Eli grasped my hand and pushed through the crowd of people until we were outside. One of my hands was in Eli's, and the other was on my ponytail.
Eli bent down to get to eye level, but I kept my eyes downcast. I didn't want to look at him. I was trying too hard not to start bawling. "Do you have all your stuff, Betty?"
I could feel my purse still around my shoulder and my phone in my back pocket. I nodded.
He sighed, and he continued to drag me towards his car. Once I was in the safety of his car, I let my hand go off my hair. My ponytail swung over my shoulder. Before I could protest, Eli ran his hand through my hair. I may have shivered or swooned at any other time, but now I was horrified and appalled at what had just happened.
He moved his hand away, and I leaned forward, placing my head into my palms. "What am I going to do?"
My voice was muffled and broken; I was shocked that Eli even heard me complaining.
I was the victim, something I was so afraid of becoming. My mind raced. Was there anything I could have done to change this fate? My mind kept faltering back to Eli.
"No, no, Betty, we're going to fix this."
I looked up at Eli, my face now stained with tears. I am sure my face looked blotchy and horrible. I was a mess.
"How? Half my ponytail is on the floor of that girl's kitchen." I paused. "Oh no, why did I just leave it there?"
Eli laughed, "it's not like you can glue it back on Betty." He started the car, and I did up my seatbelt.
"Shut up. No, I just left a mess in her kitchen."
Eli let out a laugh that I wasn't expecting, and I jumped. "THAT'S what you're worried about, Betty? Come on, get your priorities in order."
My face flushed in anger; I didn't need to be ridiculed right now. I leaned back in the seat and crossed my arms. "Could you please take me home, Eli."
"No, my stepmom used to be a hairdresser. We're going to my house."
I didn't know Eli had a stepmom, but I guess there was a lot I did not know about him. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. I was trying to figure out if there was any reality to what those girls were saying to me. Should I be worried? Being around him maybe the reason I am in this mess, but it wasn't really his fault.
It was harder to back away from him now. I didn't have anyone else. I was lonely and a little bit clingy. I would stay until he shooed me away. I sighed, and he glanced back at me. At this realization, I felt a little bit guilty. I should be better than this. Shouldn't I?
"Eli, it's okay. You don't have to help me."
I did not want to be a burden.
Eli didn't even reply, he just gave me a disgusted look and kept driving.
It took longer to get to Eli's house than I thought it would, but we didn't talk the rest of the car ride, so maybe it just seemed a little longer.
From what I heard about Eli, I wasn't expecting the house we pulled up to.
We pulled up to a large gate. The house behind it looked large and daunting, like the one you'd see in a movie. I glanced at Eli. This didn't seem real. His jaw was tight when I went to ask him about the house, so I figured maybe I should keep my mouth shut.
I could not figure this boy out.
We parked outside the house, and I followed Eli inside. The door slid open nicely. It doesn't creak like I was expecting from a door this large.
This inside was pristine. Modern and minimalist. "Amber!" shouted Eli. It echoed around us.
A woman in her mid-thirties came running through a doorway. She was a beautiful woman wearing yoga clothes and an apron and was holding a large glass of white wine. I almost giggled at the sight.
"Yes? What's wrong?" her voice was smooth like honey.
I tried to be polite, so I spook up first, but my voice cracked. "Hi, I'm Betty."
She looked at me as if she didn't notice me there before I spoke. She looked me up and down and paused on my face, which must look blotchy and tear-stained by now. A panicked look crosses her face, and she puts down her wine glass on a nearby table.
"What happened?"
I am not sure if she is asking Eli or me, but Eli is staring at me, and I realized I didn't tell Eli what happened.
So I pulled my ponytail from behind my back, showing the damage. Eli's stepmom looked relieved, but I couldn't relate. "Okay, okay, good. I can fix that. Come on, Hunny, upstairs!"
