Chapter Twenty-One
Justin's voice became loud in the other room. I was about to drown out the noise but I remembered what happened last night. I quickly got out of bed and forgot my foot still had glass in it. I covered my mouth trying not to let out a whimper. I walked over to the door limping.
"Why do you keep doing this!?" Justin yelled in the living room.
I tiptoed to the edge of the hall and stopped.
"I work my ass off for you and Savannah! The least you can do is give me the money to support you two." Dad said.
"Mom wouldn't agree to this!" Justin argued.
"Don't you ever mention her again," he threatened, "she's dead. She's dead, Justin!" He repeated.
"Savannah and I are leaving when I finish school. I've had enough of your bullshit." Justin whispered angry. He turned the corner and almost ran into me. He wasn't too happy when he saw me. "Get dressed; I'm taking you to the hospital."
I nodded and walked into the bedroom. I grabbed some clothes and went to the bathroom. I quickly took a shower and got dressed. I brushed my teeth and dried my hair. Justin knocked on the door as I threw the towel on the sink.
"Are you dressed?" He asked.
"Yeah," I said.
He opened the door and threw my sneakers down next to me. He handed me a pair of socks. "Hurry up, Savvy. I want to get out of here."
I leaned against the sink and put my socks on then slipped my shoes on. Justin walked into our bedroom and grabbed my sweatshirt. He took my hand and we walked through the living room quickly. Dad was sitting down drinking a beer and watching TV. Justin didn't take any notice as we headed outside. He gave me my sweatshirt and we got into his car. Justin certainly did not take his time pulling out of the driveway. Before I knew it we were headed down the road. I put my sweatshirt on in the car and zipped it up.
"I need to stop by Eli's real quick." Justin said.
"Why?" I asked.
He didn't answer me. I didn't ask again what he wanted. Justin pulled to the side of the road and unbuckled. I looked over to the beautiful house we were parked in front of. This is Eli's house? I should have known. Eli came out of the house and was shocked to see us.
"I'll be right back." Justin said and got out of the car. He ran over to Eli.
I rolled down the window to find out what they were saying.
Eli put his hands in his pockets and stopped in front of Justin. "Hey, what are you doing here?" He asked.
"Do you have a minute?" Justin asked.
Eli looked behind him at the door and back at Justin. "Yeah, what's up?"
"Okay, you might hate me for asking this," Justin said faintly, "but I'm going to ask anyway. Can I borrow some money?"
Eli took out his wallet. "How much do you need? Ten, twenty?" He asked taking some bills out.
"Two hundred." Justin said.
Eli stuck the money back in his wallet. "Why so much?" He asked.
Justin glanced over to me. "My dad found out I wasn't giving him all my money from work. I need to pay him two hundred dollars by tomorrow."
"Or what? It's your money." Eli said putting his wallet back in his pocket.
"He's going to kick Savannah out if I don't give it to him." Justin whispered. "The reason why I am asking you for an extra two hundred dollars is because I need to save my money for when Savannah and I leave. Our house is not a place I want Savannah right now."
Eli looked over to me. I looked away from his gaze feeling awful. I feel ashamed letting Justin ask Eli for money. It's like we're these poor pitiful people begging for help.
"I'm going to help you," Eli said. "I'll withdraw money from the bank tomorrow."
"Listen, I will pay you every cent -."
"No need," Eli said cutting Justin off. "You don't need to pay me anything."
"I can't let you do that," Justin shook his head.
He shrugged. "Then think of it as a bonus from your work."
Someone came out of the house. The woman put her purse over her shoulder. "Are you ready to go Eli?" She said looking up. "Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't realize you were talking with someone."
"Mom, this is Savannah's brother, Justin." Eli said.
"Nice to meet you. Call me Kimberly." She shook hands with Justin. She glanced over to me and gave me a smile. "You better wrap up your conversation, Eli. We're going to be late." She walked over to her car.
"Where are you going?" Justin asked.
"Oh, I'm going to church. My mom and I go every Sunday. So where are you guys headed?"
"The hospital. Savannah stepped on glass last night. We have to get it removed."
