"I'll always take care of you, and my children will take care of you too, and their children after that, and their children after that... forever, and ever."
—Hocus Pocus (1993)
☁☁☁☁
When they'd ended back up at the lake house later that day, Erin was already back from spending the day with Clare. She lounged in one of the lawn chairs, and she lifted a hand in greeting as they neared.
Sachi waved back, though the boys were deep in conversation behind her and didn't notice Erin. She could barely make out fragments of their words, and it was hard to follow, so she'd given up on trying to eavesdrop. It was better to just let them work it out themselves instead of interfering and shattering what little progress they'd made.
Erin seemed to notice their restlessness too, because her eyebrows rose. She could almost see the question written across her face: What happened?
Sachi gave a one-shouldered shrug. She decided to add on a small smile, just to assure her that nothing terrible had happened on their journey.
When Elliot pulled the boat close enough to dock, Sachi tossed the rope over the potted plant, tightening it before scrambling out and onto the shore. She heard the sloshing in the water as Hunter got out after, and then Elliot after him.
"Do I want to even ask why you're all soaked?" Erin's voice held no small amount of amusement, and she even reached out to tug on one of Sachi's damp strands. She reeled backwards.
"Ask him," Elliot and Sachi said at the same time.
Hunter tried to hold back his grin, but failed. Shaking out his hair and shooting water droplets all over the place, he shot her a smirk. "What happens in the lake stays in the lake."
Sachi scoffed, and she nudged him with a hip. "This idiot decided it would be fun to throw me overboard. Obviously, I had to pull him in too. And Elliot...well, let's just say Elliot said the wrong thing at the wrong time."
He snorted as he moved past, despite the smile that tugged on his lips. "You guys were just being jerks. I didn't say anything wrong."
"I disagree."
"Okay. Whatever," Erin interrupted before an argument could ensue. "Mom brought back a pizza if you're all interested."
Both boys gave her incredulous looks. That hardly surprised her. Guys tended to have bottomless stomachs, a fact she was well aware of due to the boys next to her. At least she never had to worry about leftovers when they were around.
Hunter held a hand to his stomach. "My stomach sounds like a fucking T-rex. I need food. Pronto."
Elliot nodded eagerly as well, and after a small bark of laughter, they headed inside to eat.
☁☁☁☁
Lady was especially obedient that morning when Sachi attached the leash to her collar. After checking to make sure it was on right, she loosened her grip and looked up at Lola, who was bent over, peering into the fridge.
She scanned its contents with pursed lips, and after a few moments, she shut the door with a click, cutting off the glow of light. "We have no food," she announced. "I was worried about this, but I thought I'd be able to make it to the store tomorrow." She groaned at the thought of having to head out, and held a hand to her forehead.
Sachi shifted awkwardly from her place in the doorway. She knew that Lola was aware of her presence, but she still felt as though she were intruding. "Um..." Sachi began. "Would you like me to go?"
Lola glanced sideways, as if she'd forgotten she was there, and took in her entire appearance: from the soccer shorts to the worn sneakers to the messy ponytail. She could care less about her appearance this early in the morning. She had no one to impress.
"Oh. Hello, Sachi." Lola ran a hand through her blonde waves. "No. No, it's okay. I was just ranting to myself; you don't have to do anything."
She laid a hand on the island as she cocked her head to the side. "Are you sure? It's not a far run. I'll be quick."
"You're such a sweetheart." Lola softened, leaning against the counter with obvious exhaustion. "But really, it's fine. I don't want you to have to carry all the bags back by yourself."
Footsteps approached from behind, and both of their heads turned as Elliot appeared in the doorway. Unlike the other day, he didn't have the air of sleep about him. Instead, he was ready to go in loose shorts and a random shirt. He looked like he was ready to run, the same way she was. He even had his headphones wrapped around his hand.
"Hey, El," she greeted him with a wide grin. "How'd you sleep?"
"Fine," he murmured, his gaze shifting to Lola's distressed expression. "Is something wrong?"
"No." Lola waved him off. "No, nothing's wrong. We just don't really have any food, and I was supposed to go shopping—"
"I can go for you."
Sachi hid her amusement behind a palm. She figured that Elliot would've been too selfless and kind to not do anything. It was one of her favorite things about him.
Lola, on the other hand, was growing even more flustered by the minute. Her eyes looked red, and bags appeared underneath, dark shadows lingering on her skin. Anyone could see she was stressed. "You two are so sweet. It's okay. I promise. I can figure this out."
