Chapter 3
Wes
Luke insisted it was the gentlemanly thing to do to wait outside of the car so I could open the door for Elliana, so that’s where I am when he comes walking down the pathway holding hands with a giggly blonde, but no one else.
I’m going to be really fucking mad if she’s standing me up.
“Wes, Izzy. Izzy, Wes.” Luke says as soon as they make it to the car.
“Nice to meet you, Izzy.” I shake her hand and she gives me a confused look.
“Wait, I thought your name was Matt?” She looks between me and Luke.
“Luke! You didn’t tell them Matt isn’t coming?” I lightly slap his arm.
“Sorry! I was preoccupied.” Luke shrugs and opens the door for Izzy, still giving each other gooey smiles as they climb into the back seat and start nuzzling each other like puppies.
Ugh. Young love is so gross.
“Ooo Elli’s going to lose her freaking mind.” I hear Izzy not-so-quietly whisper before the door closes.
After two minutes, I think she’s standing me up, which would be awkward as hell, but then I hear footsteps growing closer so I glance up from my phone and there she is.
She’s shorter than me, hell, she’s shorter than her own sister. Even in the oversized shirt dress thing she’s wearing I can see she’s curvy as hell. Her chocolate brown hair is pulled into two long braids, and she’s got barely any makeup on. The total opposite of her little sister.
The thing that surprises me the most is the beat up black converse that look like they’ve seen better days.
A prissy, stuck up girl like Elliana should be wearing sandals or heels or whatever the fuck, right?
Anything but beat up sneakers. She has a bored expression on her face which makes me think she matches my level of enthusiasm about all of this.
“Hey, Matt?” She asks quietly.
I try to contain my eye roll since it’s not her I’m upset with, it’s Luke. “Wes, actually. There was a bit of a mix up- Matt had a prior engagement. Luke forgot to relay that information.” I say brusquely.
“Oh. Well, nice to meet you, Wes, I’m-”
“Elliana. Nice to meet you too.” I grab her extended hand and give it a quick shake, noting the size difference of our hands.
Her hands are so tiny I could probably fit both of them in one of my own.
I’m a good foot taller than she is, so I can see the way her eyelashes cast a shadow on her cheeks when she blinks.
“Elli.” She says, then clears her throat. “I prefer Elli.” Elli says timidly.
“Elli.” I open the door for her and motion to the seat. “Your chariot awaits.”
She gives me a small, forced smile and a nod in return as she climbs in.
We don’t get a chance to talk at all on the way to the mall since Luke and Izzy barely stop talking to take a breath. It makes sense, considering they haven’t seen each other in almost a year, but I know they talk every day so what on earth could they possibly have to talk about?
Elli keeps her hands folded primly in her lap, gently twisting the ring around her left middle finger every so often.
She’s got gold rings on her middle fingers, left thumb, and right pointer finger.
She’s got her legs pressed together and her shoulders hunched like she’s trying to make herself as small as possible.
Sometimes I’ll see her knee bounce as she taps her foot to the beat of whatever song is quietly playing, but she usually stops it as quickly as it starts. I look over at her more than I probably should, but I can’t really help it. I can’t stop thinking about how different she seems from her sister.
Izzy exudes confidence, is boisterous, open, and talkative with her vanilla blonde hair curled and meticulous makeup. Elli, with her cocoa brown hair and understated outfit and makeup, seems reserved, quiet, maybe a little judgmental.
God, I hope she isn’t judgy.
As we park, Elli turns to Izzy and Luke and says, “I have three rules. Number one, you text me if you want to leave the arcade so I know where you are. Number two, keep the PDA PG; there are families here and I don’t need anyone arrested for public indecency.
Number three, have a good time. You two deserve it. ” She gives them a soft smile.
Maybe she’s not boring. Just nervous?
Once Izzy and Luke give some sort of vague affirmation to what Elli said, they’re getting out of the car and sprinting to the entrance hand in hand. Elli sighs before getting out, folding her arms across her chest as we start to trail behind.
The arcade is, unfortunately, in the mall, which means everyone in San Marcos is here this fine Saturday evening.
“So,” I clear my throat, “do you want to go to the arcade?” I question, attempting to break the ice.
Elli slows a bit and scrunches her nose. “Not particularly. You?”
I shake my head. “Too many people. How about some snacks and we find a place to… hang out, I guess? Unless you want to go shopping?”
Elli nods. “Snacks sound good.”