"Is it alright if I talk to her?" Eli asked.
"Go right ahead." Justin moved out of the way.
I sighed and slouched in my seat as Eli came walking up to the car. I kicked the door open for him. He pulled it open the rest of the way then crouched down next to me.
"How are you holding up?" He asked.
I shrugged. "Fine, I guess."
He smiled and grabbed my hand. Eli entwined his fingers with mine. "I'm not going to let anything happen to you."
I pulled my hand out of his. "Yeah, we'll see about that."
We were startled after Eli's mom honked the horn.
He sighed. "I'll talk to you later, Savannah, I gotta get going." He stood up and shut the car door. Eli lightly hit Justin in the arm. "I'll see you tomorrow." He ran over to his car and got in.
Justin got in the car, but didn't pull into the street until Kimberly and Eli left first. He suddenly patted my head and smiled.
"How can you smile like that?" I asked. "You're borrowing money from Eli."
He took his hand away from me. "What do you want me to do? We don't have many options. Eli agreed on doing it, you should be happy."
"Then why do I feel so awful about it?"
"Savvy, Eli and I don't want you to be kicked out of the house. We're doing this for you." He said ignoring my question.
I didn't say anything back. We were silent the rest of the way to the hospital. Justin parked near the entrance and helped me out of the car. He put his arm around me for support. We were directed down the hall where someone could help me. Justin had to sign a couple of things before someone took me in. The doctor told me to have a seat and take off my sock and shoe. Justin stood by me as the doctor began to remove the glass. It felt painful and a little awkward.
"You don't seem to have too much glass in your foot," the doctor said pulling a piece out.
I looked away feeling disgusted. I felt him wrapping my foot up in gauze.
"You're done?" I asked.
"Yes," he said finishing up wrapping my foot. "Your brother got most of it out." The doctor moved away from me and threw out the glass and put back the supplies. "You're not going to want to put too much pressure on your foot for a couple of days. So, you're all set to go."
I slipped my sock and shoe back on and stood up.
"Thank you," Justin said.
We stepped out of the room and I could feel the difference in my foot. It feels a lot better now that there isn't anything poking it. As we headed down the hall I heard Justin's name being called. The voice was unfamiliar. We stopped and turned around. A girl came running up to Justin.
"Kayley, what are you doing here?" Justin asked.
Kayley? Who is Kayley?
"I'm here with my mom; we came to visit my grandfather. What are you doing here?"
"My sister, she stepped on glass."
"Oh, so this is your sister." She pointed to me.
Justin nodded. "Savannah, this is Kayley, she's the girl I work with."
Kayley has brown eyes and long brown hair with a strip of purple highlight. She looks decent. Nothing about her style tells me she's in with the popular kids.
"Nice to meet you." I said.
She smiled and looked back at Justin. "So, do you have plans today? I thought maybe we could hang out."
I backed up feeling a little awkward. I already have a feeling Kayley likes Justin. Justin glanced over to me wondering what I had to say.
"Go ahead," I said to him.
"I don't want you to stay home alone." Justin said.
With dad, he meant.
"Well, I'll give Eli a call in a couple of hours to see if I can hang out with him."
Justin looked over at Kayley. "I'll give you a call later and let you know."
She smiled and nodded. "Okay, talk to you then." Kayley waved to me and walked away.
Justin looked at me. "Don't you dare say anything." He said knowing I'd mock him.
I smiled and walked with Justin toward the exit. "I'm not saying a word."
Justin threw the phone on my bed and handed me the piece of paper with Eli's cell phone number. "You better give him a call now, it's already one o'clock." He sat down on his bed.
"You must really want to hang out with Kayley," I mocked as I dialed the number.
He rolled his eyes at me. I listened as the phone kept ringing. I wonder if he's doing something else today.
"Hello?" Eli said.
"Hey, it's Savannah. I was just wondering if you had anything planned for today." I said.
"Nope, I'm just sitting home, why do you ask?"
"Justin wants to go hangout with his new girlfriend -"
"She's not my girlfriend!" Justin yelled interrupting me. He threw a pillow at my head.