I glanced at Eli. He gave me a soft shove towards his stepmom, who was already a few steps up the stairs. I moved forward, following her slowly, and Eli stayed close behind me.
Upstairs, I followed her into a master bedroom through to a master bathroom, which was impeccably clean and gorgeous. It had one of those standalone baths and a jet shower.
She motioned me over to a vanity area in front of a mirror. I sat down and stared at myself in the mirror. I made eye contact with Eli, who was standing behind her as she assessed my hair. He looked upset and worried, and I just look like a mess. My simple makeup had run down my face.
Why did he have to see me like this three times in only two weeks? Am I that much of a mess? How has my life turned into this?
Amber patted me on the shoulder, "I'll be right back, Hunny. I am just going to get my scissors. I think they are in the other bathroom. We are going to fix this!" and she ran off.
I nodded. I always hated cutting my hair.
Eli was still looking at me, trying to make eye contact again. "You still haven't told me what happened."
I swallowed. "I think her name is Nicole - and she was with those other two girls. The ones from Bio."
Anger flashed across his face. He nodded in understanding. "Why?" he asked through clenched teeth.
I have a feeling he already knows. It was because I was with him and they wanted to torture me for it. But I don't want to say that, so I just shrugged, and Amber saved me from any other explanation because she scurried back into the room, and then a loud beeping went off on her smartwatch.
"Oh! Your dad's muffins! He ran to the store and asked me to watch them. Eli, can you go take them out of the oven for me?"
Eli nodded, glancing at me before leaving the room.
"Okay, sweeties, let's take your hair down. We're going to show those girls that they can't break you. We're going to make your hair look amazing!"
I paused. "How did you know?"
She smirked, "I was in high school once too. There are always girls like that."
I gulped, closing my eyes, I felt her taking my hair out of the ponytail. I didn't want to look. She noticed my hesitation and placed a soft hand on my shoulder.
"Okay, hun, why don't you take a look? It's not that bad, and I want to show you what I'm going to do. The length is gorgeous, so I am going to try to keep as much as possible."
I slowly opened my eyes. My hair had swooped, crookedly down one side of my face. It wasn't as serious as I imagined, but it was still bad.
My chin trembled. Why would they do this?
"It's okay Hunny, I am going to fix it, and we are going to air it out for you. Trust me; it is going to look great."
I smiled at her. "Thank you."
She laughed, "I haven't even done anything yet. Why don't you thank me after?"
I giggled.
She handed me a cloth to clean my makeup while she worked, which I much appreciated. Maybe by the time she was done, my face would look less puffy too.
She quickly got to work, wetting my hair and cutting and smoothing it out. It took about thirty minutes before she finished. Amber dried it but left it slightly damp.
"Okay, Hunny, why don't you take a look?" I glanced at myself in the mirror, and I was shocked at what I saw. My hair wasn't all that shorter, but she had styled it so nicely. She had taken what the girls had done and given me subtle layers, which made my hair look so much fuller. I didn't even know that was possible.
I grinned at her. "Thank you, Amber."
"You're welcome! I am so glad to help out any of Eli's friends. You're welcome here anytime. I am going to clean up here, why don't you go find Eli?"
I desperately wanted to find Eli, but I also wanted to be polite to this amazing woman who had just turned my night around. "Do you want my help cleaning up?"
She smiled, "No, no hun, you've had a rough night. Go find that boy!"
I thanked her again and walked out of the bathroom the way I came back to the front of the house, where I found Eli leaning against a wall, a muffin stuffed in his face.
I giggled at the sight, and he stopped chewing, noticing me.
"You know, this is the first time I think I have seen you with your hair down. It looks great, Betty." Eli said softly to me.
Damn, that boy knew how to make me blush.
"Thanks for this, Eli. I should probably head out; I'll call my dad, so you don't have to drive me."
I cringed at my own words. Why was I always ruining my own chances? But Eli had said it himself; his girlfriends didn't last very long. So what was the point?
