I'm enjoying an incredibly deep, dreamless sleep when the repetitive sound of my ringtone drives me to sit up. I groan loudly as I roll over and snatch it off of the nightstand. As I bring the phone to my ear, I clear my throat and prop myself up on one elbow. I attempt to sound as not-tired as I possibly can to no avail.
"Hello?" I answer groggily.
Jay's voice sounds a bit uncertain, "Hey, Tara! Sorry if I woke you up."
"No, no, it's fine. I've been up for hours." I lie, yawning halfway through my sentence.
"Okay," He laughs, "So, since my parents gave Ellie the boot, they gave her a week to pack up and find some place to live. My grandma offered to help her out with paying for an apartment until she can get up on her feet. Our parents are still pissed, so they're kicking her out today—Officially, I guess—Anyway, she asked if we could help her move in. You know?"
I sit up and scratch my head, "Uh, sure. What time should I be there?"
"We can come pick you up, actually. We'll be there in... Probably ten minutes or so." He tells me.
"Oh, okay! Cool. I'll be outside." I reply as I hang up the phone.
I shoot out of bed like a loaded spring and begin throwing together an outfit. I jump into a pair of jeans as I haphazardly brush my teeth. I pick up a hoodie off of the ground and slip it over my head before wrestling my hair into a ponytail. With the little bit of time I have left, I'm even able to put on a light bit of makeup. I walk downstairs and write my parents a little note to tell them where I'll be. By the time that's done, I hurry out of the house and get outside just as Jay pulls up.
For some reason, I kept thinking about Ellie last week. I was secretly hoping I'd get a chance to see her again. I think I want to get to know her. I've developed this weird fascination with her. It could be partly because I've never known anything about her, but it could be mostly because she's insanely good looking. I've had to admit to myself that even in the brief moment that I first saw her, I was instantly intrigued. I never told Jay that. Of course, I probably never will.
I get into Jay's truck and see Ellie in the back seat. She offers me a small, awkward wave, "Hey."
"Hi," I reply, smiling nervously as I fasten my seatbelt.
She flashes me her smug grin and I can feel my insides melting. I quickly turn around and face the right way. Jay gives me a kiss on the cheek and a greeting before beginning the drive to Ellie's apartment complex. It turns out to be pretty busy. I don't think I've ever seen an apartment complex filled with so many people. As soon as we're parked, we start unloading the truck. We take quite a few trips, unloading things and moving them into the apartment. After about an hour and a half, we're nearly finished arranging everything. Jay volunteers to go pick up lunch, so Ellie and I stay and hold down the fort. She sets up her TV on a stand and turns it on, flicking through channels. I sit beside her on the couch and watch as she puts her feet up. For some reason, I'm instantly nervous. I usually never get this nervous around anyone. I fiddle with my hands in my lap and try to get comfortable.
"Thanks for helping us out," Ellie says, patting my leg a few times, "It means a lot."
I almost squeak out in surprise at her touch. I feel so strange. I've never felt so tense around another human being. I'm normally so laid back. This is driving me nuts. I chew the inside of my cheek and she takes a long, hard look at me.
"Jay says you're a chatterbox, you know. But, maybe he's just stupid." Ellie chuckles.
"Sorry," I say quietly, "It's just... I've never met you until just now, really. I don't know anything about you."
"Okay. Well, uh..." Ellie thinks for a moment, "I'll tell you three things you should know about me. I'm really outgoing, I don't like Linkin Park's music, and my favorite animal is an armadillo."
I laugh a bit, "What?"
"Just three things. Three random things. Now you go."
"What do I say?" I ask, lifting my eyebrows.
"I just told you! Anything about yourself. Likes, dislikes, something you've never done, something you want to do, something you're scared of." She shrugs.
"Um... Let's see... I love Paramore. They're my favorite band. And I don't really like driving. It makes me anxious. And..." I frown at my lap as I try to come up with a third fact.
"How about something you've never done before? Like, skydiving? Riding a unicycle? Or maybe some place you've never been, but you'd like to go?" Ellie suggests.
"I've never..." I trail off, thinking about it for a minute, "I've never fallen in love."
I regret it the second it leaves my lips, but for some reason there's a comfortable silence between Ellie and I afterward. She just looks at me. I feel like her eyes are drilling holes into my face. It almost feels like she can see into my soul or something. Then, she smiles. A small wave of relief flows through me, but I know she's most likely messing with me. From what I've gathered, that tends to be her nature. She leans back very casually, rolling her neck.
"I know."