“Cool.” I open the doors with another dramatic sweep of my arm, bowing as Elli walks past. “After you, m’lady.”
She gives me another tense smile and ducks her head as she walks past.
Tonight’s going to be a long night.
Especially if she only speaks in three word sentences and doesn’t fucking smile.
Okay, she doesn’t smile at me.
The food court seems to be the hub for everyone’s outings, so as we make our way to the line for the pretzel booth, the minimal conversation we were having is put on hold.
I’m forced to stand slightly behind Elli in line, so when a kid bolts past and she stumbles into me, my arms instinctively go around her waist to keep her upright.
The position makes it so I have to bend slightly, meaning my mouth is close to her ear.
I can see her ears turn red in embarrassment as she squeaks out something that sounds like “thank you.”
“Falling for me already, Elli? I told Luke that wouldn’t happen, and I’m a man of my word.” I say in her ear, nudging her shoulder playfully.
Her face burns even brighter red at my comment, but she just mutters “sorry” and curls back in on herself.
When I refuse to let Elli pay for our food, she protests and scowls at me, which is honestly just funny because I don’t think she has a mean bone in her body.
We make our way to a bench in a quieter part of the mall, and just silently eat our pretzel bites for who knows how long. Neither of us seems keen on making small talk, but the awkward silence is killing me.
I notice that she keeps looking at me with an assessing look, like she’s trying to figure out all my secrets.
We make awkward eye contact a few times when I do the same thing, and the first time it happens I notice how pretty her eyes are.
I don’t know how I didn't notice the cornflower blue orbs with a sapphire ring on the outer edge before this. They’re intense and beautiful, and the blue of her dress and the black of her lashes makes them pop even more.
I look away, not wanting to make her uncomfortable, and notice a penny on the ground beneath the bench. I pick it up, flip it once, and hand it over to her. “Penny for your thoughts?”
She gives me an assessing look as she takes the penny and inspects it. Her eyes roam over my body quickly before they land back on mine. She nods in the direction of my left arm, which is covered from shoulder to wrist in flowers. “Is there a meaning behind all the flowers?”
Oh great. As soon as I tell her, she’s going to give me the look people always give me.
Poor, broken, orphaned Wes. Then the night will be spent with her dancing around conversation because she doesn’t want to upset me and it’ll just be awkward.
I won’t lie about this, though. It’s too important to me.
“They’re um. They’re flowers that represent significant months.
” I point to each black, white, and gray shaded bloom, “A violet for my mom’s birthday month, a rose for my grandma’s, a poppy for mine, two daffodils for my dad and Luke, a chrysanthemum for Jess.
A daisy for the month my mom passed, and a cosmos for the month my grandma passed, and an aster for the month my dad passed.
The bluebell is native to Texas and my gram’s favorite flower, and the buttercup is my mom’s favorite. ”
When I meet Elli’s gaze again, I expect to see pity, sadness, maybe even apprehension. But I don’t find those things. Her eyes are soft, something akin to affection in them, and she has a sad smile on her face.
She says in an almost reverent way, “It’s beautiful.
The artwork is stunning. I’m sure your mom and grandma would love it.
” Then, her eyes widen in shock like she’s surprised she said that.
“I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed anything.
I mean, my mom and grandma would rather me chop my own arm off before I get a tattoo so if someone said that to me I’d laugh in their face. I’m sorry if I overstepped-”
I can’t help the smirk that pulls at my lips as I cut off her rambling. “Elli, it’s okay.” I give her elbow a gentle squeeze. “I appreciate the sincerity. I’m sure they’d like it, too. I’m just not used to telling people I just met about my dead family, you know?”
Elli nods, and then it’s silent again.
I don’t like it. I liked her rambling. It was the most animated I saw her, and I find myself wanting more.
I don’t know how long we sit there; it could have been five minutes, it could have been an hour. It was long enough for us to finish our respective pretzel bites, and long enough for me to notice that Elli has a few smatterings of freckles on her cheeks that look like little constellations.
“So,” I start, wanting to break the silence, “what brings you to good ol’ San Marcos, Texas?”
“Oh, um, I needed out of Utah, and Izzy needed a reason to visit Luke more. San Antonio and Austin are close enough for a day trip, and San Marcos is cute.” She shrugs. “My job is remote, so I could go anywhere, and here seemed like a good place.”
“Won’t you miss your family? Friends? Partner?”