Wyatt Benson and Evie Mcpherson’s Apartment
 

Wyatt and Evie hadn't been together that long, but when he moved back home and Evie followed, he felt obligated to let her stay with him. Unfortunately, they were slowly fading out of their new relationship honeymoon phase, so they were bickering a lot. When they initially moved in together, they were only three months into their relationship. To be honest, Wyatt was still unsure how he felt about Evie. Yes, she was great and made his heart skip a beat, but there was a ten-year age gap between the two of them, and it was beginning to show.

His parents had retired a few years ago and moved to Florida. This year was the first time they came back for Christmas, and that's when Evie met everyone. His sister could've been a bit more welcoming, but other than that, everything went fine. Unfortunately, Evie didn't think so, and that caused them to fight for a few days. He didn't condone his sister's behavior, but he didn't do anything to defend Evie. Michaela never liked any of his girlfriends, so Wyatt didn't see the issue.

Wyatt was working his way out of the dog house. He'd been sleeping in the guest bedroom the last few nights and was hoping to convince Evie to let him back in their bed tonight. However, that wasn't going as planned. She'd been giving him the silent treatment since she got home. He wasn't trying to get worked up before his phone call with work, so he ignored her until afterward, and apparently, that was not the right thing to do.

"I don't know what the fuck you want from me anymore?" Wyatt threw his arms up in the air, trying not to raise his voice, but Evie was working on his last nerve. "You weren't talking to me, and I had a phone call I needed to be on..." Wyatt thought it was apparent why he didn't engage further after she didn't respond to him the first time. "You want me to constantly ask you what's wrong and coddle you, and I'm not fucking doing it. So stop with the immature shit." It wasn't until he saw her face that he knew he had gone too far. He wasn't trying to hurt her feelings.

Evie was starting to wonder if she had made a huge mistake in following Wyatt here. Admittedly, it wasn't the first time she'd moved in with a boyfriend after being together for such a short time - probably a side effect from her time spent in foster care - but she'd really hoped that things would be different this time. That maybe, just maybe, things would actually out for once.

Unfortunately, meeting Wyatt's family hadn't gone quite as she'd hoped it would. No one outright said anything about their age gap but, if Wyatt had any nieces or nephews, Evie felt like they might have tried to stick her with them at the kid's table for dinner. And maybe Michaela was just in a bad mood, like Wyatt suggested, but it just felt like so many of her snide comments were directly aimed right at her. The fact that Wyatt either didn't notice or chose not to do anything about it, that was what was driving her most crazy about the whole thing.

It had been a shitty day at work, she had spilled a drink all over a customer and they'd complained to her boss; now she was on thin ice and one mistake away from being fired. When Evie got home, all she wanted to do was snuggle with Wyatt but things were still awkward and her pride caused her to give him the silent treatment instead. The Chinese food she'd ordered had arrived while he was on the phone and rather than wait for him, she dug right in.

"Dinner's here, if you can tear yourself away from your phone long enough," she said in a nastier tone than he deserved. Dropping her chopsticks into the container, she looked up at him as he went off on her; her eyes widening and beginning to water as he spoke. Evie didn't want to cry but she couldn't help it and before long a couple tears rolled down her cheeks. Did he think of her like a child, like the rest of them?

"Immature shit? Really? Nice. Real nice." she responded, wiping the tears from her cheeks. Unable to look him in the eye any longer, Evie's eyes darted around for a moment before landing on the wall across from her. "Sorry that my problems aren't adult enough for you."

That's everything he wanted to say, but he knew he should've articulated it better and less aggressively. "All I'm saying is I wish you understood that I can't drop everything and pay attention to you," he told his girlfriend. "I tried talking to you when you came home, and you gave me the silent treatment," Wyatt reminded her. "And now I'm the bad guy?" He rolled his eyes. "It's essential I'm available because my company is in Los Angeles. I have to stay updated with information and deadlines, Evie," he continued to explain. But, in a much calmer tone, it was still stern enough for her to know he was serious.

He hated to see her cry, especially when he was the reason. It wasn't that Wyatt was an asshole, but he was oblivious and neglectful of his girlfriend's needs most of the time. "Don't cry. I'm sorry I'm a dick," he frowned, making his way toward her.

