Chasing Elliott - Published

chapter forty four .... better late than never

Bonhomie (n.)
frank and simple good-heartedness; a good natured manner; friendliness.
———

"Hey, El," Kingsley said softly as she gave me a sad smile. "Can we talk?"

I nodded quickly as I stepped outside and closed the door behind me. Kingsley took a seat on the step and folded her arms over her knees. Putting my hands in the back pockets of my jeans, I glanced up and down the street before taking a small breath and sitting down.

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked quietly, refusing to look at me.

"There's really no valid excuse, King," I told her as I fidgeted with my hands. "No reason should have kept me from not saying anything."

"Elliott, tell me," Kingsley repeated as she turned to look at me.

Taking a shaky breath, I lifted my head but still couldn't look at her. "My mother threatened to send me back to my father's if I said anything and then when I finally moved in here, I felt like too much time had gone by and I was just terrified of losing you."

Kingsley sat there silently for a minute before she reached over and put a hand on my knee. I looked up and saw her giving me a small smile which caused tears to spring to my eyes as I wrapped my hand over hers.

"I forgive you," she told me firmly as she gave my hand a squeeze. "I wish it hadn't taken me so long to do so but better late than never, right?"

"God, I've missed you," I breathed out as I suddenly threw my arms around her neck. Kingsley hugged me back with just as much urgency and tears slipped down my cheeks.

Pulling away, I saw that Kingsley had been crying too so I brought a hand up to brush her tears away at the same time she was doing that for me. We both burst out laughing and I shook my head as I looked down before looking out at the moving truck.

"I'm glad I caught you before you left," Kingsley said, her smile faltering. "I really wish you'd stay, though. I don't know what I'm going to do without my best friend."

"I figured since I'm starting another new phase of my life that I might as well get a new change of scenery," I lied as I looked down at our entwined hands.

Kingsley sighed softly as she took a hand out of mine and cupped my chin to look up at her. "Elliott, I know you're running away and you're too stubborn to admit you're wrong. I just want to make sure you're not going to regret what you're doing, is all."

"I know," I mumbled as I bit my lip. "And I won't. I love you more than anything and I don't know how I'm going to handle not having you living across the hall from me but I think this will be good for me."

Suddenly the pizza guy came pulling up in the driveway and climbed out of the car. Quickly pushing myself to my feet, I wiped at my eyes and reached into my front pocket to grab the money.

Giving him the cash and taking the pizza, I turned back to Kingsley with a smile. "Want to eat with us?"

———

"I wish you'd let us drop you two off," my aunt complained as she hugged me tightly, not wanting to let go. "I hate not seeing you off."

"If you came with you wouldn't let us out of the car," Alex pointed out with a slight chuckle as he put a hand on my back. Pulling apart from my aunt, I pressed a kiss on her cheek as she continued to hold onto my arm.

"They'll be fine, honey," my uncle said as he put his hands on my aunt's shoulders to pull her away from me. "They're responsible and can take care of themselves."

Looking up at my uncle, I saw the unspilled tears clouding his eyes. Giving him a sad smile, I quickly walked over and jumped up, wrapping my arms around his neck. My uncle hesitated for a minute before wrapping his arms around my waist and hugging me tightly.

He slowly set me down and cupped my face in his hands before pressing a kiss to my forehead. Nodding to myself, I turned around and walked over to Alex and bent down to pick up my carry on.

My aunt grabbed the strap of my bag and gave me another hug as tears cascaded down her cheeks. Fighting back tears of my own, I pulled away and watched Alex walk out the front door without another word.

"I love you both," I said softly as I smiled.

"We love you, bug," my aunt said as my uncle came to her side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Call us as soon as you land."

"I will," I reassured them before glancing around the house one last time. Turning around, I stepped outside and walked over to where Alex stood by his car, Mia already in the back seat. Kingsley was leaning against the passenger side door, a pained expression on her face.

Walking up to her, I put the bag down and threw my arms around her as the tears started to fall once more. We stood there for a minute holding onto one another like our lives depended on it before Alex cleared his throat.

"Text me when you land," Kingsley told me as she brushed some loose strands of hair behind my ear. "If you don't I'll send the calvary after you."

Laughing, I shook my head before grabbing my bag off the ground. "Don't worry, I'll text you the second I can."

Putting my bag in the backseat with Mia, I opened the passenger door and slid in. Alex pulled down the driveway and I watched as my aunt and uncle waved from the front door and Kingsley stood leaning against her car.

"You okay?" Alex asked once the house was out of view. Turning to look at him with a forced smile, I shook my head before turning my attention on the road.

"I don't know," I mumbled quietly as a million thoughts ran through my head. "I can't help but feel like I'm leaving a wound open without trying harder to help it heal."

Alex sighed as he reached over and grabbed my hand, squeezing it gently. "Don't worry, red. Brandon and I will do everything we can to help you through this. At least you were able to patch things up with King."

"Yeah, but it wasn't her I was sad about."