I try to hide my bewilderment, "What?"
"You don't love Jay—Not like that, at least. I know you don't. I can tell." Ellie states as if everyone should know, "It seems like I'm the only one who sees it, but I feel like anyone with two functioning brain cells could figure it out."
"Are... Are you going to tell him?" I ask, my voice coming out a bit shakier than I thought it would.
She shakes her head as she still wears her smile, "No. I'm not gonna tell him."
I'm relieved, but I'm also confused. She has every reason to rat me out to Jay. So why wouldn't she? I've just blatantly told her that I'm stringing her brother along, but she doesn't seem to mind. I'm dumbfounded. Whatever her motivation is, I'm sure there's a reason behind it. And I'm almost certain it involves messing with me in one way or another.
"Well, why not? He's your brother." I point out.
"I'm not going to be the one to break his heart." Ellie laughs, "Plus... I'm sick of him always getting what I want."
She casts her gaze back to me and winks. My cheeks burn bright red and I look at the floor as fast as I can. I've never felt so intimidated, embarrassed, and awkward. And for some reason, I still want to tear her clothes off.
Wait. What? That came out weird. I think.
"If I'm not mistaken, I'd think you're flirting with me." I say in a stern tone, slightly surprised at my own abrupt straightforwardness.
"Call it what you want." She shrugs and gets up.
She strolls into her bedroom just as Jay returns. He opens the door with his hands full and shimmies his way to the kitchen. It's weird to feel like I've been saved by him. Ellie emerges from her room and tosses an empty box on the floor. She takes her food from Jay and he hands me mine. We settle down to eat and I can hardly eat around my nerves. All throughout lunch, Ellie flashes me quirky looks. She'll smirk at me or wink and cause me to look away. Jay and I make small talk while Ellie scarfs down her food. All the while, she still manages to push my buttons and provoke different subtle responses from me.
In all of the time that I've known Jay, he's never been able to do such a thing. Now that I'm really thinking about it, I'm pretty sure the only thing he ever elicits from me is anxiety. Other than that? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I frown at my chicken sandwich for half a second, but Jay manages to catch it. He asks me what's wrong and I brush it off, eating the last couple bites of my lunch. He heads out to pick up the last few boxes and leaves me alone with Ellie again. The silence between us is different this time. It's almost unsettling. I shake my leg a bit and look around the apartment, trying to seem inconspicuous.
"Why are you so nervous?" She asks, "I already told you, I'm not going to out you."
"I don't know." I wince, putting my head in my hands.
"Hey, relax. It's not a big deal. Look, why don't we finish up today and then tomorrow you can come over and we can hang out and just talk. It might help to get your mind off of it. Sound good?"
I give her one of the strangest looks I can muster and she laughs once again, "Tara, you can try what you want, but there's no way that you're going to keep me away from you."
There's an uproar of something in my stomach. I think I might vomit. I swallow hard and fight off the blush that threatens to manifest in my cheeks. Ellie relaxes in her seat and shakes her head at me.
"Silly girl," She murmurs.
I've never experienced so much emotional turmoil in one sitting. Without thinking, I rise to my feet and grab my keys. I shove my chair in and exit the apartment as quickly as I can. I don't know where I'm going, or why, but my body has entered flight mode. I reach the bottom of the stairs and nearly truck down Jay. He sidesteps me and I keep on walking. I stop at the curb and sit down, staring blankly at the gravel beneath my feet. I can hear Jay asking Ellie what's wrong, but she just tells him to take the boxes upstairs. He regretfully obliges Ellie approaches me. I look up as she comes to a stop beside me.
"I can give you a ride home," She offers, reaching out a hand to help me up.
I turn away from her, "I can walk home."
"Stubborn. I like that." Ellie smiles.
"If you're going to give me a ride home, will you please just be quiet the whole time?" I request.
"Your wish is my command." She bows her head and I roll my eyes.
She leads me to her car and I get in the passenger's seat. I tell her my address and she nods, pulling out of the parking lot. She drives smoothly, humming quietly to herself. I'm fed up with everything I've been feeling. I don't even know this girl that well and she's fucking around with my emotions already... But I want to lick the side of her face.
What? No I don't. Stop it, Tara.
Ellie finally speaks up as we're approaching my street. "You know I'm just messing with you, Tara... I'm sorry."
She comes to a stop at the curb outside my house. I gather my thoughts and unlock the door.
"Please, just try to keep it under control. I don't want to hurt Jay." I say coldly as I close the door and head up the driveway.
Fuck feelings.