29. Elijah
Chapter twenty-nine
Elijah
M y perfect little minx woke me up with her hand by stroking my dick, and it ended with an even better blowjob than she had given me the night before.
She was currently cooking me pancakes, while I cleaned up the mess the guys and I had made last night. Cleaning up after those fools was the last thing on my mind, but it had to be done.
Her phone buzzed on the counter. I glanced over at it and smirked. “‘Stupid Whore Don’t Pick Up is calling you. Want me to answer it?”
She glanced over her shoulder. “It says ‘don’t pick up, doesn’t it?”
“Come on, let me pick it up. You know I like to cause chaos.”
She forced a smile. I put the phone back down and walked over to her. “What's wrong, baby? Who is that?”
She hugged my middle before turning back to the stove. I didn’t think she was going to answer, but then she whispered, “Ellory.”
I searched my brain for who that was. It sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place her. She must have seen the slight confusion on my face.
“My ex-best friend. The one who's dating…ya know.”
“I am so sorry, baby.” I hugged her around her neck, and she rested her face on my chest, closing her eyes in our embrace.
“She calls me every once in a while. I never pick it up anymore.”
“Do you know why she calls you?”
“Normally, no, I don’t. It’s usually random.”
I stepped backward, leaning back on my hands on the center island. I was a little confused by her answer. “What do you mean, normally? Do you know why she’s calling today?”
She nodded, and I stayed silent, waiting for the explanation. She turned toward me. “I don’t really want to talk about it, honestly.”
I nodded. “Okay,” I stepped forward and kissed her forehead. “I am going to go call my dad. I will be back, okay?”
She nodded. I turned to leave, but before I got too far, she gripped my wrist and pulled me back to her. She went up on her tiptoes to kiss me softly. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
After checking in with my dad, I took a sip of the whiskey bottle I had in my room. Saying bye to him never gets easier. I never know when it will be the last time. The warmth of the whiskey calmed me.
I went back to the kitchen just as she was setting the table. We ate in an awkward silence for a few minutes before she spoke again, “It happened today.”
“What did?” She stared at me, tapping her fork lightly on the plate like she wasn’t sure if she wanted to continue. “Baby, you don’t have to te—”
“The rape. It happened on this day when I was in high school.”
Anger flooded me. I continued to stare at her. I wasn’t sure what to say.
She stared down at her plate, moving pieces of the pancake around. “Say something,” she whispered.
“Why does she call you, though?” It probably wasn’t the right thing to ask, but I wasn’t sure how to approach this situation just yet.
“Honestly, I don’t know. She apologized for not being there for me the first time I answered.
I thought that it was her realizing I wasn’t lying.
But I found out she was trying to get evidence against me and had recorded our phone conversation.
” She paused. “I never picked up again.” She looked at her phone.
“She will call a few more times throughout today.”
“Can I pick it up?” I asked.
She smiled while still looking at her food before taking a bite. “Why would you want to?”
“To tell her to fuck off.”
She smiled. I walked over and bent down in front of her. “What can I do to make today better for you?”
She placed a hand on my cheek and leaned in for a kiss. “Just being with you makes today better.” She made a funny face. “Are you drinking alcohol in that cup?”
I stood and walked back to where my plate was and sat on the stool.
“Um, no. I just took a sip when I was talking to my dad. Saying goodbye stresses me out sometimes, and it makes me a bit anxious. The whiskey helps.” She was quiet, so I looked up.
She was staring at me with deep concern. “It was only a sip.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
I could tell she was trying not to be judgmental, but I have learned to read her a little better lately. “It was just a sip, Brielle. It was nothing.”
“If it was only a sip, then why did you need it? Why are you getting defensive?”
I was surprised at her response. “I said it makes me feel good when talking to him makes me anxious.”
“And I said okay.” She stood and placed her empty plate in the sink. She walked over and kissed my forehead. “I gotta get ready to go back to Liza’s. I leave tomorrow, and we have a few more wedding things to discuss with everyone.”
I grabbed her wrist before she could walk away. “I’m sorry.”
She came closer and stepped between my legs. “For what?”
“I don’t know.”
She kissed my lips lightly. “Then don’t be sorry. You can't apologize for something if you don’t know why you’re apologizing.”
I nodded, unsure of what else to say to her. As she walked away, she said, “I will take a quick shower, then I’ll call Aubs to come get us.”
“Aubrey?”
“You drank. I am not getting in a car with you driving.”
Defeated, I said, “You can drive my car.”
She turned to me with a smile. “Sounds good.”
“Are you sure you can't stay? Amani is.” I knew damn well she couldn’t stay. Aubrey and Link were waiting on her right outside my apartment so they could drive home. She only came by to say goodbye. Callie and her mom caught their flight last night.
She ran her fingers through my hair. “Positive. But I will see you soon, okay? You’ll be back a bunch for the wedding stuff. We have a lot of dates coming up soon.”
Unshed tears filled her eyes, but that smile…ugh, this girl could stop any man in his tracks. “I will try to come more often than that.”
Her smile dropped a little. “Elijah, you know you need to be here for him. This is the only time you have left with your dad. He comes first.”
I pulled her into my arms and kissed the top of her head. “You come first.”
She looked up at me. “Not right now, I don’t. I can't.” I kissed her deeply. “I miss you already,” she whispered.
“Fuck. I miss you too. I…I don’t know how I'm going to get through this without you.”
“I will be here when you need me. You know that. You just need to buy me a plane ticket, and I'll be here.” She chuckled.
“Promise?” I asked.
“Pinky promise,” she said with a smile as two small tears stained her cheeks. “Promise me something, too?”
I kissed her once more. “Anything.”
“Go to a meeting even if you don’t plan on staying sober. Just go. For me.”
“I will. Call me when you get home so I know you made it back safely.”
She nodded. I opened the door and closed it behind her. I went to the driver's window to speak with Link. “Get my girl home safe, or I'll kill you.”
“You got it, bro.” We fist bumped, then I watched as my entire world drove away, headed back to Connecticut.
I felt a sting in my eyes and whispered to myself, “I think I love you.”