The Beauty in Eternity

Chapter 79.

I shake my head in realisation, it hadn't even crossed my mind that all along that's what had been holding Jake back. I knew he didn't hate Mason, but I had no idea it was because he felt he wasn't being honest to me.

"Even if Mason and I were on the worst terms possible, I wouldn't hold it against him if he wanted to forgive him. He's one of my closest friends." I sigh.

"I know, and he knows that too. He just cares about you, a lot, and he knows how much he hurt you." he tells me softly.

My phone rings from the spot beside me, Elijah's name flashing across the screen in bold. I look between the name and Matt, my heart sinking in my chest. I don't want to have to have this conversation with Elijah at all, I don't want to have to tell him that all along; I had it wrong.

I pick it up with a lot less confidence than I tried to exert and swipe to accept. "Hello?" I clear my throat.

"Hey, Mar. Are you still with Mason?" he asks, worry clear in his voice.

"No, I'm with Matt. I promised I'd come over afterwards. I'll be home soon, okay?" I bite my lip nervously.

"Okay," he sighs in relief, before a brief pause. "Are you okay?" his voice mumbles over the line.

"Elijah, I have to tell you something," I begin, my palms sweating. "Mason wrote me a letter when he was in Italy—he didn't just disappear like I had thought." I blurt out, Matt's eyes widening from the seat beside me.

"Oh," he mutters. The line falls silent for a moment as we both fumble for words. My initial plan to tell him delicately being torched. "We can talk about it when you get home, okay?"

I watch Matt stand to his feet with an extreme level of stress on his face, mouthing 'what the hell are you doing?' over and over as he paces on the spot.

"Okay." I whisper.

As the call ends I turn to see Matt's eyes still wide. "Why did you tell him that over a phone call?" he asks confusedly.

"Because I don't think I could've said it while his sad green eyes were piercing through me, and I won't lie to him," I explain, taking a deep breath in. "I didn't mean it to come out all... textbook, I just felt that if I hadn't said it then I wouldn't have at all."

"I'll call you a cab," he sighs, brushing the hair from my face.

When I walk into Elijah's apartment the whole place is submerged in darkness, the living room empty and the bedroom door closed. I lock the door behind me and take a seat on the edge of the couch, the lights still out.

I stare blankly at the wall in front of me, before I feel an indent in the spot beside me, Elijah's warm body perched beside mine.

"I told him it doesn't change anything, I'm with you," I begin, my stare still set ahead. "I'm with you, Elijah. I want you."

"You told him that?" he mumbles, an almost whisper in the dark.

"Of course I did."

A sigh of relief echoes through the room before he stands to his feet, making his way back to bed. I bounce my leg against the floor nervously.

"I'll always love him, Elijah." I admit, the creaking footsteps stopping in their tracks.

"I'm always going to love him and I don't think that'll ever stop—even if I'm not in love with him anymore. Which I'm not."

"I know," he replies, before the footsteps become distant into the bedroom.

I tug my fingers through my hair, wondering how everything got so confusing. I pull my phone from my pocket and dial Jake's number, patiently waiting for a response.