33. Chapter 33
Chapter 33
Elijah
“ F uck!” My shout reverberates in the hall and Mrs. Sandusky pokes her head out, crossing her arms and giving me a reprimanding stare.
I lift a hand in apology. “Sorry, Mrs. Sandusky.”
She disappears through the door without a sound.
Rubbing a hand down my face, I fight the urge to put my fist through the wall. Bex is acting her age, for the first time since I’ve met her. Storming out while I’m trying to talk to her? I never expected that.
Did I say something wrong? She didn’t even let me get to the point of everything.
There’s only one thing to do now. And it’s not sitting here and waiting to see if she comes back. No, the only choice is to fucking follow her to Three Sticks.
I have no idea if that’s where she went. She’s still not on good terms with her parents and she wouldn’t ditch work and go hang at the dorm with her roommate, Tasha.
Determined, I cross the apartment, tearing my drawers open to find a long-sleeved shirt before tugging it over my head. I grab the keys from the bowl by the door on the way out, slipping into my sneakers on the way.
Juniper Grove is roughly thirty minutes away. A little more than twenty on a good day and breaking a few speeding laws. She didn’t leave that much sooner than I did. There’s a chance I can catch up to her and get a chance to talk to her before she heads into the bakery.
All my hopes of that are dashed when I come upon the train tracks. There’s one set of tracks on the outskirts of town that I swear I didn’t even know were still in use. Never, in my entire thirty-three years of living in the area, have I seen a train on these tracks.
Yet right now, as I’m rushing to get to Bex and explain things, I’m stuck at a motherfucking freight train.
Someone in the universe is fucking with me.
After what feels like a Goddamn hour, the train finally passes. Once I’m in the limits of Juniper Grove, my skin starts to itch and my heart races. I have to make sure I watch my speed because, while Zach is my best friend and brother-in-law, he’d never get me out of a ticket.
I jerk into a spot and jump out of the car before the keys are even all the way out of the ignition.
Thankfully, I can see that it’s not terribly busy right now as I peer through the front window. Mazie would wring my neck for making a scene in front of patrons.
Bex is standing behind the counter, a light smile on her face as Liv and Mazie flank her, saying something with smiles on their faces, seemingly trying to cheer her up. The second the bell rings as the door shuts, her eyes lift to mine, and her smile drops.
She pushes away from the counter and disappears behind the black door where Alina is most likely being a creative genius.
Without hesitating, I round the counter, holding on to the edge, before I’m met with four steely eyes and crossed arms.
“Um, can I help you?” Why are they standing in my way? I need to get to Bex.
“She doesn’t want to talk to you right now.” Mazie’s tone doesn’t sound like the sweet sister I know, but the protective one who takes care of her flock. How did I become the one on the outside of that protection?
“You’re protecting her? From me? I’m your Goddamn brother.”
“And we had welcomed her into the fold as an amazing employee, the way we do with all the girls who work here. Then you came to us and told us you were with her, that you love her, and we took her in as a sister.” Liv’s forcefulness knocks me back a step.
“I need to talk to her.”
“Pretty sure you said enough.”
My eyes narrow as they bounce back and forth between Liv’s practically purple irises and Mazie’s sapphire ones. They’ve always been the most at odds, but their eyes are almost identical.
“What exactly did she tell you?”
They falter as they look between each other. As though this is the first time that they’re considering there may be more to the story than what Bex told them.
Now I cross my own arms, waiting for their answer.
“She said that you told her you were going to be leaving to go back to school. But hadn’t asked her to join you or mentioned anything about her.”
“Because I hadn’t gotten that far yet! For fuck’s sake, what have I said or done to make you think I don’t want to be with Bex? Yes, I had questions about how to handle it, and apparently I did it horrendously, but she didn’t even let me get to the part of mentioning her coming with me before storming off.”
Both sisters redden and look at the ground. It’s almost comical how similar they look as they do it.
“So, is it alright with the two of you if I see my girlfriend now?” I’m not really asking their permission. I’m ready to push them both to the side and march right through that door.
But they both nod, and Mazie disappears through that damned door. I’m a silent partner, as I gave them a large chunk of cash to get this place up and running. Yet I’ve only ever been beyond the actual café a small handful of times.
I avoid looking at Liv, keeping my eyes trained on the black door, but her voice draws my attention.
“Eli?”
My gaze turns to her, and she shrinks under the fierceness of it. “I’m sorry.”
“Of all people, Liv, I thought you’d believe in me. That you’d know better than to think I wouldn’t want her to come with me.”
Her shoulders droop and her chin hits her chest. I don’t like making her feel bad, but she should have been on my side. The one voice speaking out in my favor.
While I appreciate that they’ve taken Bex in, that they want to look out for her no matter the situation, this one stings.
She opens her mouth to speak, but the door swings open and we both turn toward it.
“But I don’t want to talk to him.” Bex is facing away from us as she talks to Mazie.
“You need to hear him out. Now go.” She puts her hands on Bex’s shoulders and spins her around, pushing her toward me.
I move to the side and gesture for Bex to go first. With a sigh, she does, finding a table closer to the windows and far from the counter. Smart.
“You stormed out before I got a chance to finish talking to you.” My tone is condescending, and I hate myself for it.
