"Hey, Jonas, Nora and Jett asked us if we wanted to go see a movie today. It's supposed to rain all day."
"I'm not going to waste my day seeing some dumb movie with high-maintenance Nora and freakish Jett."
"Hey, what's your problem?" I ask.
He stands up to slam his bedroom door in my face.
Jonas is acting weird, for lack of a better term. It isn't like the quiet weird from when he was dealing with the bullies. He's just not acting like himself. His comments are rude and not in a jokingly and lovingly way. They're just flat out rude. The only positive thing is he's going to soccer practice and hanging out with more friends.
Back downstairs, I join Nora and Jett in the family room. Nora is playing with Bethany while Jett looks at the Kennedy's movie collection.
"Jonas isn't feeling well today," I lie, not wanting to hurt either of their feelings.
"What's wrong?"
I bite my tongue and think quickly. "Uh, he's just nauseous. It might've been something he ate for breakfast."
"Aw, poor guy," Nora says with a pouted lip. "Tell him we hope he gets better."
I nod, glancing towards Jett. He stares at the ground, a blatant frown on his face. I get a feeling he saw right through my lie.
Instead of going home, Nora and Jett stay over to make cookies for Jonas. Jett takes charge in the kitchen, eventually kicking Nora and me out. Nora tells me he won a cooking competition when they were in Dubai and he hasn't been humble in the kitchen since.
In my room-- I still have a hard time calling it my room-- Nora goes through some of the pictures I brought from home. I only brought them in case I got homesick. So far, I don't see any reason why I'd miss home. My mom and Steve would always be there, obnoxious and hurtful. Well, Steve was just obnoxious. My mom was the hurtful one.
"Is this your dad?" Nora asks, pointing to an old picture of me and my parents by the beach.
"Yeah."
"What a D.I.L.F.!" she jokes, or at least I'm hoping she's joking. "Who's this?"
"That's Josiah," I answer when I see she has found my mom's wedding photos. "The marriage lasted about five months. Maybe less."
"Did your parents get divorced?"
I nod. "My dad left when I was five."
"I'm sorry," she says with a frown. "I take back my comment from before. He's not even attractive."
I laugh lightly and look at the photos with her, quickly changing the subject. I don't feel like I'm still emotional about my dad or anything. I just don't feel anything, and that's why I don't like talking about it. People would just find it weird.
"That strange neighbor kid is in our kitchen making cookies," Elliott starts as he walks into my room. "Should I be worried?"
"Jonas isn't feeling great today, so Jett wanted to make him cookies," I explain.
"Hi," Nora says.
Elliott raises his eyebrows when he realizes Nora is here. "Hi. Oh, wait. When I said strange, I meant unique in like a good way. Great brother you have there."
She laughs. "Don't worry about it. We all embrace the strangeness that is Jett."
"Right," Elliott says and looks to me. "I'm leaving now. I'll be home around eleven, so don't worry about me for dinner."
"Okay."
"Where are you going?" Nora asks.
Elliott looks thrown off by her question. "Uh, I'm hanging out with some friends."
"Cool," she says, fiddling with her fingers. "Are..are you hanging out with Flynn?"
He lifts an eyebrow suspiciously. "No."
"Oh. Well, have fun!" she says happily in her Nora way.
"Yeah. Thanks." He waves goodbye before leaving the room.
I give Nora a look, to which she ignores and keeps going through the photos. "Nora, is there a reason you asked about Flynn?"
"Uh, no," she says quickly. "Jett just told me he and Elliott had a fight last week. I'm just confirming."
"Right."
Jett enters my room, a plate of cookies in his hands. "The task is finished, my friends."
"Let's go bring them to Jonas," I say and stand up from my bed.
Nora and Jett follow me to Jonas' room. I knock on the door twice and wait for Jonas to answer it. Surprisingly, he does open his door. His eyes widen when he sees Nora and Jett standing there as well.
"What are you guys doing here?"
"We made you cookies!" Jett says and sticks the plate out. "You can have them when you feel better."
"Jett made them all by himself," I add to let Jonas know how much his friend cared.
"Why would you think I'd want your gay ass cookies, freak?" he asks Jett before shutting his door in our faces.
My jaw drops in shock. Jett sets the plate of cookies on the floor by Jonas' door before running downstairs. I hear the front door open and close with a slam.
