Swish

Timeout - Eli

The bright sun was blinding, pinning me down in the inflatable donut raft that one of the girls demanded I lay on while lounging in the pool.  In all honesty, I would've been more than happy to ditch the party altogether, but Miles and Wilt wanted to see me off to New York on a good note. 

Screaming and pitches of laughter caught my attention at the edge of the pool and having had enough of my 'relaxation time', I slid off of the plastic float and into the clear blue water of the frat house's pool, the cool water immediately chilling my overheated skin and sending bumps along my body. 

"Eli!  It's so good to see you again!  I thought you'd be in L.A. by now or something..." Maddie said while twirling a piece of extra curly blonde hair, the ringlet getting caught on some jewelry on her wrist that she definitely shouldn't have been wearing to a pool party, and it definitely screamed 'trying too hard'.  

Since V, very girl lacked in comparison. 

Where one girl was all fake tits, eyelash extensions and spray tans, V was authentic, real, unguarded and raw, in your face about the bullshit that she refused to take from anyone. 

My mind reeled me back to the media articles that showed her at her father's funeral, an event that I was too damn afraid to attend.  

I was so scared of her even seeing me in person that I chickened out at the last second.  What a fucking coward.  

But it wouldn't have been the right time to see her, anyway.  Was she mourning the father she had, or the father she wished he would have been?  And the picture of her kneeling at her mother's grave in the rain?  A dramatic exit when a stranger carried her away in the middle of a storm? 

The press was having a field day with it, calling her unhinged over her father's death especially after the truth came out about her mother.  They said 'sources close to her' were going to give an exclusive.  I could count on one hand the amount of people close to that girl, and her cousin, ex and her aunt were the only ones slimy enough to promise to a tell all interview like that.  They disgusted me. 

"Umm...Eli?"

"What?  Oh.  Hey.  Yeah, I got back from L.A. the other day and I'm out of here next week for New York."

My words were short and clipped, and from the small divot in her eyebrows pulling my focus from the stripper heels she'd paired with a barely there bikini, I knew she realized that I still hadn't gotten over the fact that she was basically the reason that I was no longer with V. 

Loud bass pumped from the speakers nearby and I could just barely tune out Maddie, but if I wanted a clean getaway, I'd need to grin and bear it otherwise she wouldn't leave me alone for the rest of the night.  

The guys called it 'paying your respects'.  If you showed her the smallest amount of attention that would keep her happy the rest of the night, then she would move on to the next guy in line.  It was fucked up, and it was only Maddie that they used the phrase with, but it was fitting, because it really worked.  Every time. 

"I think you're so brave to be here, with everyone.  You know, especially after what's going on with Matthew and...well, you know.  I think you're so strong, and I know hope you know you don't have to pretend with me.  I can help you move on, like she has."

Maddie's hand was on my bicep, her eyes looking into mine longingly, but I didn't care.  She could've stomped on my balls in that moment and I wouldn't really have noticed. 

"What do you mean, what's going on with Matthew?"

I had had this sinking feeling in my gut since becoming friends with my sometimes roommate.  A feeling that the other shoe was going to drop when I was least expecting it, like he was just waiting to get his revenge on me for what I'd done to him in high school.