Loving Elijah McCay

Vol. 1: Twenty-Two

It gravels a laugh from my belly.

He's finally able to park, pulling into the closest available spot there is. He pulls open the glove compartment, and in there, lies two water bottles, and a box of what seems to be condoms.

He doesn't acknowledge the condoms, only hands me one of the bottles, and unlocks the doors swiftly. But my heart sinks slightly at the thought of him doing things with other people.

But only a second later, it occurs to me—that I have no reason to be jealous or standoffish, because that would never be me.

Elijah notices my expression, and leans in slightly, green eyes catching mine. "Are you good? You nervous or something?"

Yes, very nervous. And jealous.

I shake my head, conjuring up the biggest smile I can muster. Though, it isn't entirely real. "I'm okay, and no, I'm not nervous. Just a little tired."

He doesn't seem to believe me, but takes the answer anyway, sliding out of the drivers seat slowly. Once again, the door is being pulled open for me, and I thank him.

I've brought money with me, but he doesn't allow me to pay for any of my tickets. And it sort of reminds me of whenever Terrance and I would go out—and he's insist on paying for everything.

Although, with Terrance, those were dates. And with Elijah—this was so not a date. And he'd made that perfectly clear that night at the diner.

We walk through swarms of people, and almost all of them find their way to bump into me in the process. Never once gracing me with an apology. But when I look over, Elijah hasn't run into anyone, and is walking vastly.

His steps are quicker than mine, and once I've finally caught up, he seems to find himself ten steps ahead, once more.

A little ways before us, is a guy, who's beauty I can definitely acknowledge without hesitation. He's got dark hair, and the bluest eyes I've ever seen. A cigarette is hanging from his slightly parted lips, and there's a bandage around one of his closed fists. Which I'm guessing is from fighting, or a freak accident.

His eyes catch mine, and his expression drowns in distaste. Oh, god.

Beside him, is a blonde girl, who I can swear I've seen before. And when I look to her right, and see a short, dark-skinned girl—I realize that they are the same girls from the photo with Elijah.

The photo that seemed to be at a lake, and I had always wondered if maybe he was seeing one them. But I know now, that they are seeing each other.

Elijah greets the boy first. "Hey, man, long time no see." There's a sadness to his words. Like he misses him.

The blue-eyed boy smacks his teeth together, flicking the butt of his cigarettes, and giving Elijah a harsh shove. "Fuck you, dude. You disappeared without telling anyone. Where the hell did you go?"

Elijah heaves a heavy sigh, leaning back onto a brick wall, that seems to be leading into the men's restroom. And I wonder why they've picked this place to meet up. "I went home. Had some shit to sort through."

The other boy nods in understanding, and I'm assuming that this is infamous KJ that Elijah was warning me about. But what I didn't understand, was why there was a warning in the first place. Considering, he hadn't even acknowledged my existence yet.

Elijah seems to suddenly remember that he hadn't come alone, and is pulling me forward to finally meet everyone. "This is Gage, a friend of mine from back home."