"I-I'm so sorry," I say to Nora, still shocked.
"It's fine," she sighs. "I'll go talk to him. Thanks for having us over, Ivy."
I nod and say goodbye quietly. Nora leaves after Jett, which leaves me to go off on Jonas. I knock on his door angrily, not stopping until he opens his door.
"Open your door right now!" I snap.
He sheepishly opens the door. "Hey."
"Hey?" I repeat loudly. "Are you kidding me? What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Don't yell at me, Ivy," he mutters. "You have an ugly yelling voice."
I bite my tongue and place my hands on my hips. "You better watch what you say next. I'm about one more asinine comment away from losing it."
"Okay."
"Go over to the Jenkins' house and apologize to Jett right now," I say sternly.
"I don't want to."
I shake my head. "Fine. Give me your phone."
"No!" he gasps.
"Give me your phone," I repeat.
He walks to his nightstand to get his phone, sighing as he places the device in my hand. "This is so dumb."
"Don't say another word. You are grounded for the whole week. I'll call your coach and tell him you can't go to practice. You don't go out with friends. You don't watch television. You don't play video games. You sit in here and loathe the life you chose today."
"Ivy, you're being so unreason-"
"Making friends doesn't mean changing who you are and becoming someone no one can recognize," I say. "You stay in here. I'll bring lunch to you."
Downstairs, Elliott is in the kitchen. "Strange neighbor just left the house crying. What happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it," I sigh. "I thought you left."
"I was about to leave, but then I saw this leftover cookie dough," he says.
I nod and pinch some dough out of the bowl for myself. We clean the bowl out together, eating even the smallest of crumbs. Elliott licks the bowl, much to my chagrin.
"So," I finally say after cleaning the bowl in the sink, "who are you hanging out with tonight?"
"Why are you asking?"
I shrug. "I mean, if you're not hanging out with Flynn, then you can't be hanging out with his friends. If you're not hanging out with any kids from school, then you're probably hanging out with 'the founders' who I don't like."
"You don't even know them."
"I met Yogi twice," I argue. "He gives me the creeps."
"He's a good guy once you really get to know him."
I nod. "Fine. I just don't like the whole illegal cliff diving thing...especially not in this weather."
He glances through the window and watches the rain. "Well, I'm not diving. I'm just hanging out with some friends."
"I wish I could believe you," I say.
"You don't have to, but I'm not lying." He sounds serious enough for me to believe. "I haven't been diving since like last week."
I nod. "So, like not since the fight with Flynn?"
"I don't know." He shrugs. "It's possible."
I try to hide a smile, finding it cute that he actually cares to mend his friendship with Flynn a lot more than he let on. "You're a softy, Cream Puff."
He laughs and crosses his arms over his chest. "I'm not soft. I just care about my friendships. I mean, after all, I don't want to end up like you."
"What happened to feeling sorry for me?"
"Well, I think you do it to yourself," he says. "I can't pity you when you don't even try. What are you afraid of?"
I frown. "I'm not afraid of anything."
"Bullshit. You told me you had trust issues," he reminds.
"You told me you had trust issues!" I shoot back.
"Yeah, I didn't trust a group of hormonal boys to not draw boobs on my forehead with permanent marker. You don't trust people."
I sigh. "People have broken my trust before, okay? I'm afraid to be hurt. Is that a good enough answer for you, Oprah?"
He smirks and leans across the kitchen counter to grab his keys. "Come on."
"What?"
"Addison and Jonas are perfectly capable of taking care of Bethany on their own," he says. "I want to take you somewhere."
I raise an eyebrow. "Is this another one of your tricks to get me to hook up you? I thought we both established that things went horribly last time and you were left with a lifetime of embarrassment."
"I told you already, I'm not trying anything with you. I like having you around in the house." He pauses, looking into my eyes to make sure I believe him. "Would you please come with me?"
"I thought you had plans."
"They can wait."
I debate it for a minute, but don't get the chance to give an answer because Elliott takes me by the arm and drags me to the garage. I pull out of his grip and take a seat in the passenger's seat. He gets in the driver's seat and backs down the driveway. The rain pelts the windows, the clouds a dark gray.
I try to figure out where we're going, but I can't figure it out. We drive for about ten minutes in complete silence. I stare out the window, enjoying the view of the ocean as we drive past. The rain taints the color of the usually bright sand, giving it a dark color. The ocean is dark as well. The waves are high and forceful, crashing with loud booms.