"I understand. Yeah, work is more important than me. Trust me, I get it." Evie rolled her eyes. Part of her knew that she was being a stubborn brat but she also couldn't help it. Her minimum wage barista job certainly wasn't bringing in the big money; no, he was the one doing that. His job was important, and it was necessary that he gave it his all, but she still couldn't help but feel as though she was disposable to him. Like he could easily just find someone else who didn't come with as much baggage as she did. "I gave you the silent treatment because I'm still pissed. Pissed that you came home trying to pretend as though everything is okay, in hopes of what? That we'll have make up sex and then go on acting as if you hadn't totally let your sister insult me while you didn't even bother to try and defend me at all?"

As much as she didn't want to cry, she could no longer control and the tears started streaming down her face. "It just feels like you only want me when it's convenient for you!" She shouted, standing up and pushing him away as he tried to get closer. "No! Don't don't that. Not this time. I'm not done!" She didn't want to cave and fall into his arms again, she had more she had to say.

"Yes, you have been a dick lately. You haven't bothered to ask me how I'm doing or why I'm mad. Not have you even tried to make it better. You've ignored it and hoped that it would go away with time." Evie was finally able to stop the crying as she let off all the stuff she'd been keeping buried. "And yeah, maybe I could have just told you what was bugging me but every time I tried, you dismissed it like I was making a bigger deal of it than it was. Guess what, it is a big deal to me and having you act like it's beneath you, that hurts!"

"I never said my job was more important than you," he shot back. "But also, if it weren't for my job, I wouldn't be able to take care of you the way I have been," Wyatt added. He appreciated Evie trying to contribute, but her minimum wage job didn't do much compared to his salary.

He rolled his eyes when Evie mentioned his sister again. "My sister..." Wyatt paused, scratching his beard as he thought about how to word the trials and tribulations his sister was currently experiencing. "My sister has always been a bitch, and yes, I should've said something. It would've made matters worse for all of us, and, I wasn't trying to ruin Christmas. I don't condone what she did, and I'm sorry I kept my mouth shut." Wyatt wasn't trying to put Michaela's business out there because if she found out he told Evie, she would be mad at Wyatt and Jeremy for telling him in the first place. But he wanted Evie to at least try and see it from Michaela's side. "My sister and her husband have been trying for a baby. But, unfortunately, she can't get pregnant. She's had like four miscarriages in the last two years." He finally opened up. "Michaela had just found out a few days prior she couldn't have babies at all. She'd been drinking and arguing with my brother-in-law before we got there," Wyatt explained. "My family is a lot more dysfunctional than I led you to believe. I should've told you sooner."

Wyatt sighed when Evie pushed passed him and started crying harder. He pulled the beanie off and scratched the back of his head. "That's not it, Evie!" Wyatt yelled back. "If I didn't care about you, I wouldn't have invited you to stay with me!" Evie was right, though. He hadn't asked about her days or how she was. "I'm a fucking terrible boyfriend! I'm sorry!" Wyatt didn't mean to be. His father was always the one to gaslight his mother, and as much as he hoped he hadn't inherited that trait, Wyatt had. Sometimes, he didn't even know he was doing it; when Wyatt did, he rolled with it.

Wyatt crossed his arms over his chest while looking at her from across the room. She was expecting him to say something else, but what could he say? Evie was calling him out on all his bullshit. "You're right. I do downplay your feelings," he agreed, leaning back on the arm of the couch. It wasn't because he thought her feelings weren't important enough, but because of her age, she made things a bigger deal than what they had to be. "I'll try not to dismiss your feelings anymore because I should be making sure you're being heard."

Evie stared at the wall mostly as she listened to him explain, only occasionally darting over to look at him. Mostly to make sure he knew she was listening but she feared that looking at him too much would make it harder to stop crying. Maybe he was right, maybe she was overreacting to all this. Like the crying, if she really thought about it, she didn't want to be crying. She'd just been feeling extra emotional lately and usually that meant her period was right around the corner. She had meant what she said, and she'd needed to let him know but maybe she hadn't gone about it in the best way. She was far too wrapped in her emotions and stubborn to realize that yet.

"You're not a shitty boyfriend." She mumbled. Was he the perfect boyfriend? No. But no one was perfect and he was far better than most of her exes. None of them would have even had the balls to admit when they were wrong nor apologize for it. "Thank you. And I'm sorry for yelling and calling you a dick. And while I'm still not happy your sister took out some of her anger out on me, it makes more sense now why she did." Evie couldn't imagine what Michaela was going through, to want a baby but not be able to have one. She couldn't even imagine what it was like to want a baby, she was no where near ready for that.

