Chapter 29
twenty-nine
ELLIE
“I hate this part,” I say, still clutching the pillow to me.
I’m using it as a shield when I see a scary part coming that I do not like. Why did I let Rowan choose the genre? I didn’t think he would choose horror. We’re nowhere near October, so I didn’t think that would come to mind. I know he did this on purpose. A mistake I will not make again.
I stopped the scrolling and landed on The Conjuring . We saw this movie in theaters, and it terrified the living shit out of me. I don’t mess with demons. I’m not a religious person per se, but I believe there are evil things in the world that walk among us.
The part where the lady lights a match and looks down into the very dark, very scary basement, and then the hands clap behind her? Yeah, well, I had my feet up on the chair in front of me at the theater, and when that happened in the movie, I jumped and kicked the person who was sitting in front of me in the head.
I felt terrible. I bought them candy and a slushy to make up for it. Ever since then, I’ve never put my feet on movie chairs again.
“Crap!” I shout.
I was so busy thinking about things that I was looking at the television when the creepy woman was atop the wardrobe cabinet. I already know that I’m on top of Rowan because watching this movie in the dark is not a fun time.
He already had his arm around me, but I’ve dug myself deeper into him. I don’t care how this comes off. That thing is going to jump through the television screen and pull me into the depths of hell.
I take a deep breath when another scene comes up. I know what happens, but I can’t help but get scared. All right, it’s coming up. Just look at the screen, you’re a bad bitch, Ellie. It’s fine. It’s —
I scream. I scream and jump up from the couch when I feel something skitter across my arm. I look at Rowan, who is keeled over laughing, and that’s when I realize that he’s the one that caused me to jump up and almost piss myself.
“Rowan! That’s not funny!” I stomp my foot and throw the pillow at him.
He catches it while still laughing and then puts it next to him. He wipes his eyes because he has tears from how hard he’s laughing.
“I’m sorry. I couldn’t help it,” he breathes through his laughter.
“I am not sitting by you for the rest of the movie.”
His laughter slows down, and he lets out a breath. “Okay, okay. I’ll stop. I’m sorry, come back.” He holds his hand out.
I look down at his hand and then back to him. I narrow my eyes on him. “Do I need to make a pillow barricade between us?” I ask.
“I promise I won’t do that again. The movie is almost over, anyway.” He holds his hand out. “Come on.”
“Fine,” I mumble.
I sit back down but leave more space between us. I allow an empty cushion between us, and for safety measures, I place a throw pillow on top of it. I’m tempted to tell Milo to lay between us.
“What?” I ask when I notice him looking at me.
“Why are you sitting so far away?”
“Because I don’t trust you.”
He clutches his chest. “You don’t trust me? Your own best friend?” He grabs the decorative pillow and tosses it to the other side of the couch.
“What are you doing?”
“If you won’t come to me, I’ll come to you.” He starts to scoot over toward me.
“No way, I’m not playing games, Rowan. That really freaked me out.” I scoot a smidge over, away from him.
“Oh, come on, El. I promise I won’t do anything. I’m sorry. It was a mean joke.” He stops moving and looks toward me.
“Only if you promise not to scare me again.”
“I promise I will not scare you again. I’ll be sure to protect you this time.”
“If you break this promise...I’m going to give this hangout session a two-star rating.” I point to him.
“Two stars! Well, that just can’t happen. I need this to be top tier, five stars, would-hang-out-again, type rating.”
He gets a chuckle out of me, and of course I forgive him. And I trust him. He’s someone I would trust with my life because I know he wouldn’t do anything to really hurt me. Even if it’s from a scary movie.
I move over to him and cross my arms, letting out a breath while the movie continues.
“Come here,” he croons, tugging me into him, his arm wrapping around me. “The big, scary monster won’t get to you.”
“Oh, you’re going to be my knight in shining armor?” I question. I look at him to continue teasing him when I quickly realize how close our faces are to each other.
I inhale sharply at the surprise. The tips of our noses barely touch, and I can see specks of gray in his eyes. The touch of him like this is all too familiar. Memories start to flood over me. Us at his house while his mom and aunt were out of town for the weekend. Watching a movie in the dark.
My heart is pounding so hard in my chest, I swear he can feel it too.
The night we decided to lose our virginities to each other. The night he told me he loved me. A month before I had to leave for New York.
My arms fall, and I can feel my body lean into him more. My hands grip the silky fabric of my dress as I try to contain myself. Force my body to no longer move and avert my gaze from him. But I can’t. Because right now, we’re back to being eighteen years old, and our lives are about to change forever.