Looking away from the ocean, I study at Elliott. His eyes are focused on the road as he carefully drives through the storm. I appreciate his good looks, the beautifully structured face and smooth skin. His looks are a blessing and curse for me, making me question all of my beliefs.
He ends up parking in front of an abandoned beach area. I stay in the car, not sure if I feel as comfortable as Elliott to get soaking wet in this rain. He's already out of the car, his hair flopping in front of his face.
"Ivy, get out of the car!" he laughs, opening my door for me.
"Where are we?"
"I'll show you if you get out of the car," he says with a smile.
Rolling my eyes, I step out of the car. It's muggy outside, so the rain isn't cold against my skin. It feels oddly nice.
Elliott starts walking down the stairs to the beach, not stopping to make sure I follow him. I walk behind him, interested to see where he could be taking me. I'm feeling a bit apprehensive, nervous and excited. That's the feeling I get around Elliott.
At the part of the ocean, massive rocks are in the water, each separated by a few yards. They aren't that tall, and I imagine people walk on them all the time. I could just see myself slipping and hitting my head on the rock and dying. I keep that thought to myself.
"Welcome to 'Elliott's Island', a place where all your trust issues fade away," he says dramatically, holding his arms out on either side of his body.
I look around at the abandoned beach skeptically. It's beautiful, for one thing. There's something magical about the looks of the huge rocks, especially in this rain storm.
"This is where my dad used to take me as a kid," he explains. "In fact, that rock right over there is the first rock I jumped off."
I follow where his finger points, eyeing a large rock in the middle of the water. "So, you picked up diving after your dad?"
"Yeah." He starts taking off his shoes, then his shirt. "Let's go."
I cover my eyes, not exactly sure how far he's taking this. "I think I'm fine right here on shore."
"The trust issues are overwhelming," he says with a frown.
Not really knowing why, I take off my sandals. I leave on the rest of my clothes and walk closer to where Elliott is. "I have no idea why I'm listening to you."
He smiles, sending me a wink before stepping onto one of the rocky platforms. I'm unsure of whether I feel safe, but Elliott takes my hand in his and pulls me right next to him.
"I won't let you fall."
Looking into those blue eyes, I don't doubt a word he says. "Hypnotic," I mutter to myself.
He starts walking slowly, watching his footing and never losing a tight grip on my hand. I stay close and step with him. My heart is lodged in my throat, the crashing water hitting my feet. I could easily slip and hit my head on the sharp rock or fall into the raging water. Even through the fear, I feel safe.
"I know it looks deep," he starts, "but I could stand in this water. It's probably only to my hips." Once we're at the end of the rock, he lets go of my hand and jumps into the water.
I stand in fear, alone on the rock while Elliott is under the surface. For a split second, I fear he won't resurface. The waves are crashing high and it's very dangerous for him to be in the water.
Thankfully, he swims to the surface in a second. He was right; the water is only at his hips. The waves raise just under his breastbone.
"This was really fun. Let's go back to shore now," I say with a hopeful smile.
He shakes his head. "Oh no. My trust issue radar is going crazy right now."
"Well, I think it's broken."
"It's not broken." He holds his arms out, as if he were holding someone in them. "What are the odds you'll trust fall into my arms?"
I almost laugh, thinking he was joking. When I see he's completely serious, I stop laughing. "I don't think so, Elliott."
"A trust fall, the most simple trust activity there is," he says.
"A trust fall is simple, sure, but not when it's into a rocky ocean on a stormy day! That's what I'd call a trust fall into the pits of hell."
He laughs and keeps his arms out. "I'm going to catch you and you'll be fine. I promise. Like I said, I like having you around the house."
"Tell me why I should jump."
"Because you need to," he says with a straight face. "And I think you want to."
As if someone else took over my mind and body, I lift my shirt over my head and take off my pants. I turn around at the edge of the rock and shut my eyes. And then I jump. The free fall only lasts seconds, but those seconds feel like hours. I can't tell if I'm breathing or not, though I'm pretty sure I'm not.
The next thing I feel is the warmth of his arms wrapped around me, holding me against his chest as he catches me. The coldness of the water is blocked out by his hold that doesn't let up for a minute or so. Eventually, he drops me and I shiver in the water. The rain smacks me hard in the face.
