41. Elijah
Chapter forty-one
Elijah
“ D o you want this in the fridge or on the counter?” I asked Link as he walked into the kitchen.
He looked over. “You know I am not the one to ask, dude.”
I laughed. “You would think you would be a little more domesticated now that you’re married.”
He gave me a look. “It’s bottled water. Leave it there, people can put ice in it. Is that a better answer?”
“Yes. Thank you, kind sir.”
I looked up the stairs then over at the oven to check the time. It was already ten in the morning.
“She isn’t here,” Link said.
“Who?”
He cornered me with a knowing look. “Brielle and Aubs went to their parents this morning to help their mom cook.”
“Cool.” I tried my best to hide the disappointment.
“They also had to pick up Tomasso.”
My eyebrow arched. “Tomasso?”
“He came back with Brielle.”
My stomach dropped. “He what? Who is he?”
Link smirked. I couldn’t tell if he was being serious or just breaking my balls. “He works with her at the gallery in Italy and came home with her. He will be staying to work at the U.S. gallery for a bit, according to Aubrey.”
I was silent long enough that Link looked over. “Are they like, together?”
He did that stupid grin again. “I’m not sure. I didn’t know he was coming with her until Aubrey told me a few days ago.” He paused. “Why? Would it bother you if they were?”
“Of course it would. You know she is mine. I am planning everything for her. You know this.”
“Are you sure everything you are planning will be worth it?”
I slammed my fist on the counter. “It has to be. I did what she asked. I did it for me. Now everything else is going to be for her.”
“I don’t think she's going to just fall back into your arms, dude. She was, and still is, really fucking hurt.”
I looked at him, and without giving his comment a response, I excused myself. “I am going to shower and then catch a meeting.”
A look of surprise crossed his face. “You are going to a meeting today?”
“Yeah. I need it.”
Without any judgment, he returned to his task and then spoke, “Not sure if this changes anything, but there will be no alcohol today.”
“You don’t have to do that. I have the issue, not everyone else.”
“You are my brother. When you are here, there is no alcohol in this house.”
I nodded.
“Good. Now that we've got that settled, do you need a ride?”
“Nah. I will call a ride share.”
He nodded. “Sounds good. Call me after if you need a ride back.”
When I got back to Links after my meeting, almost everyone was there. When I walked in, my eyes immediately started scanning for Brielle. As far as I could tell, she wasn’t there. I hugged everyone, and as I hugged Callie, she whispered in my ear, “She is in her room showing Tomasso some pictures.”
Without another word, I took the stairs two at a time and knocked on her door rather loudly.
“Come in,” she called
As I stepped in, she stood abruptly from the bed like she was caught doing something wrong. “Hey.”
I leaned on the doorframe with my arms crossed. “Hi. Who’s this?”
“Eli, this is Tomasso. We work together at the gallery in Italy.”
He stood and leaned in to shake my hand. “Ciao, Eli.” His handshake was strong. I assumed he knew who I was by the almost stern look on his face. I shook his hand and looked at Brie.
“That’s hello in Italian,” Brielle said.
A bit of the tension eased from my shoulders. “Hey, I am Elijah. Only she gets to call me Eli.” A light pink washed over her cheeks. “What are you guys doing up here?”
She returned to sitting. “Just showing him a bit of my life.”
He held up a few pictures. “She is gorgeous girl, no?”
A wave of jealousy coursed through me. “Most beautiful girl I've ever met.”
“Okay, stop with the compliments,” she joked. She slapped his chest playfully. My chest seized up, almost taking the breath from my lungs.
That's our thing.
She looked back at me. “Do they need my help?”
“Callie does,” I lied.
“Okay. Be right there.”
I nodded as I left. I didn’t bother shutting the door. Tomasso smirked as I walked away.
As the day went on, I kept sneaking glances at Brielle.
She was sitting between Tomasso and one of her other coworkers from the gallery here.
