her hand descends. Straight to me.
A lot happens all at once. Realizing what’s happening half a second too late, Aiden tries to back away. But Camila’s already pulling on the lip of the pocket. Like a prowling lion discovering its prey, I see the edge of her fingernail curl dangerously close to me, finding purchase against fabric right above my head. Light pours in and suddenly I’m looking at her face. It’s just for a split second, but I see dark brown eyes peering inside, an expression of curiosity mixed with amusement.
My stiff muscles are trembling like an overwound spring, and I react on instinct at the unexpected sight of this gigantic stranger. I gasp and scurry backwards in a panic, having nowhere to go, cornering myself into the side of the pocket. Camila’s countenance shifts in an instant, a look of horror passing over her. My eardrums burst into pain as she screams.
And now Aiden’s hurrying backwards in earnest, the face I’d seen for a brief moment is ripped away, everything breaks into chaos. I’m breathing hard in fear and in pain, ears ringing, head spinning. All sounds are fuzzy and distant as I hold my head in my hands and curl into a ball while the world shakes. There are multiple voices, all talking at once, and at first I can’t parse out any of it, still reeling from the explosive sound of a giant’s unreserved shriek at such close proximity. I vaguely realize that we’re moving, we’re going somewhere, I’m bouncing with each hurried step, the voices are fading away. The ringing starts to abate just enough for me to catch a few words.
"No – seriously, what the hell was that?”
“Camila, just hold on–”
“That was real, wasn’t it? What in the actual fuck is–”
A door closes, shutting the voices away, and things grow still. All I can hear is their faint drone in the distance, and the much closer sound of Aiden’s labored breathing. Gently he touches me through his pocket.
“You okay?” he asks softly, “That was so loud.”
I realize how bad I’m shaking when my teeth clatter the moment I try to speak. I choke out, “I-I’ll be fine. I can s-still hear.”
He sighs heavily, the soft pressure encompassing my entire frame. “Shit, Eve. I’m sorry… Let me think…”
After everything that happened, I’m starting to feel more trapped in here than safe. I get to my feet and poke my head out of the pocket, finally able to get my bearings. I think we’re in a bathroom, from the relatively cramped quarters and the fact that I’m looking out at a mirror right now. I take in the sight of my boyfriend, looking a little shell-shocked and pale as he leans over a sink, his gaze downcast and one hand laying over me against his chest. My motions make him look my way, our eyes meeting through the mirror.
“Was it because I moved?" I ask, whimpering breathlessly, “I tried to hold still, I… I didn’t think I…”
Aiden looks pained in reaction to my pitiful state. “No, no, you did nothing wrong. Aww, babe, come here…"
He looks straight down at the actual me now, reaching in to gingerly lift me out. He holds me in front of him, wrapping his fingers around me like a security blanket. “Everything’s going to be okay," he soothes.
I’m still trembling like a leaf, and I cling to one of his fingers as if it’s a buoy. My breath is coming in very shallow. “Sh-should we be here right now? If she’s freaking out, shouldn’t w-we be…"
Aiden’s face swoops down to meet me, and soon I’m surrounded by him. Everything becomes a little more still and the light grows dimmer as he touches his forehead to mine.
“It can wait," he rumbles, “Deep breaths, honey. I’ve got you, you’re safe.”
I sigh and let myself go limp in his hand. For the next few moments I try to focus on the air going in and out of my lungs and the feel of his skin. It’s difficult to ignore the din of the faraway voices, but I’m starting to calm back down.
“So who… who is that?" I finally ask.
Aiden takes a second to tenderly kiss my stomach before he raises his head again to answer me. “Diego’s cousin. I’m not nearly as close with her as with him, but I’ve known her for as long."
I nod and continue to fret, “Is this bad? She sounded so upset."
His jaw tightens. He glances towards the door before looking back at me and saying, “Don’t forget, for the other introductions we were able to prepare them ahead of time. Well, other than Diego I guess, but he was drunk and half conscious. Camila’s not as chill of a person and I’m sure seeing you was a bit of a shock. But she’s not a bad person or anything, she’ll come around. I’ll talk to her, okay?" A beat later, he adds, “Listen, see? It sounds like the others have already started to calm her down. I don’t think she’ll be unreasonable once we explain.”