We stare at one another as the waves hit against our bodies, the moment oddly relaxing and comforting. He has a faint smile, his blue eyes locked with mine. I feel my chest bobbing up-and-down as I try to catch my breath.
My cheeks heat up when I look down and see I'm in just my underwear. "We-we should get home."
He nods and pushes himself back onto the rock. I take his hand as he pulls me back up and hands me my clothes. I throw the shirt over my head, not caring if it gets wet. After putting on my shorts, I follow Elliott back to shore. The rocks aren't as scary as before, and I'm able to walk across without his help.
"Do you feel that?" he asks once we're on shore.
"Feel what?"
"The trust issues fading away."
Elliott dropped me off at the house before going to hang out with friends. I changed into new clothes as soon as I got home. Addison and Jonas were in their rooms, completely unaware of the crying baby just two doors down. I knew I shouldn't have left them to take care of Bethany. I didn't even tell them I left. That was such a bad call on my part, but I was too distracted by Elliott.
I knock on Addison's door and hear a muffled "come in." She takes her headphones out of her ears and smiles softly when she sees me.
"Hey, Addison. I'm leaving to pick the kids up at camp. I was thinking that you could get some more practice before you drive with the instructor on Thursday."
She wraps her headphones around her phone and stands up from her bed. "Okay!"
We head downstairs. I hand Addison the car keys, slightly worried how this will go as I think back on the few times I've taken her driving before. She's jerky on the brakes, but at least she's aware.
"Jonas, you're in charge of Bethany! We'll be back in twenty minutes!" I call to Jonas, who is still locked in his room.
No response.
I sigh and follow Addison into the garage. In the car, Addison takes a minute to gather herself before starting the engine. She makes the sign of the cross and backs out of the driveway. I'm surprised to see that she has improved since the last time.
The car ride is relatively quiet, the radio the only noise. Occasionally, I comment on her driving. I can't think of any small talk at the moment. The silence isn't too awkward though, since Addison is focusing heavily on her driving. It's still raining, so she is driving very slowly. We've been passed a couple times, but that doesn't bother her and it doesn't bother me.
We turn into the parking lot of the camp and pull up to the entrance. Most of the kids stand under the awning as they wait. There's a few little boys, Ethan included, who are jumping in the rain puddles.
Rose and Crystal jump into the car, shivering because of the coldness of the rain. I call for Ethan, but he ignores me. Sighing, I get out of the car and march toward him. His eyes widen as I pick him up and walk back to the car. The rain is pouring down buckets, getting me soaked. Nearly throwing Ethan in the back of the car, I slam the car door and get into the passenger's seat. My shirt sticks to my body and my hair is clumped together.
Addison, the only dry one in the car, smiles. "That looked like fun!"
"Just drive," I mutter, wringing out my wet hair. "Everyone buckle."
The kids do as I say. They know better than to mess with me right now. The rain is pelting aggressively against the windshield, making it difficult to see. I try to help Addison by being her second pair of eyes. When I offer to drive the rest of the home, she declines and says it's good for her to learn in all conditions.
Suddenly, her phone starts to ringing to the tune of You Are the Music in Me from High School Musical 2. I look down to see Mikey's picture lit up on her phone.
Addison bites her lip, taking one hand off the wheel to grab her phone. "I have to answer it."
"It can wait," I say sternly. "Focus on the road."
"No, Ivy, I need to answer it!" she exasperates and looks away from the road to accept the call. "Hello? Mike?"
"Addison!" I yell, ripping the phone out of her hands.
In a quick moment, Addison turns to take the phone away from me, completely letting go of the wheel. I make out a figure in the road, my stomach dropping. Not knowing what else to do, I lean over to take control of the wheel and make a sharp turn to avoid hitting whatever is in the road.
It all happens too fast. The screams, the impact of the hit, the shattering glass. My head starts to feel dizzy as I try to stay conscious, wetness dripping down my face. I slowly start to drift away, soft sobs the last thing to ring in my ears.
~~
AN:
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it took me forever to write the first part of this story. writer's block is a tragic and horrible thing. but I hope you liked the Elliott and Ivy scene!
I haven't started my playlist for this story yet, so does anyone have any suggestions of songs you think would fit? I always listen to music while I'm writing because it gives me the best inspiration! feel free to leave me songs!
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