"We can do it," Sachi insisted, stepping forward. "Just give us a list, and we'll get it."
After a few moments of obvious hesitation, Lola scribbled out the necessary items on a post-it that Sachi pocketed immediately. She ushered them out of the house with the specific instructions, and soon enough, they were on their way.
☁☁☁☁
Sachi ignored the ache and burn as she ordered Lady to sit down outside the grocery shop a few streets up. They'd run the entire way here, as they wouldn't be able to on the way back, and the fatigue was settling in. The only upside was that Elliot appeared to be in a similar state. Maybe worse. Her body was steadily getting used to the constant exercise, while he'd just started.
"Where's the list?" Elliot asked. He pushed the door open, the bell above ringing at the entrance. He held it so she could enter, and let it fall once she was through.
She handed him the note. "Here." She could see the hasty scribbles covering up most of the paper, and she had to admit she was having a difficult time interpreting Lola's chicken scratch. It took Elliot a good three minutes before he had some semblance of an idea of the items requested.
"Okay," he said, waving her down an aisle. "Milk. Ham. Cheese."
Sachi knew which milk Lola always bought, as she'd drunk most of it herself, but she was unsure of the others. "Do you know what kind?"
"She didn't say." He turned the post-it upside down in an attempt to understand the scrawls. "This is hard enough to read, anyway."
"It's fine. We'll figure it out."
They ended up picking out the most popular selection of each at the counter before wandering down the dairy aisle in search of yogurts and ice cream. They'd devoured more than the fair share these past couple of weeks, and they would need a larger supply to make it through the summer.
"What kind of ice cream do you want?" Elliot paused at a glass door that showcased a few Popsicle sticks.
"Dunno." Sachi grabbed a handful of Yoplait yogurts and dropped them into their basket. She'd gotten a variety of flavors, just to be safe. "Chocolate? Vanilla?"
"The usual flavors." He picked out a tub of each and set them down in their basket before scanning the list once again. "What else?"
"Macaroni," she recalled. It was an easy lunch for them most days, especially when they got the easy to-go packs. "And I think we needed something for Lady."
"More of her food. And more dog-shit bags." Elliot grimaced at that, and he pointed out a specific part of the note to her. "That's the brand of food. I can get it while you get the mac. That cool?"
"It works." Sachi left him to wipe the shelves clean of macaroni, practically swiping an arm over to bring everything down into her basket. She stalked over to the register afterwards.
She kept an eye out in case Elliot had somehow finished before her, but when she couldn't find him, she got behind a random lady with only a few items in her cart. She distracted herself by reading the magazine covers. Once the lady finished putting her items up on the belt, Sachi started worrying. Where was Elliot? How long did it take to pick out dog food?
Her head whipped back in search of him, but before she knew it, the cashier was waving her forward. She pulled out her items and set them on the belt accordingly.
"My friend is on his way," she said to the cashier. "He should be here in a moment."
The cashier looked disinterested as she started scanning each macaroni package. With a resting scowl, Sachi found it difficult to look the woman in the eye as she tried to explain her sorry excuse of a situation.
Luckily, the line broke at that exact moment, revealing a red-faced Elliot with a large bag of dog food. He sidled up beside her and dropped the package onto the belt. "Sorry," he panted, though it was unclear who he was apologizing to. "I couldn't find the exact brand at first."
"S'okay," Sachi said as the casher scanned the food and wrapped it with a plastic bag. After she'd counted their total, Sachi handed over a few hefty bills to cover the cost, and the cashier pushed their change and their bags to the end of the counter.
"Here," the cashier said gruffly as she double-checked the coins. "Have a nice day."
"Thanks." Sachi hooked her fingers through two bags and let Elliot take the other two. She had to turn to the side to slide out of the lane as the available space decreased; she almost hit a stand full of chapsticks on the way out, narrowly avoiding that disaster.
Elliot, unfortunately, wasn't so lucky. He overestimated the space he had to get out, and one of his bags knocked into the stand. They watched on with obvious horror as the stand teetered over to the side for a moment, before crashing onto the floor, packages of chap sticks rolling off.
"Shit," he muttered, dropping to his feet.
The cashier heard the commotion and gave Sachi a nasty glare. She shrugged in return, and bent to help him right the stand once again. The chap sticks had scattered all over the floor, and it took them a good five minutes to recollect them all and display them back on the stand where they belonged.
