she's mine.

52

"So Eli, what are your intentions with my daughter?"

*spits out water I was drinking*

"What!?"

Eli had sat at the bar stool in front of the island while I had asked him if he wanted water or anything to drink before his smoothie. My mom was mixing up one of her famously delicious concoctions with a blender again eyeing us as subtly as an elephant.

I handed him his water and started to drink mine as soon as I sat next to him when she asked.

I swear she waited for me to take a sip on purpose.

I didn't even have to say anything, she knew she was in trouble when she turned and smiled her mischievous 'what, I didn't do anything wrong' smile.

Eli glanced at me as I tried to hurriedly wipe up the water I just spit onto the counter, and my mom laughed as she recovered from the statement. If he was bothered by the question, he didn't show it. He kept his neutral expression as he watched me try to regain composure.

"I'm just kidding, I just wanted to see Rai's reaction," she smiled at us. Very funny mom, very funny. You'll hear about that one later. "So what's the project you guys were working on?"

Eli must have caught onto the fact that I had been the absolute worst liar since the day we met because he jumped to answer before I could. "It's a project for our literature class. We have to do some research of Shakespeare and how he recreated perspectives on love over and over. Mrs. Ike wants us to answer what we believe love is," he explained confidently. If I hadn't been there in class with him, or with him all night I would've believed him. He was persuasive as always.

My mother's eyes narrowed at me. "Well, that's a big project, don't you think?" Her eyes drifted back to Eli before I had to answer. Thank goodness. "And what do you believe love is?"

My eyes went to Eli, intrigued by the possible answer. I mean, he had to answer my mom right? Even if he hated questions. If I ever asked this I'd hear an earful about how ridiculous of a question it was, I know it. He glanced down, as if thinking his answer over before he spoke. Then, he pushed his dark messy hair back and looked at me. He looked me over for a second, taking in everything inch of me that he could.

I tried to remember the last time I looked at myself. Too long ago. I didn't know what I looked like anymore, I knew my hair must've been a disaster, my makeup smeared I'm sure, and I was still in his oversized hoodie. Yeah a real princess is what I'm sure I resembled.

His eyes were still on me when he opened his mouth to speak. This boy was BRAVE.

"You know, I don't know anymore Mrs. Everett," he looked over at her. My heart fell as he tore his gaze away from me. "I always thought that men like Shakespeare were idiots, or maybe even just womanizers. That there was no such thing as the love they talked about. That there was no way you could feel so strongly for a woman that you'd let her destroy you and your whole world in the process. I thought they were just dramatic back in the day, or maybe it was all just to get women to fall in love with them. But now," he looked back to me. His brown eyes were soft and unguarded as he spoke. "I sometimes catch myself understanding that feeling. The one where you would not only allow her to destroy your whole life, but makes you start praying to get to Heaven cause you know that's where she'll be." He looked back to my mom. I swear my heart was in the sky. I couldn't feel my toes.

I couldn't even THINK.

"And if they didn't let me in, I'd break the gates down."

His husky voice was honey to my ears.