"You want to go?" He asked.
I didn't know what to say, because no, I didn't want to go.
"Is it because of the girls? What did they say about me?" Eli looked upset, and my stomach turned.
"I'll stay," I said.
A grin lit up his face, and he grabbed my hand and dragged me down a set of stairs and placed me on a large couch in front of a giant TV.
Damn, he really did have his own movie theatre in his house. There was movie theatre seating behind the large couch, which was closest to the large TV. He walked behind a bar in the corner of the room. I pulled my legs underneath my body and perched up, watching him.
He looked up, "Do you like Pepsi?"
I smiled, "I mean sure! Do you like Pepsi more than Coke?" I asked. I don't think anyone had ever asked me if I wanted a Pepsi before unless it was after 'sorry we don't have any Coke.'
"Yeah, I do. Is that weird?" Asked Eli.
I smirked, "I mean, a little." I said cheekily. He stuck his tongue out at me before walking back to me and handing me a plate with a freshly baked muffin and the drink.
"Thanks for helping me, Eli. I'm sorry you keep getting dragged into these situations."
"Stop apologizing," he said while plopping down next to me, close enough that our legs brushed.
I breathed in sharply, and he smirked. Does he enjoy doing this to me?
He grabbed a remote. "What do you want to watch?" He pulled up Netflix, and I saw that he had 'Vampire Diaries' on his 'watch again' list.
I started laughing. "Oh my god, Eli! You have seen all of Vampire Diaries."
He almost growled, "yes! Shush. My brother and I watched it as kids. Sometimes you do regrettable things for your little siblings."
"I wouldn't know. I'm an only child." I said.
"Lucky," he growled.
"You don't mean that," I said, pushing his shoulder.
He smiled, "yeah, I don't." I could tell he loved his brother a lot. It was one of his more attractive qualities.
He threw the first Episode of Vampire Diaries up on the giant TV. We were laughing and talking through the episode until he said gravely, "wait, don't tell anyone about this."
Assuming he meant about Vampire Diaries, I giggled, "of course, I won't Eli."
He was more severe than I thought because he grabbed my hand, forcing me to turn towards him, missing a good Damen moment. "No, I mean all of it. Don't tell anyone you were here."
My heart stopped. Not in that good way. Oh. My emotions from tonight started to bubble over again.
"Why did you ask me to stay then?" I was pleased I was able to keep my voice steady. So he did want to just play with me then.
He looked at me, confused by my sudden change of emotion. I pulled away from him when he reached out for my hand.
I had been blind by my own emotions. It was apparent that he lied a lot, and he had some anger issues. But he had been so kind to me. Now I finally understand why.
Were his friends in on it too?
Why else would he not want me to tell anyone I was at his house? That he hung out with me?
"I am going to phone my dad to come to pick me up. I am not sure how to walk home from here. It's okay Eli, I won't tell anyone, but I think I have to go now."
Eli looked frustrated. "Why do you keep flipping on me here, Betty? You're the new one; I thought you would like to hang out with me? I thought we were having a good time?"
"I am not ready to have a good time with you, Eli."
"Oh, okay."
Just because he helped me a few times, and I had a crush on him, I was not prepared to lose it all to him right now. I am not like that.
I shook my head, "I just want to go home." I put my hair up in a ponytail and start grabbing my stuff, pulling out my phone to call my dad. My body was shaking as if I was cold, even though it was warm in the basement.
"Okay, but let me drive you home."
I glanced at the time on the phone. 11 PM. I nodded, not wanting to chance waking up my dad. He probably had to work in the morning anyway.
We walked out to the car in silence. Eli kept glancing at me while he was driving, but I kept my head down.
When we got to my house, I thanked him and got out of the car in record time. He got out of the car too, but I was already inside the house.
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2510
"But I'm all, I'm all in
I'm fallin' faster
But if you're looking at me with a
Heart of doubt" - Lauv