Moving to the opposite end of the couch, Evie sat back down and looked over at him. "I don't want us to fight anymore tonight. I'm going to try to not take things so personally anymore." She wiped away the remaining wetness from her cheeks and smiled slightly when he shifted closer to her on the couch. "The chow mein is really good this time. I don't know what was going on with them last time." She grabbed the container, picked up some noodles with her chopsticks and held it up for him to try.

“Yes. I am,” Wyatt disagreed. “It's why I don't usually do relationships. I don't always have the patience,” he admitted. “Then they get fed up, and it becomes a whole ordeal, and then they break up with me,” he shrugged his shoulders. “The thing is, though, I don't want that to happen with you,” he told her. “I don't want to run you off. I want to keep you.” Wyatt was genuinely trying to express his emotions without having to say the three little words he wasn't ready to speak.

Wyatt felt relieved hearing Evie’s tone shift. It wasn't as hostile, nor was she no longer yelling. “I know,” he agreed when she mentioned she still wasn't happy with how his sister treated her. “I'll talk to her. Okay?” Wyatt assured his girlfriend, and he wasn't just telling her to make her shut up. He was going to do it, and if he didn't, Jeremy was. Wyatt’s brother-in-law could always get through to Michaela when others couldn't.

“I want to try and not fight at all,” he clarified, sliding off the arm and onto the couch. Wyatt watched her from the other end for a few moments before getting up and moving down next to her. He took her food from her and sat it on the coffee table before turning back to her and cupping her hands between his. “I suck at showing the ones I care about that I care. I promise to work on it, okay?” Wyatt didn’t want Evie to think this was just another dead-end conversation where he wasn’t listening. He didn’t know if he was going to succeed, but he was going to try and be a better boyfriend and man for her. Evie came all this way for him, so he owed her and their relationship a fair shot.

It felt good knowing that Wyatt was actually listening to her and willing to try. Actions spoked louder than words though and they could both sit here saying all the right things but they both were going to have to work on their issues if they ever planned on this working. Evie would have liked to not have to fight at all but that was something she was used to. She'd never had a relationship where fighting didn't happen so that seemed nearly impossible to her.

Evie stared down at her hands in his before looking up to meet his gaze. His eyes were softer now, less intense than when he yelled. These were the eyes she loved staring into for hours. "Okay." Evie had spent enough time in retail and people pleasing that she knew how to make people believe she was okay even when she wasn't. She wanted to believe him and believe that everything would work out, but it hadn't worked out so many times before that she couldn't help but worry. Evie scooted in closer to Wyatt and placed a kiss on his lips.

"Now, please eat. Because tell me honestly, when did you last remember to feed yourself?" she teased as she pulled her hands away from his and turned her body to the coffee table. "I got all of our favorites. And I was thinking after we eat, we can try and watch that show you were talking about. The one that was a game about fungus zombies." She didn't really have any interest in the show but he'd been mentioning it for a while and she figured now was better than ever. Her eyes felt hot and slightly swollen from the crying so if she hated the show then she could easily use that as an excuse to close her eyes if she hated the show.

His heart fluttered as she stared back at him. It was moments like this that clouded his brain. “I just want you to know I’m sorry,” Wyatt said, placing it on her cheek and creasing it with his thumb. “I swear I’m going to try and do better,” he kissed her forehead before pulling back and giving her a proper kiss on the lips.

Wyatt perked up when Evie shifted into girlfriend mode, questioning whether or not he had eaten today. That was a good sign. It meant they were on the right track. “Well, you already know the answer to that one,” he said, reaching for his food. Wyatt could go all-day surviving on Red Bulls and Slim Jim’s, and today had been no different. If it weren’t for Evie, he’d never have a proper meal. “Thank you,” he smiled, leaning over and kissing her cheek.

He was mid-bite when Evie mentioned she was interested in watching The Last of Us, an adaptation of one of his favorite video games. He thought about it briefly and shook his head as he finished chewing. Wyatt smiled, “Or, hear me out; you can tell me about your day instead? I mean, do you even like your job, babe?” He may not have asked, but Wyatt could always tell when she had a bad day. “You know you don’t need to work, right?” He questioned, reaching out for his drink and taking a sip. They never had a chance to talk about the expectation he may have had when they moved to his hometown. As soon as they got there, Evie insisted on working. He thought it was because she didn’t want to seem like a mooch. “I can afford to take care of you,” he added.