"Okay, okay," I threw the pillow back, "Justin wants to hang out with his friend today." I corrected. "He doesn't want me left alone with, um," I trailed off.
"Your dad," Eli finished. "I don't have a problem with it. You're welcome at my house any time. Do you need me to pick you up?"
"Do you mind?"
"No, I'll be there in a few, okay?"
"Alright, see you." I hung up the phone. "You're in luck, he's free. He's coming to get me." I told Justin and threw the phone over to him. "Now you can call -."
"You better not say it," he said dialing on the phone. "If you do I'll do the same with Eli," he stuck his tongue out.
"Eli already confessed to me." I admitted.
Justin hung up the phone and looked at me. "He confessed to you? When did that happen?"
"I overheard him telling Charity at the restaurant yesterday. He admitted it afterwards when we went to the park."
He smiled. "I already knew that was coming. I approve, if you want to date him."
"Who said anything about dating? We're staying friends." I said standing up. "I'm going to wait outside for Eli. Have fun with Kayley."
"I'll pick you up later." He said.
I nodded and walked in the living room. Dad was still watching TV and I noticed he drank almost a half of case of beer. I held my breath from the smell and opened the door.
"Where are you going?" Dad asked me.
"A friend's house." I said as I walked out the door.
Eli pulled in the driveway the same time I came outside. I walked over to the car ignoring the slight pain coming from my foot. When I got in the front seat and looked at Eli, I was a little shocked to find his appearance different.
"You cut your hair." I said.
"Yeah," he tugged on his hair. "No more long hair for me."
"It looks good. I can actually see your face now."
"Funny," he pulled out of the driveway. "My mom insisted on me getting a haircut. You seem a little happier." He glanced at me. "Something good happen?
"No, I'm just glad to be out of my house."
"Your dad, he doesn't hit you or anything, right?" He asked.
I shook my head. "No, he just hollers a lot and throws things around. About this morning, why did you agree on giving Justin the money?" I asked changing the subject.
Eli shrugged. "I want to help in any way I can. You and Justin have a tough life, I understand. Besides, you honestly think I'm going to let you sleep outside?"
"Anyone else would," I whispered.
He pulled into his driveway and cut the engine. "I'm not like everyone else." He said and got out of the car. I sighed and got out as well. Eli started pulling me to the door. "We don't need to discuss this," he continued. "What's done is done, let's forget about it."
"Fine," I said as we walked inside his house.
Kimberly came to greet me as soon as we walked in the door. She shook my hand and smiled. "It's nice to see you're doing well." She said. I glanced over at Eli not too sure what to say. I don't remember her at all so I can't say the same for her. "Um, well I'm going to go read my book." She pointed to the living room. "I'm guessing you're going to stay for dinner?" Kimberly asked me.
"I'm not really sure," I looked at Eli, "Justin didn't say when he was picking me up."
"We're just going to assume you are," he said.
Kimberly nodded. "I'll be down here if you need me." She walked into the living room.
Eli pointed to the stairs. "We'll go upstairs to the family room." He said walking over to them.
I walked over and stood at the bottom of the stairs looking at all the steps I had to climb. Eli looked over his shoulder and stopped when he realized I wasn't walking.
"Are you coming?" He asked.
"That's a lot of stairs for my foot." I said.
He smiled. "I forgot." He looked at the top of the stairs and back down to me. "Do you need me to carry you?"
"That might not be a good idea." I said backing up.
Eli walked over to me. "I'm not going to drop you." He said.
I sighed and put my arm around him. He grinned and picked me up effortlessly. For me, it was awkward having him carefully carry me up the staircase. This person willingly confessed his feelings for me, helps me out with everything, even carries me up the stairs, and yet I can't remember a thing about him.
Eli suddenly set me down. "That wasn't so bad, now was it?" He asked sarcastic.
I let go of him without saying anything. Eli began to walk down the hall. I followed behind him silently. I looked around trying to get used to this new environment. I'm used to being stuck in a small house with grubby walls and horrific smells. It's nice to be in a place like this.