He’s right, the noise level has lowered to a low hum. I take a couple more deep breaths to steady myself. The hand I’m in levels out, tilting to cup me in his palm. Aiden brings his other hand up to touch my arm, stroking it softly with the back of a finger.
“I know this wasn’t on your terms," he says. “I’m really, really sorry Evie.”
I shake my head. “Don’t be. It’s not your fault."
“I don’t know, there’s a reason she wanted to look in my pocket. I was trying not to be obvious, but maybe she noticed me glancing down at you. All of us kept looking over, she probably got curious as to why we were acting weird…"
Something about seeing Aiden’s intense guilt and concern brings me a strange calm. I manage a smile and place my hand on his finger. “It’s okay. Like you said, we’ll just… we’ll just explain."
“I can leave you here," he says with a knitted brow. “I’ll send Moira to be with you, you don’t have to come.”
“No, that’s alright. I should at least, um… say hi."
We spend another minute or so gathering our composure. I don’t want to go out there. But we really need to do damage control. And I have to be on my best behavior. I have four other giants on my side, it’s going to be okay. It has to be.
Once he’s sure I’m ready, Aiden opens the door and retraces his steps through the parts of the house that I hadn’t seen. I breathe deeply as the world passes by - out of the bathroom, through the living room, across the kitchen… He pauses just before the threshold to the dining area and readjusts his grip on me so that he’s holding me to his chest, hiding me from view for now. Let’s go.
“Hey, Camila?" he says, stepping into the room, and all the other voices go completely silent. “Sorry I ran off.”
I understand the need to ease this new acquaintance into things, but never being able to see what’s going on is so nerve-wracking. I look out the side of the hand that’s holding me, and Moira’s in my line of vision. Her big green eyes quickly find mine and she tries to reassure me with an encouraging smile. I weakly smile back.
I flinch at the sound of Camila’s voice saying, “Is that…?"
“Yeah, I have her right here,” Aiden responds, “I’d like to introduce you. Is that alright?"
The question lingers in the air. The implication he’s layered on with his tone is a clear “you’re not going to scream this time?” There’s no answer, but I’m assuming she nodded because a gap begins forming between me and my boyfriend’s chest. He holds me just far enough so that we can exchange a look before he tilts his hand to reveal my tiny form.
“This is my girlfriend. Evie."
Finally I get a good look at her. I’d only caught the briefest glimpse amidst all the chaos, but her full figure now stands before me. Turns out I really was destined to meet a supermodel today… Camila’s beauty is staggering. She knows how to dress herself and apply makeup to expertly flatter all of her features. Her dark hair is long, lighter at the ends in a subtle ombre effect, perfect waves that rest gently on her shoulders. Her lips are full, her cheekbones high, her eyelashes dark. She has this innocent, youthful look about her, despite the fake nails and dyed hair and layers of makeup. She’s wearing a subtle frown and keeps her mouth shut as she fixates my revealed form.
I don’t waste time staring - I have an impression to make. I put on my best friendly smile and give her a little wave. Camila doesn’t wave back and she doesn’t return the smile. She’s not quite glowering but is still regarding me with a hard stare that creates sparks of anxiety at the pit of my stomach.
“I know it’s a lot to accept," Aiden continues, “but there’s nothing to be afraid of. We used to be classmates, actually, before an accident made her like this. She’s just like you and me.”
She looks up at him, then back down at his hand, still watching silently. She glances off to the side, towards her cousin, before her eyes briefly meet mine.
“I’m sorry I yelled," she says in a low tone.
I jump at the opportunity to speak. “Th-that’s alright! I get why you’d be freaked out. I was pretty freaked out too, when this all started." I don’t mention how freaked out I am this very second.
Camila’s frown deepens into more of a scowl. “Yeah, this… this is fucking insane…"
“Mila," Diego growls from off to the side, a warning in his tone.
