Beauty and the Geek Boy

Chapter 39-Ellie

*Beauty*

Do you want to meet my little brother?

When Will had asked the question, I'd said yes. But now, as Will led me to his room, I was riddled with nerves.

What if I said something wrong? What if I left a bad impression? I was pretty sure I'd already left a bad impression on Will's mom. If I messed this up too, it was just one more reason Will shouldn't be dating me.

Too soon, we reached the door to Will's room. I took a deep breath as he held the door open for me. You can do this, Ellie.

Will offered me the swivel chair, before he sat at the end of the bed, pulling his laptop off his desk. His lashes were low as he scanned the screen and his fingers moved elegantly over the keyboard. Gosh, he's beautiful.

Then the skype dial tone started ringing and all my tension returned with a vengeance.

"Hey, Will!" The boy's voice filled the room. "What's up?"

Will's eyes softened as he gazed at the screen and a pang hit my chest. Will was so adorable. I fidgeted, gnawing on my lip. Make a good impression. Make a good impression.

"Remember how I told you about Ellie?" Will started.

"Of course I do," the boy's voice replied. "We talk about her all the time."

Wait, what?

Will's eyes darted to me, then back to the screen. A small hint of red appeared in his cheeks.

Is William Johnson blushing?

He cleared his throat. "Well, uh, she wants to meet you. And she's here, so..."

"She is?!" The voice squeaked.

Will's lips tilted up into a grin, and my heart missed a beat. "Yeah. Do you want to meet her?"

"Of course I do! One second, let me fix my hair."

Will chuckled at whatever was happening on screen. Gosh darn it, I loved the sound of Will's laughter.

"Okay, ready!"

Will grinned then turned the computer around.

The boy on the computer screen looked like a miniature version of Will. Except instead of black hair, his hair was dark brown. And instead of green, his eyes were light brown. He was absolutely adorable.

His face lit up into a grin that was identical to Will's. He waved. "Hi." He blushed. "I'm James, it's nice to meet you."

I smiled back. "Hi. It's nice to meet you. I'm Ellie."

*

I spent the next hour talking to Will's younger brother. James was absolutely adorable. When he started to yawn, Will insisted he go to sleep. James argued with him for a moment before he finally gave in. James beamed at me before the call ended.

Will was grinning as he put the computer away.

His eyes met mine, the dark green sparkling like emeralds. "Thank you," he said softly. "I think you made his day."

I blushed, unable to think of a response. A moment later, I bit my lip, frowning. "He looked a bit pale though. Is he sick?"

A shadow fell over Will's face.

And I walked right into a landmine.

I started backtracking. "I wasn't trying to pry. I'm sorry, you don't have to tell me anything."

Will you ever learn to keep your mouth shut Ellie?

"No, I'm sorry," Will said. "I..." His eyes were pleading. "I'm sorry about upsetting you before. It's just..." He dragged a hand through his hair, staring at the ground. "If you..." his voice came out as a rasp. "If you want to know, I'll tell you."

I froze.

He glanced up at me, his voice slightly choked when he spoke. "W-will you listen?"

I didn't know what else to do when he looked like that...like he was in so much pain. So I nodded.

His eyes returned to the ground and he dragged in a breath before he began.

"Seven years ago," he whispered, "there was an accident."

*

Hi! It's been a while since I've uploaded. (Sorry about that). I hope you like the new chapters :)

God bless

xxx

Yemi Everest