What's Funny?

Chapter 2

I was sitting on the couch very comfortably when I heard “Sup fucker!” coming from the kitchen.

“So much for knocking!” I called out, chuckling. Eli walked into the living room and hopped over the back of the couch, taking a seat next to me.

“Hey, Mr. Burnham,” she waved to my dad, who was sitting in the chair next to the couch.

“Ah, hello Eli. It’s such a pleasure to see you,” he rolled his eyes and let out a soft laugh.

“Let’s go up to my room,” I suggested, standing up and walking over to the base of the stairs, where I waited patiently for Eli to follow.

“But your couch is so comfy,” she protested.

“Please?”

“Fine,” she huffed, standing up and following me back to my room.

“I’m actually glad you came over,” I started, walking up the stairs, “I got you a present.”

“Oooh, really?” she asked,  her face beaming with excitement.

“No, why would I get you a present?” I shook my head and laughed, holding my bedroom door open for Eli.

“Run hell, asshole,” she muttered under her breath as she walked in and took a seat at my desk. I laughed silently and shut the door behind me, throwing myself on the bed.

“Anyway,” Eli started, kicking her feet up on my desk. “I’m here because my mom and I got into a fight because of her stupid boyfriend, so she kicked me out,” Eli leaned back, looking over at me with a slight frown.

“Wait, wait, what?” I stuttered in disbelief, scooting over to the edge of the bed. Eli softly nodded in response, chewing at her nails as she stood up and took a seat next to me.

“Wow, that’s terrible,” I sighed heavily, shaking my head and putting my arm around her waist, pulling her in. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I was planning on moving out in a few months, but this wasn’t the way I wanted everything to go down,” she forced a laugh, “I’ll be fine,” she assured me, locking eyes with me. 

“Still, that fucking sucks. I’m sure you could stay here,” I suggested, releasing Eli and resting my hand on her back in attempt to comfort her.

“You really think your dad would let me stay?” she asked.

“Oh, no,” I chuckled. “Not my dad, my mom. Like I said, she loves you like her own,”

Eli looked down at her feet, softly sighing.

“So, what happened?” I asked, scooting closer to her and rubbing the small of her back gently.

“Well, the step dad was being a cunt, making up all these bullshit lies about how I took his pot and shit. Mom decided to side with him, I guess, and she woke me up this morning by storming into my room and screaming and yelling at me. We spent the next few hours fighting and arguing at each other until she finally told me to just go,” Eli shrugged and leaned back, resting her weight on her elbows. “So, I left,” she finished, staring up at the ceiling as she fell back onto the bed and rested her hands on her chest, 

“Well, at least you have somewhere to go,” I shrugged softly, turning my body to the side so I could see Eli.

I began to observe her again, watching her sigh deeply. For some reason, I was infatuated with everything she did. The way she breathed, the way she stared up at the ceiling, the way she absentmindedly played around with her fingers. I soon began to wonder why I was thinking like this, why the feelings from the other night were coming back.