I shy away, taken aback by the hostility in her voice. She’s mostly holding it at bay, but there’s an anger there. Or maybe a disgust.
My smile falters and there’s a tension growing in the air. Maybe Aiden was right. I shouldn’t have come here. I should have just let him talk to her first and make sure she was in an approachable state. I have no idea how to save the situation. Not when everyone’s towering over me like this. There’s too many gigantic people in the room and they’re all looking at me right now as I’m just sitting out in the open to cower under the glare of a massive stranger…
I’m snapped out of the moment by movement to my left. Moira’s approaching, her gentle presence a welcome interruption. She reaches a hand up to hover next to Aiden’s in an invitation to me.
“How about Evie and I go check out those house renovations?” she says calmly, “We’ll give you guys some time. Star, can you show us the way?”
Trembling, I slink onto her open palm, thankful for the opportunity to escape. Moira doesn’t wait for an answer, simply marching away to the nearby staircase with me in tow. Star trails along behind us as we go upstairs, and then she quietly leads the way through their main bedroom and into the newly refurbished bathroom. I didn’t even look at Aiden when we got out of there. I have to trust in his ability to take it from here.
As she closes the door behind us, Star lets out a sigh. “Damn… the night was going so well, too…”
Moira’s entirely focused on me. She walks across the room to sit on the edge of the bathtub, setting her hands down on the nearby counter. I don’t get off of her quite yet, it’s like my legs are refusing to work in the aftermath. I look up at my friend with tears welling up in my eyes, barely able to stop myself from breaking down.
“Th-thank you,” I whimper, “Thanks for r-realizing how s-scared I…” The sentence doesn’t finish as I struggle to keep it together, but she gets the gist of it.
“Evie,” Moira says intently, “She had already agreed not to tell anyone else about this before you guys came in. Okay?”
She knows full well about the things I’m afraid of and why. I nod slowly, taking shaky breaths and wiping away tears, and I finally crawl onto the counter. Her hand flips over so that her finger can touch my shoulder as she gives me a comforting smile, and I attempt to smile back gratefully. Star observes us and pulls up a stool as she comes to realize how much I need the reassurances right now.
“Yeah, it’s alright,” she says sweetly, “You don’t need to worry about her spreading the word. I’ve only really gotten to know Camila for a couple of years now since she moved up here, but I know she’s not a blabbermouth. She’ll understand. Just give her some time.”
I nod again and silently put my face in my hands, forcing one deep breath after another. I’m dizzy. In less than a week I’ve met three new giants unexpectedly. It’s too much. It feels as if everything’s started spinning out of control.
“Poor thing,” Star says softly, and for the first time she touches me, softly putting a finger to my other shoulder. “Hang in there, girl.”
“Do you need some space, Eve?” Moira asks quietly.
I take my hands off my face and shake my head, this time able to give them a more genuine smile. “No, I appreciate the support. Thank you. Um… I really was interested in seeing the renovations, actually…”
The change in subject helps distract me for a while. I truly am grateful to these two women and their kindness - all the more so now that I’ve seen what a less-than-friendly new acquaintance can be like. The freshly crafted details of the bathroom really are beautiful, and I marvel at all of the plants that they have set up in here. I even spend some time in Star’s hands for a change, to her absolute delight. She’s very gentle with me but has much more confidence picking me up than Moira did at the beginning. One of the perks of her job as a vet, I guess. I’m not as wriggly as most of the small animals she probably has to deal with.
Eventually we hear the front door opening and figure it might be okay to come back out now. I look over the edge of Star’s fingers, able to make out three figures past the dizzying height of the balcony, all standing in the entryway below. Aiden is off to the side while Camila and Diego are at the door, the two of them quietly conversing in Spanish. He puts one arm around his cousin’s neck and kisses the top of her head before opening the door wider for her to leave. Having noticed our presence, Camila briefly glances up to the second story as she steps a foot out the door. She gives me one last dark look and then vanishes into the night.
But maybe I would try it… once… Yeah yeah… totally will just stop at one…
Yeah that’s definitely the series where I have the most of it because the giants are shameless lol