Her gaze lifts to mine. There’s sadness in her eyes. And it just about kills me knowing I put it there, even if it wasn’t intentional. “You told me you were going back to college and not here. I didn’t realize there was more to say.”
I reach out to take her hands, which are resting on the tabletop, but she pulls them into her lap and looks out the window. With a heavy breath, I put my hands on the table, palms up, and raise my eyebrows.
With a quick shake of her head, she rests her palms against mine, her fingers brushing the inside of my wrists.
“Look at me, please.” My voice is low but forceful. I need her to see the sincerity in me when I tell her. I need her to know I mean it.
Though she seems to fight it, she does turn her face toward me, her expression completely blank, like she’s steeled her emotions away.
“Maybe I should have led with this, or at least mentioned it sooner, but I want you to come with me, Bex.”
Her lips part, and her eyes widen. But I’m quick to interject, closing my fingers around hers.
“ If that’s something you want. I know working here is important to you.” I open my arms and look around the café that Bex thinks so highly of. “And I don’t want to take anything away from you. I don’t want you to give up your life, or the life you’ve started to put together for yourself, just for me and for my dreams. I’m lucky I still get to chase them, but I don’t want you giving up yours just to come with me. I’m not worth it.” I swallow sharply around the lump in my throat.
My heart pounds powerfully, ready to smash right through my ribs and land on the table in front of Bex, a worthless organ if she doesn’t want to be with me anymore.
When her eyes narrow and she jerks her head back, I steel my shoulders to prepare for the words that will slice me in half.
“You’re absolutely worth it, Eli.” That’s not what I was expecting. To the point that I have to blink repeatedly, unable to form words in response.
“I know you think that for some reason you’re not worthy of love, or not worthy of my love, at the very least, but that’s not true. You’re an amazing person.”
We stare at each other silently for a few minutes. Is that a yes? A no? A gracious ‘you’re awesome, but fuck you?’
Her other hand closes around mine and her mouth presses into a firm line. “It will take some discussion and some research. But of course I’ll go with you. I’ll follow you anywhere, Eli. This café…yes, it’s important to me, but you’re so much more. And funny little thing…you kind of know the owners.” She giggles at the last part.
“But what about your classes?”
A crease forms between her eyebrows and she looks at me like I’ve truly lost my mind. “Um, you’re going to college to take classes, correct? I can just transfer and do the same thing. Depending on where you want to go, I’ll either apply to the same school, or I’m sure there’s something else in the vicinity.”
“You’d really do that? For me?” As much as I don’t want it to, my voice cracks. Someone is willing to give up their life for me? To make such drastic changes…for me?
And really not just someone , but this truly incredible woman who I’m utterly in love with.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
I open my mouth to respond, but she cuts me off.
“And I swear to God, if you say it’s cause you’re old, I’m going to lose my shit and just maybe change my mind.”
My mouth shuts, and I pull my lips between my teeth. It really irritates her when I use that excuse. I think it’s a valid one, but she doesn’t.
“Listen. I’m not saying that we should run away and get married or that I expect it to go that way. But I’m certainly not going to give up my life and move for someone I don’t see a future with. Which I do, with you. So as old as you think you are, and as much as you think you’re going to die before me and I’ll be saddled with that or whatever you like to say…you need to know that if that happens, it’s going to destroy me.” The end comes out choked and her eyes overflow.
I reach across the table and brush away the tears with the pad of my thumb. “You really want to come with me?” For some reason, I’m still skeptical. Call it idiocy, call it insanity, but the lowest parts of me just can’t believe it.
“Want to? Yes. Am I going? I don’t know yet. I love you, Eli, and I want to be with you. But I do need to make the right decisions for my future. And if that’s not physically being in the same space as you, then it’s doing long distance and trying like hell to keep the spark alive.”
My chin drops and I nod. It wasn’t exactly the answer I was hoping for. Especially because she'd said she'd come with me. I understand her hesitation though, her need to have everything figured out.
“I just want to look into it more.” She’s trying to soothe the ache, to make sure I know it’s undecided.
“I get that. I still have a lot of research to do too.”
She lifts one shoulder. “Maybe we can do it together?”
A smile pulls up the corners of my lips. “Yeah. That sounds great.” I look around and see my sisters huddled together behind the counter, staring at us and whispering to each other.
With a roll of my eyes, I stand and round the table, pulling Bex up and folding her into my arms. “Are we okay?”
“Yes. I’m sorry I ran out like that. I was hurting.”
“Don’t do it again. Talk to me. Or at least hear me out. There’s going to be a lot of important discussions and decision-making coming up. We need to communicate. No acting childish.” I narrow my eyes at her as she rolls hers.
“Okay, yes, I acted childish. I am only nineteen.” Her lips twitch as she fights the smirk wanting to take over.
To wipe it right off her face, I bend and press my mouth to hers. It doesn’t work, and when I pull away, there’s a full smile on her face. But it’s a better reward.
“I’m going to let you get to work. Especially because my sisters will kick my ass for consuming your time when you’re on the clock. Meet back at my place after?” I swoop a copper curl behind her ear.
She nods and leans into my hand. With a light hum, I kiss the top of her head before letting go.
I stop just before walking out the door and look over my shoulder. “Bye, girls. I love you all.”