Eli stopped and opened the door to our right. I followed in behind him. I was completely in awe with the room. The beautiful furniture, the plasma screen TV, and the stereo; it's amazing. On the walls were different pictures of Eli's family. I looked at him feeling a little disgusted with myself.
"Time to go," I said heading out the door.
Eli pulled me back. "Where do you think you're going?" He chuckled. "What's wrong with you?"
I walked forward and took a look around. "This place, it's just so much better than mine." I looked at him.
"Savannah, it's just stuff."
"Maybe to you, but this would be a dream come true to me."
He stuck his hands in his pockets. "It's not everything you know. What do you gain from it? It's only material. Don't get me wrong Savannah," he walked up closer to me, "I understand where you're coming from. Your house might not be the prettiest thing on the block," he smiled, "but at least you have some where to call home."
I nodded. "Thanks for the lecture, Eli." I said joking around.
"That's what friends are for." He went over and grabbed the remote from the coffee table. "Now if you're done gawking at the room, let's watch some TV." I sat down on the couch and Eli sat next to me. He kicked off his shoes and turned on the TV. "Don't be shy; you don't need to be in your sneakers and sweatshirt, get comfortable." He said.
"For your information I am very comfortable the way I am."
Eli smiled and looked away from me.
It feels good being wanted by someone. It's that little spot in your heart that you've been waiting for to be filled. I'm positive I've never felt this way before. I don't need my memories to know that.
After a while, I ended up walking around the perimeter of the room looking at the pictures on the wall. Eli came walking up next to me. I stopped at a family photo.
"Is that your dad?" I asked.
"Yeah, that's him." He stared at the photo intently.
"If you don't mind me asking, how did it go with your dad yesterday?"
He sighed. "I wish I could say it went well, but I'd be lying."
I didn't say anything. I walked over to the stereo and looked at all the buttons. "So how do you work this thing?" I asked changing the subject. I hit a button and the music blared.
Eli ran over and shut it off. "Not like that." He said.
"Sorry," I smiled.
He grabbed the remote for the stereo and turned on a song. He set the remote back down and held his hand out to me. "Dance with me?" He asked.
"I can't dance." I said.
"Of course you can, it's easy." Eli grabbed my arm and put it around him. He grabbed my other arm and held it up as he intertwined his fingers with mine. He took his arm and wrapped it around my waist. "We're just slow dancing," he whispered to me.
We began dancing slowly in a circular motion. Eli laid his forehead up against mine. For some reason I was getting a little nervous with him being so close. I pushed the feeling away and embraced the moment.
"Since when did you become a dancer?" I asked.
He smiled. "I've gone to a wedding or two." His eyes glanced down to my neck. "I can see you're still wearing my necklace."
"I haven't taken it off."
"You must really like me then."
"Yeah, that's it." I said sarcastic.
We stopped dancing and Eli leaned in and gently kissed me. I felt the heat and pressure of his lips. Something triggered that made me scared. I pushed away and shook my head.
"I'm sorry," I said, "I can't."
Eli let go of me and backed up. "No, it's not your fault. I'm rushing into things." He shut the stereo off. "I'm sorry." He gave me a weird look and glanced back at the door. "Do you smell something burning?"
I sniffed the air and smelt the same thing he did. "Yeah, what is it?"
We heard a smoke alarm go off. We took one glance at each other and quickly walked out the door.
"Mom!" Eli yelled running down the hall.
I caught up with him and we stopped at the top of the stairs. We saw smoke lightly cover the room. Kimberly stood at the bottom of the stairs with a towel in her hand.
She pointed to the kitchen. "I burnt dinner." She said.
"Is everything alright?" Eli asked going down a step.
"Yeah, all except for the dinner." Kimberly smiled. "How does pizza sound to everyone? I'm going to go call." She walked to the living room feeling embarrassed.
Eli looked over to me. "My mom, she's not a very good cook."
"I heard that!" She yelled.
He shook his head and walked up to me. "Listen," he whispered, "I hope you're not mad at me for -."