My mind was swirling with who Tomasso was to her.
Callie's voice pulled me from my thoughts, “So, Elijah, what are you up to now? Any plans to go back to the band, or is that over for good?”
Brielle shot a look at Callie.
I inwardly chuckled. “Um, I have been thinking about school. I got my GED, so college is the next step, since I never got to go.”
Link slapped my back, congratulating me, and a few others joined in. I looked to Brielle for approval, but she was looking down at her plate, swirling her food around. She had a look of hurt on her face, but I could tell she was trying to force a smile before looking up.
“Do you plan to do something with music?” Nick asked.
“I have been looking at culinary school, actually.” I glanced over at Brie. “Cooking is something that brings me a different kind of joy. I will always love music and probably do something with it, but I am looking forward to new experiences.”
After a few more people had asked me some questions, Brielle stood and excused herself to the bathroom.
I knew she wasn’t actually going to the bathroom, so I followed her upstairs a moment later. Her door was cracked open a bit, and she sat on the edge of her bed with her head in her hands. I watched her for a moment. She looked upset and was mumbling to herself.
I pushed the door open a little wider, catching her attention. “You okay, MP?”
She wiped under her eye and smiled. “Yeah. I just needed a second. Didn’t realize how much I’ve missed everyone.”
She walked to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. She wasn’t wearing much makeup, but she clearly had some mascara or something on her eyes because it ran down her cheek a bit.
“God, I look a mess,” she laughed.
“You look beautiful as always,” I said quietly.
She looked at me through the mirror with a small smile. “I thought you said we would never lie to each other.” Her face fell. I’m sure it was because she was remembering that I, in fact, did lie to her majorly. She turned toward me. “Sorry, I didn’t think before I spoke.”
“You don’t need to be sorry.”
“Okay.” She checked herself one more time in the mirror, then turned and motioned to the bedroom door. “I guess we should get back out there, huh?”
“Do we have to?”
She laughed. “Overwhelmed?”
“Just a little,” I joked. “It's still hard to talk about how I'm doing sometimes.”
She leaned back on the sink and crossed her arms. “That’s understandable.” She motioned to the door again. “I guess we have kept them waiting long en—”
“I miss you,” I blurted. She stopped in her tracks, instantly looking down at the floor. I gently reached out and tilted her face up. “I have missed you every moment of every day.”
“Eli.”
I let my hand drop. “No, please let me talk.”
She stepped back a few steps and nodded. She clasped her hands and began twisting her fingers together.
“I am sorry for what happened between us. I am sorry I ruined what we could have been.”
“It was for the best, though,” she whispered.
“Bullshit. This sucks.”
She stepped toward me, putting her palm on my cheek. My eyes closed at her touch. When I finally opened them, she spoke. “It had a good outcome. You are sober and healthy,” she paused, “and happy. I couldn’t ask for anything else. Nothing else matters now.”
I nodded. When she removed her hand, I felt a raw emptiness.
“Let’s go. Everyone will be wondering where we went off to.”
I couldn’t help but reach for her arm as she walked past me. “Why did you really come up here?”
She turned. “What do you mean?”
“You were crying and muttering something when I came in.”
She looked away and then back at me. “I told you, I just didn’t realize how much I missed everyone. Just got a little overwhelmed, I guess.”
I let her arm go and traced my finger over the bridge of her nose. I smiled. “Ya know, your nose crinkles when you lie.”
She batted my hand away with a grin. “Shut up. No, it doesn’t.”
“It’s one of my favorite things about you,” I assured her.
“Well, I’m not lying.”
I put my hand to her cheek just as she had done to me. “Tell me. Please.”
She gripped my wrist and was about to open her mouth when Aubrey's voice came from downstairs, “It’s time to open presents!”
Brielle and I stared at each other for a moment before I answered without looking away, “Be right there.”
I leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I really missed you, Masterpiece.”
Without another word, I left the room.