39. Elijah
Chapter thirty-nine
Elijah
Almost Nine Months Later
“ Y eah, I will be there. Thanks, man. I am excited to see you guys again.”
I hung up with Lincoln and let out the breath I was holding. We had spoken over text for the last few months, but finally hearing his voice was refreshing.
I took a while to fall apart and really enjoy it after Brielle left me.
I also ended up back in the hospital for a few days with a broken arm and busted face from a bar fight.
My brother and the guys from the band tried their best to help me, but they, too, decided to let me figure this out on my own.
Owen had a long talk with me, one that I needed to hear. I gave up my spot in the band, and now they have a new member. It was for the best, and he was fitting in well, according to Owen.
He and I thought it best if I weren’t around all the partying and alcohol. It just wasn’t the right place for someone in my situation.
I was enjoying the nothingness, honestly.
It was refreshing. I visited with my mom a lot.
She and I were still attending therapy together once a month, and I go to individual therapy once a week.
I also attended AA two to three times a week, even more often when I’m struggling.
I found a new group of friends there who are really committed to making sobriety their lifestyle.
I helped out at August's music shop pretty often to keep my mind busy. It was almost the perfect job for me. I still got to work around music, but I had a lot less stress, and there wasn’t the constant access to booze, like there was in the band.
Now that the holidays were near, I would finally get to see my friends again. Nick and Callie were hosting Thanksgiving again, and I couldn’t wait to be back in that circle of people, especially her—my Masterpiece.
She and I hadn’t seen or even spoken to each other since she left. Not for lack of trying on my part. I texted her a few times, especially before I started therapy and AA.
I realized she was right when I started taking AA seriously.
I had to decide to do this for me, in order for it to work.
Now that I had done that, it felt better than I could have ever imagined.
I received my copper chip just last week.
Seven months, three days, and ten hours since I had a drop of alcohol.
Being sober opened a lot of doors for me.
I had been thinking about the future a lot for a number of reasons. Therapy made me realize that my life up to this point had really been me doing things despite other people.
I joined the band to get away from my family.
I never went to school because that was what my mother wanted for me.
I drank so much to get away from my feelings; then, I drank more when people would point it out to spite them.
It was a vicious cycle, and I was finally done with all that.
Now, I do what I do because I want to, and because it's going to help me get through life being happy, healthy, and sober.
Aubrey picked August, Liza, and me up at the airport. I was expecting it to be an awkward situation, her being mad at me and all, but the moment she saw me, she ran up to hug me.
“Missed you, Elijah. I am so glad you are here.”
I put my arm around her, smiled into her hair, and closed my eyes in relief. “Missed you too, Aubs.”
She pulled away. “You look amazing.” She gripped my hands and smiled at me before letting go to hug her dad and Liza.
Link came running out after we got to Callie and Nick’s house. Link picked me up like I weighed nothing. “There’s my best friend.”
“Put me down, asshole,” I laughed.
“I can't.” He laughed and then did just that. He hugged me tight and slapped my back. “You look good, man. I’m so happy to see you.”
“I’m happy to be here, man.”
My stomach was a ball of nerves just anticipating Brielle being inside. Right before we got to the door, Aubrey stopped me. “Brielle sends her love; she couldn’t get off work long enough to come home.”
“Home?”
Aubrey gave me a nervous look as she ushered me into the house. “Yeah, she's in Italy.”
“What? Why?”
Callie’s voice came from the hallway as she ran up to me and pulled me into a hug. “Brie is too good for us now that she is a fancy gallery manager over there,” Callie joked. “She moved there, and now she only calls us once in a while.”
“Oh, wow.” My mind raced with all the different emotions. Initially, I was happy to hear she was living her dream of working in an art gallery, but I was also feeling defeated and hurt knowing I was most likely the reason she was so far away.
I fucked up more than I realized.
“She will be calling in a little while if you want to talk to her,” Aubrey added.
I did my best to hide the disappointment. “Oh no, that’s okay. I don’t want to force her to talk to me if she isn’t ready.”
“She wants to,” Aubrey assured me. “She specifically said, ‘After I call and talk to you guys and Mom and Dad, I want to talk to Eli.’”
“She did?” Aubrey gave me a knowing smile and nod.
“And for the record, that felt weird calling you Eli, and I won't be doing it again. I was repeating her words.”
I smiled. “Can’t wait to talk to her.”
“Me either,” Callie added. “She has been gone way too long.”
Aubrey slapped her arm and whispered something. If I had to guess, I would say it was something like “cut it out, don’t make him feel bad, etc.”
Just as we all sat down to eat, Aubrey's phone rang. My stomach dropped as she answered the FaceTime call. The phone got passed from person to person, and my nerves kicked up with every person she finished talking to.
When Aubrey handed me the phone, she leaned in and whispered, “Go into the guest room.”
I nodded and took the phone.
As I sat on the edge of the bed, I finally had the nerve to hold it up to my face, and there she was. Her hair was different, lighter, like she dyed it. Her piercing green eyes hit me right in the heart. Seeing her sweet smile was like coming home.
“Hi,” she whispered.
“Hey.”
“How are you?” she asked.
I nodded. “I'm pretty good. Kinda sad my best friend isn’t here, though.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “Why? Where did he go? I just spoke to him.”
I looked away and then back at her with a knowing smirk. She smiled widely in understanding. “Oh, you meant me.”
“Yeah. I miss you a lot, actually.”
Pink stained her cheeks. “I miss you too.” She looked down with a shy smile. “I just couldn’t get out of work long enough to travel.”
I looked down at my leg, bouncing nervously, then back to her. “Is that the real reason? Or was it me?”
Without hesitation, she said, “I wanted to see you. It really is because of work. I couldn’t get both holidays off.”
My eyebrows raised in realization. She saw it and laughed. “Yes, I will be home for Christmas. I will be home from Christmas time till the end of January. The gallery here will be closed.”
“That’s… um… that’s great.”
“Yeah, I’ll be staying with Aubrey and Link.”
“What about Amani? Don’t you guys have an apartment together?”
“She got a new roommate when I moved here for work.”
“Ah, that’s smart, I guess.”
“Ehi Brie, abbiamo bisogno del tuo aiuto, amore,” a man’s voice called.
Brie answered promptly, "Sarò proprio lì."
“You speak Italian?” I asked.
She laughed. “I do. I took it all four years in high school, and then I started taking a refresher class when I got here to help me a little. Plus, the people I work with keep me on my toes. I am not that great, but I can hold a simple conversation without any big words.” Her smile became sad. “I have to go.”
“I figured.” We were both quiet for a few seconds.
“Will I see you at Christmas?” she asked hesitantly.
A shred of hope filled me. “Do you want to?”
She smiled softly. “I would love to see you, Eli.”
Eli.
She is still the only person who calls me that.
“Then I will be there.”
“Good. Talk soon. Stay safe.” She hung up before I could say goodbye. I sat there going over our entire conversation in my head, trying not to let the glimmer of hope fill me too much. Then I remembered the man who spoke in Italian.
“Ehi Brie, abbiamo bisogno...” or something like that. I know the last part was “del tuo amore.”
I googled what I could remember and came up with Hey Brie, we need you, love.
Love? Why is some other man calling her love?