VOL. 2: CHAPTER FOUR
ELIJAH'S POINT OF VIEW
I must have stood there for ages, a case of beer hanging loosely from my fingertips, my lips parted in pure shock and bewilderment. My stomach began to twist into knots as I watched him climb into the drivers seat of his car, and speed off toward wherever he was headed.
He had looked just as shocked to see me, as I was to see him. His usually head of tame locks was now unruly and tangled. His cheeks had been flushed, and his eyes were wide, seeming absolutely petrified once we were face-to-face. I wanted to say something. If he had been anyone else—I would've said something to greet him.
But for some reason, I just . . . couldn't.
A million questions began to swarm my mind when our eyes had locked. How was he? Was he taking care of himself? How was his mother? His father? How was his trip to Romania? Because yes, I'd seen all of his photos online from months ago. How was college going? Was he struggling with anything? Was he seeing anybody?
Was he seeing anybody? The question caught me completely off guard. I had never wondered if he were seeing anyone before, so why was I all of a sudden so curious?
Once realizing that I was now standing in front of a friend of mines house all by myself, probably looking very awkward and very uncomfortable, I pushed the door open. After I've let myself in, I'm met with familiar faces all around me.
One of which is Aaron, a third year who I had, had a few classes with and got along with pretty well. He wasn't the nicest guy ever, but we enjoyed each other's company. Then, there was James, a fourth year who I been playing baseball with since I first started going to Michigan State.
Until I was inevitably kicked off the team for abruptly leaving school in the middle of my second year.
A head popped out right in front of me, surprising me. I let out a concerning shout, calming myself once realizing who it was. The girl laughs at my expense, her light brown hair being tossed around in midst. "Dude, you are seriously too easy."
"Fuck off," I breathe out, slamming down the case of beer on the coffee table that sat before the large couch. "I didn't even know you'd be here."
Sabine shrugs, reaching down to retrieve one of the bottles. "Yeah, I really didn't want to come but you know how Jeremiah is—the guy can't live without me."
I nod, thinking back to her brown-haired on-and-off again boyfriend, who I had actually spoken a handful of times. And if I were being quite honest with myself, I had never liked him too much. He had always messed around with other people behind Sabine's back—her of course being completely blind to it all.
I had tried countless times the year before to get her to understand that he wasn't a good guy, and he would never allow anyone to tie him down. She refused, and proceeded not to speak to me for the next couple of weeks.
That was the last time I let Jeremiah get in between Sabine and I's friendship.
I took an empty seat on the couch, right beside Aaron, who shot me a curious look. "Are you, like, okay?" I chuckle to myself at his empathy. I knew he hated asking people questions like that, and only ever did it when he saw fit.
It was a quality he and I shared, and was probably why we got along so well.
"I'm fine," I nod, knowing that he's referring to me standing alone on the porch of the home for an entirety of ten minutes after Gage had left. It still felt a little funny to say his name, even if it was just in my head. "What's been going on with you?"
He lets out a heavy sigh, leaning the back of his head on the couch, throat bobbing with a deep swallow. "I don't wanna talk about it."
I stagger back a little at his tone, seeing as he's usually vague and evasive, never spilling too many details about his personal life. Not wanting to pry, I nod, leaning my upper body weight onto my elbow that's leaned against the armchair of the couch.
On my way here, I'd been under the impression that we were all going over to 21, a bar where we would all have drinks and eat lunch together. But upon my arrival, I've realized that the only ones dressed and ready to go are Aaron and Sabine, while most of the house hadn't even woken up yet.
Sabine settles into the seat on the other side of Aaron, the three of us engaging in quiet conversation while everyone else finishes getting ready.
Jeremiah, of course, is the last one to come down the staircase, dressed as casual as ever. He sends a timid smile my way, never once sparing more than a sentence my way. He knows better than to do that.
He pulls his girlfriend into his side, planting a passionless seeming kiss on the crown of her head. I watch with a saddened look as her features light up.
James is fast behind him, as we all make our way outside and toward our cars. I'm not necessarily in the mood to ride with anyone, and thankfully, it seems that neither is anyone else. I slide into the drivers seat, shoving the key into its ignition and listen to it struggle to start up.
Crap.
Thankfully, it takes a moment, but still manages to turn on. I back out of the large homes driveway, watching as Aaron and James follow my route to the bar, Jeremiah and Sabine not too far behind.
The ride there is quiet, a soft song coming from the dim radio. I lean back into my seat, chest deflating. But still, as much as I tried, I couldn't get Gage out of my head. I just had so, so many questions for him. Never in a million years, did I expect to see him there.
Because who the hell did he know in the fraternity? Maybe James? The guy had lots of friends. I knew for certain that it wasn't Aaron or Jeremiah, because how the hell would they have even met?
My train of thought is cut short when I see the bar out of the corner of my eye. I turn down the street, and pull into the parking lot, finding the space farthest from the door. The last thing I need is some drunken idiot running or crashing into it. Absolutely not.
I hop out, slamming the door behind me. Making my way inside of the bar, while pulling the hoodie of my flannel-looking sweatshirt over my head. Aaron falls into stride beside me, us finding a high table in the back.
Taking the seat in between James and Aaron, I pull out the chair and settle myself there. A waitress is quick to come our way, a notepad and pen in hand. I take the liberty of ordering once everyone else has finished. "Uh—I'll take the original cheeseburger, but without the pickles, please."
She smiles a kind smile, most of her forehead being covered by the cap she had placed on her head. "Of course, and what to drink?"
"A coke is fine, thank you." I send her one last parting look, becoming engrossed into the conversation about the upcoming pool party the fraternity would be throwing.
"No way—last time we ordered kegs like four people had alcohol poisoning the next morning." Aaron argues, watching as James groans in pure annoyance.
The light-haired man doesn't seem too pleased with where the conversation is going, knowing that Aaron is right because yes—multiple people were hospitalized with alcohol poisoning the morning after one of their pool parties. The board of the school was petrified.
"That's not our problem," James says nonchalantly, earning a slap on the arm from Sabine, "I'm just saying, how were we supposed to know that a bunch of first years were gonna go crazy with the beer?"
"That's your job," Aaron presses, "you're the one who wanted to be in charge of all the pledges—"
I nod when James looks over for my input, never once letting a verbal response fall from my lips. Because truthfully, I couldn't care any less about any of it. I wasn't in the fraternity, so none of this really pertained to me.
"You were supposed to help me!" James almost shouts, earning us a few looks from the tables surrounding us.
Aaron let's out a short and sarcastic chuckle, the curl quickly dropping from his lips, while his eyebrows sew together in irritation. "I said I would try—i had no idea they were gonna start chugging the fucking beer!"
Just as the two of them begin to get louder, our food arrives, causing an unintentional smile to sprout from my full lips. The waitress catches my smile, her cheeks twinging a reddish color. I catch her blush, my ego getting bigger by the minutes.
She hands me my plate with my cheeseburger, before handing everyone else their plates. We all say our thanks, her mumbling a small you're welcome, before walking away. But as she does, I can see the way Jeremiah's eyes follow her figure, then trailing down her back, and toward her backside.
My hand clenches around my cheeseburger as I burn my eyes into his, waiting for him to turn over to me and notice that I've been watching him the entire time.
When he does, his fingers slip, causing him to drop his entire bottle off of beer, the glass breaking in the process.
Words couldn't describe how much I've grown to detest him over time, and I couldn't wait for the day that Sabine finally dropped for good—and after that, I just hoped I'd never have to see him ever again.