Like a Memory(35)

“I got this. You go on home,” Eli said not moving.

“You got what?” she asked and I started to say something when she moved in front of him moving him back away from the door with her small body.

“Oh God. You stink of whisky. Are you okay?”

I was now. If she’d climb up in this truck I’d be more than okay. “Just drunk sweetheart. Not anything serious.”

She looked concerned. “I’m driving you home. Eli you follow us so you can give me a ride home.”

“No, I’ll drive him,” Eli offered.

“He doesn’t want you to. I’ll drive him.”

“No, Bliss.”

“Eli, stop. You don’t get to make decisions for me.”

I wanted to agree with that but I had a hard time keeping my eyes open.

“Do you even know where he is staying? He’s wasted. He can’t remember shit.”

“I know Octavia’s house. I worked for her remember.”

That was when I needed to find my words and open my damn eyes. I couldn’t go there. Not now.

“I think, no, I’m positive, I think I’m positive. Fuck if I can remember but I am pretty damn sure that I broke up with her. Can’t go to her house.”

“What?” That was Bliss and I wanted to focus on her face. She was blurry though. It wasn’t easy. I’d missed that face. That smile. Those eyes. And when it is put right in front of me I can’t even focus on it. Fucking shame.

“What? Oh, yeah, I don’t want to be married.”

There as silence then.

“He can go to his grandfather’s.” That was Eli.

“No. Not like this. We will take him to our place.”

“What?” Eli’s tone almost made me laugh.

“Don’t be difficult. He’s almost passed out. Just let me take him to our place. He can sleep it off on the sofa and figure things out in the morning. He’s obviously upset.”

I kept my eyes closed because this was sounding better and better.

“He hurt you, Bliss.”

She didn’t reply right away and I wanted to ask her about that. See if he was right. I didn’t mean to hurt her. I’d never want that.

“I know. But he needs me. That’s all that matters right now.”

My chest felt warm and tight. If I could I’d find a way to make this all right. But at the moment the darkness clawing at me won out and the world went quiet. There were no more voices to hear.





Bliss York

ELI WAS FURIOUS. Okay maybe that was an exaggeration. Eli was mad at me. That was the truth. I’d driven Nate back to our place last night and managed to get him to walk from the truck to the sofa in our living room. He’d said a lot of things I knew were drunken ramblings but they’d been nice. They’d been so nice I had stayed up most of the night thinking about them.

Should I have brought him back here? Probably not. Eli was right. I was asking to get hurt some more. But I wasn’t able to leave him or take him to his grandfather’s place, which would have made sense. I wanted him here, where I could watch him sleep. I was now venturing on creepy. Great.

The things Nate Finlay made me do. If he had any idea how I felt about him this would be humiliating. But I felt like I had kept my real feelings disguised enough. Being in love with a boy from seven years ago was embarrassing. He had moved on. I hadn’t. My life had been paused. But I hadn’t forgotten him.

Last night Eli was upset. He had gone in his room and slammed the door. I fought the urge to go talk to him. Ask him to understand and not be mad. That was what I would normally do. At least I think that was what I’d normally do. Eli had never been angry with me before. This was all very new.

Now I had a guy passed out drunk on my sofa and my best friend was angry with me. These were normal occurrences for a girl my age. It was time I lived a little. Felt the pains of growing up. Finding my way in this world.

That sounded extremely dramatic. I definitely didn’t sound easy. And Nate wanted easy. Except last night he’d said he had broken up with Octavia. I wasn’t sure I believed him since he was so hammered he had passed out. But then he had drank almost a fifth of whisky.

I curled my feet under me and took a sip of the coffee I had made. He’d be waking up soon. At least I hoped he would. It might be best if he was gone before Eli woke up. I had brought him here but what had I wished to accomplish. It wasn’t like this would be different. He had said he didn’t want me less than a week ago. I doubted that had changed.

Just because he had called me “beautiful” and “the most perfect girl” he’d ever seen didn’t mean much. He’d also said he missed watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Alcohol made him very sappy.

I think last night he was just missing the past. All of it. I was just a part of his past. But the past was just that. The simplicity of childhood was gone. I missed it too. I missed him. But that boy was gone. Replaced with a man I didn’t know. Not really.

A groan came from the sofa and I watched as he stretched. At least he was going to wake up before Eli got out of bed. My thoughts halted then and I was distracted by the way his tanned muscular arms flexed as he moved them and yawned. I watched a wince touch his face and I figured that was the morning after alcohol pain.