Saving Elliot ✓

Chapter One

"Hey," his voice was soft, "do you want a hug?"

I looked up at him. A grin had taken over his features as he stood with his arms wide apart. Before I could say anything, O'Connor rushed forward and wrapped his arms around me, enveloping me in a warm hug. I let my eyes flutter shut and buried my head in his chest. I was considerably shorter than him, I only stood at a measly five foot three and he towered over at five foot eleven. I snaked my arms around his waist and pulled him closer, hoping it would make me feel better. I concentrated on the sound of the pouring rain outside. It crashed loudly on the corrugated metal roof. It hammered onto the windows like the relentless drumming of nails.

I had always loved the sound of the beating rain. Always the sound, never did like being in it. I hated the clammy feeling it created, like I was showering fully dressed. I could tolerate it only for so long before I cracked and I became moody. I just didn't like the way it surrounded me, almost suffocating, and leaving me to feel defenceless and exposed to whatever cruelties it had in store. O'Connor smelt nice, then again O'Connor always smelt nice. I couldn't pinpoint the cologne he wore but I bet it was Dolce & Gabbana, he lived for that fragrance. O'Connor rested his chin atop my curly mane of blonde hair and hugged me a little tighter. It was times like this, that I was grateful to have a best friend like him.

"You did great Jensen," he murmured.

"I did, didn't I?" I said, my voice came out muffled since my face was pressed against his chest. I'm not sure how long passed before I pulled away from him and took a couple of steps back. I forced a smile, "I'm fine."

"So," he gave me a hopeful smile, "are you coming to Kopov's party? Please say yes! You know it's going to be good. I guarantee Astra is going to pass out somewhere and get knobs drawn on her face in permanent marker. Oh, come on, El," he nudged my elbow, "do you really wanna miss out on that?"

That did sound amazing. I bit my lip to stop myself from smiling and shook my head. "No," I said, "No, I really can't be arsed."

I guess I wasn't in the mood to get piss drunk and wake up with a horrible hangover the following morning. I'd leave that to him and everyone else on the team.

"But, uh, you have fun," I said.

O'Connor's smile dimmed slightly at that. He shrugged and seemed to reluctantly accept my answer. "Then, I'll give you a lift if you want," he said, "it's proper pissing it outside."

I shook my head once more, "No need, my mum's picking me and Dane up."

"You sure you're going to be okay?" He stepped closer.

I forced another smile and met his deep brown eyes, "I am."

He didn't look convinced but he could tell I wasn't in the mood to talk about it. He nodded and turned to leave the room. "I'll see you Monday then, oh and remember, there's always next season!"

A corner of my mouth tugged upwards, "yeah, yeah, maybe..." I said, "wait, O'Connor!"

He paused just outside the door and glanced back at me, "hm?"

"Have you seen Dane?" I asked.

We had a Psychology essay on OCD due first thing on Monday morning and Dane hadn't started it yet. She'd been worried about it before the match and to calm her down so she could play properly, I told her she could come back to mine after the match and I would help her since I'd already handed mine in.

He frowned, "She didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"Dane's got a dentist appointment in fifteen minutes," he said, "she didn't even get time to change out of her footy kit, she just grabbed her things and went."