Elliot was in a particular rush to exit the store. The tips of his ears burned a bright pink, a telltale sign of his embarrassment, but she decided not to comment on it as she followed him out.
Once they were back onto the safety of the streets, Elliot let out a sigh of relief. He tilted his head to the sky, as if the sun could ease the flush covering his face. She let him have a moment to himself as she went over to Lady. The dog was lying down at first, but rose to her feet as she neared, looking eager. She untied the leash and led Lady back to where Elliot was still standing.
"It's not a big deal," she said, even though her words probably wouldn't make much of a difference. She had to at least try. "It wasn't even your fault."
His eyes fluttered shut. "Then whose was it?"
Sachi knew Elliot was his own worst critic. All the insults and jeers he received on a daily basis were nothing compared to his own thoughts, and moments like the situation back in the store only added onto his own insecurities.
"Stop it," she said, yanking on his hand. "I know what you're thinking. Don't worry about what everyone else thought. It's okay. It's over."
That seemed to snap him out of his reverie, and he opened his eyes, staring down at her. "Thank you."
Sachi smiled up at him. The height difference was almost laughable; she'd never been tall, but Elliot almost reached six feet, and looking up at him was a difficult task in itself. "Always," she said. The grocery bags were weighing down at her sides, and she lifted them slightly as they started the journey back.
☁☁☁☁
Elliot was strangely silent for their entire walk. They were halfway there, and she was starting to feel the strain of the plastic on her fingers. She didn't complain, though, and just focused on keeping one foot in front of the other, on keeping pace with the boy at her side.
He seemed to barely notice the load he carried, but his shoulders were slumped and his gaze was locked with the ground. She doubted the path was anything special to look at, so she deduced that he was thinking long and hard about something, perhaps reliving a memory.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" Sachi asked. Her voice was loud amongst the stillness.
Elliot continued shuffling on. "No," he said. "It's fine. I'm just thinking."
She debated pushing the issue, but he saved her from making the decision by continuing, "I was just thinking about the way the cashier looked at me. Like I was painfully stupid. Do you know how many people have looked at me that way?"
"You're not stupid."
"I know. Well, I know that now. I didn't back then. And seeing her face today ... it just brought back those memories, and I almost broke."
It hurt. It hurt seeing someone in pain and knowing there was nothing you could do to ease it. She wanted to be able to guard Elliot from all the demons of his past, but she knew as well as he did that she couldn't protect him forever.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Her voice was a musical lilt, and it made him look sideways. "I mean, I know I can't really understand, but if you want to talk about it, I can listen. I can help you forget. Whatever you want, I'm here."
Elliot chuckled and nudged her side. She had a feeling that if he wasn't carrying the bags, he would've hugged her. "Thanks, Sach. You're the best."
The statement shouldn't have sounded so odd, but they way he presented it felt different, and something hummed in her chest. She wasn't sure what the feeling was, as she'd never experienced it before. Best to ignore it.
☁☁☁☁
"I felt so helpless," Sachi murmured. The weather had remained beautiful, and she was ready to spend her day basking in the sun. After the morning's incident, Elliot wasn't in the mood to speak to anyone, and so she had to force Hunter out of his bed to play badminton with her. She'd brought the rackets from her house and was itching to use them.
They stood across from each other, a few feet separating them, as they returned the birdie back and forth. Hunter had some trouble in the beginning, but it soon came naturally to him. He'd always been athletic; in the same way Elliot thrived on soccer, Hunter thrived on lacrosse, and despite his laziness and disinterest in participating in anything, he enjoyed physical sports. And he was good at it.
"There was nothing you could've done," Hunter said, his gaze locked on the birdie soaring above. The rays were bright, and he lifted a hand to shield his eyes as he struggled to guess where it would land.
"I know." He hit it, and the birdie flew back at her. She swung her racket to return it. "But I still felt terrible... I didn't even know he felt like that sometimes. Am I really that oblivious?"
"You? No." He didn't even sound sarcastic. It was all true. "Trust me, Sach. I didn't know either."
"Well, what can I do to help?" Sachi took a few steps to the right as Hunter took a wider hit. "I want him to feel better about this."
"I don't know if there's much you can do." The birdie landed in the grass a few inches away from him, and he stalked forward to grab it. He held it above the racket before swinging it in her direction.