"No," I said interrupting, "I'm not. It's just I get," I paused and sighed, "I get scared whenever we're close." I whispered. "Is that normal?"
He shrugged. "That would explain all the other times you yelled at me. But, why did you wait till now to tell me? I wouldn't have gotten so close to you."
I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it's the same reason why I always lie."
He looked away from my gaze and stood there silently.
I might as well be living my life in a mystery movie because I don't understand why I keep doing these things. Why do I get scared when I'm around Eli? He's my friend I shouldn't be scared, right? Eli also told me I lie often. Even in my dream Joe said I lie. Is my whole life revolved around lies and secrecy?
Eli and I went back to the family room to watch a movie after dinner. Kimberly came to join us so it wasn't that awkward. Eli's phone rang during the movie and he took his phone out. He got up and walked out of the room to answer it. I'm shocked Justin hasn't picked me up yet. He must still be at Kayley's house. It's nice to see Justin having a little fun. He has to work all day to provide for us. He deserves a day to hang out with a friend.
Eli came back in the room. "That was Justin." He said. "He just got home; he wants me to drop you off."
I stood up and put my shoes on. "Why didn't he come and get me then?" I asked.
He shrugged. "He didn't say."
Kimberly stood up. "Thanks for coming over." She gave me a hug.
"Thanks for having me over." I smiled.
"Not a problem, I only wish I didn't burn dinner."
"It's no big deal, honestly." I walked over to Eli.
"Ready?" He asked.
I nodded.
We walked down the hall and got to the stairs. Eli looked over to me.
"Can you walk down?" He asked.
He didn't offer to pick me up this time after I admitted I get scared when we're close.
"I think I'll survive." I said walking down the first couple of steps.
I held onto the railing and walked down the stairs. I ignored the pain in my foot. Hopefully by tomorrow it won't hurt as bad. Eli grabbed his jacket on the hook by the door and we walked out to his car. We didn't say anything on the way to my house. I had a feeling it would be like this after he kissed me.
Eli parked the car in the driveway. "I won't be coming to get you tomorrow morning. You'll be going with your brother for now on since his suspension ends tomorrow."
I opened the car door. "I forgot about that." I said. "Thanks for everything, I appreciate it."
He nodded.
I got out of the car and went inside the house. The TV was off and dad wasn't sitting on the couch, but the beer cans still sat on the stand. Justin walked around the corner. He put his finger to his lips to tell me to be quiet. We tiptoed back to our room and Justin shut the door. The light was off so I could hardly see. I made way over to the bed and pulled my sneakers off.
"How did it go with Kayley?" I whispered as I took my pillow and put at the end of my bed. I lie down on my stomach facing Justin.
Justin sighed and lies on his side. "Other than me wrecking the whole day, fine. How about you?"
"I don't know. I think I messed up my chance with Eli." I whispered. "And why did you wreck the whole day?"
"I dropped dinner and the dog got it."
I chuckled. "Yeah, well Eli's mom burnt our dinner."
"Let me guess what you had, pizza, because that's what we had. I feel so stupid." He rubbed his face. "Anyway," he said shaking it off, "what do you mean you messed up your chance with Eli?"
"Eli and I were upstairs alone and -."
"Stop right there," Justin interrupted. "I don't want to know what you two did."
"It's not like that," I laughed. "We kissed and I backed out. Now it's awkward between us."
"Why did you back out?"
I shrugged. "I don't know what to do." I said mumbling into the pillow.
"I thought you said you weren't going to date him." Justin reminded me.
"I'm not, but I – I don't know." I got up and placed my pillow at the head of the bed. "I'm going to sleep."
"Do you like him or not?" Justin asked.
"With my memories gone, I'm not sure what I like anymore."
Justin didn't say anything. I closed my eyes and replayed the day in my head. The more I think about what happened today, the more I'm starting to regret it. I shouldn't have let Eli kiss me, it's my fault. I also shouldn't have told him about how I get scared when I'm close to him. My mind is screaming at me because of it. I guess I can understand how I've lied so much. There are some things that I can't tell people.