"Hunter. I'm serious."
"So am I," Hunter said. "It's not like you can really relate to how he's feeling. And you know how Elliot is: pushing him isn't the way to go. It's better to just leave him be."
"So I should ignore it?"
"Did I say the word 'ignore' at all? No." He shot her a glare before she could respond. "No, I didn't. Don't ignore it. Just...make sure he knows you support him. If he needs help, all you need to do is be there."
"Is that all I can do?" While she liked the idea of Elliot trusting her again, she was discouraged. She wanted to be able to do more.
"For now?" He caught the birdie the next time it was sent to him, and he held it for a second. "Yeah. Be patient, Sachi. I know patience isn't in your vocabulary, and you want to help, but just wait. When he's ready, he'll come to you."
"You sure?"
"'Course. Wait—can we take a break? I want water."
"Yup." She tossed her racket onto the grass and watched Hunter disappear into the house. He reappeared moments later with a bottle of water in each hand. They looked like they'd just come out of the fridge, and when he handed it to her, she was pleased to find it was cool to the touch, the water droplets still lingering on the plastic surface.
Sachi uncapped the bottle and took a few long gulps. Hunter did the same before wiping his face off with his shirt. "After all," he continued, "you are his favorite."
She stiffened at that, and her eyes flicked upwards to meet his. "What are you talking about?" She settled down onto the ground, crossing her legs beneath her.
"Y'know." Hunter sat down beside her. He used his water to spill a stream onto his head, and he started brushing his hair up in a strange sort of style. "You're his favorite. Out of the three of us, I mean."
"I'm not his favorite." She took another sip, savoring the rush of water that ran down her throat. "He loves us all equally."
"Wake up, Sach." He flicked her on the forehead. "It's so obvious. Out of all of us, you were the first to talk to him, the first to stick up for him. It makes sense that he'd have a soft spot for you; I don't blame him."
"Since when has everyone thought this?" Her tone was incredulous, and she shot him a disbelieving look. "It's not true."
"Sachi." He leveled her with a get real look. "A part of you knows it's true."
She huffed, refusing to add fuel to the fire.
"I can't believe you don't see it," Hunter said as she played with her cap, rolling it between her fingers.
"It's not true."
"Is."
"Not."
He tossed his hands up, looking more exasperated by the second. "I don't know what you want me to tell you. It's just a simple fact, and if you refuse to believe it, fine."
Sachi sighed, blowing out a puff of hair. "If I am his favorite, then he wouldn't have left."
"Yeah. Well." Hunter shrugged, then started rolling one shoulder. "People make mistakes. And that's coming from me—the guy who was a mistake before he even came out of the womb."
She snorted. "That's not funny."
"It kinda is."
"No." Sachi lifted her hand to her mouth, letting the bottle sit in her lap, cooling her thighs. "And you know it isn't."
"It's still the truth." Hunter stopped flexing long enough to stretch his arms above his head, his back arching and cracking with the effort. He needed to stop cracking all of his damn body parts. "The cold, painful truth. Might as well get a laugh outta it."
She didn't know how to respond, so she just smoothened back her hair, slick with sweat as was her forehead, and focused on pushing back the stray strands that refused to stay put. She understood where Erin came from, with her constant annoyance with her bangs.
"Chill, Sach." He scrambled to his feet, and held out a hand to held her up. "If it bothers you that much, don't think about it. I was just saying."
"You're not even pissed about it. Shouldn't you be?"
A wicked grin crossed his lips, and she grew wary immediately. When Hunter grew devilish, it was best to keep your distance. "Nah. I figure it might be a childhood crush that still lingers. And as much I love Elliot—well, used to, I'm still working on it—I'd rather he not be in love with me."
"He's not in love with me." A flush crept up the side of her neck, making its way upward to her cheeks, and she couldn't blame it on the heat this time.
"C'mon. Everyone falls in love with their heroes." A beat passed, and he added, "Kidding. Maybe."
She scowled.
"You take everything to heart. Take a chill pill." He picked up his racket and twisted it in the air, displaying it for all to see. "You still up to playing?"
There wasn't much else she could do to keep her mind off of Elliot, so she might as well. "Sure." She grabbed hers, along with the birdie, and she readied herself to hit.
☁☁☁☁
a/n: wishing all of you a happy easter & a good weekend! hope you enjoyed the chapter. comment, vote, add to your lists!
yours truly, carolina x