“He’s not going to let them take you away.”
“You heard him down there, Eli! He has plans for his future. It wasn’t being forced into raising me. He wants to travel. See the world. He wants to be in love and have a family, too. I’ll only hold him back. You know it’s true. Gabe deserves to have a life. You heard what he said.”
“He just said that because he’s hurting too. Just give him some time. He’ll come around. It’s stressful for everyone. He’s struggling too, Evie.”
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but he’s not been a very good big brother lately. I mean, you’re a better brother than he is right now, and you don’t even have a sister.” The tears were filling my eyes again. “He should be up here talking to me, not you. But God, I don’t even want that. I just want to be left alone.”
He flinched at my tone.
“Sorry,” I whispered as the guilt ate at me. He was there, trying to make sure I was okay, and I was making him feel bad about it. “Thank you for being here, Eli.”
He offered a tight smile. “No thanks needed. I’ll leave you alone.” He stood and turned for the door.
“Wait.”
He stopped and turned to face me.
“I’m scared,” I confessed softly.
“Of what?”
“Of the unknown. Will-Will you stay with me? Just until I fall asleep?”
“Evie,” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Please, Eli?”
He seemed to contemplate his answer for a moment before nodding. “Alright, fine.”
He climbed onto my bed, lying on the opposite side of my full-size bed.
I rolled onto my side so I could look at him, but he stayed on his back, eyes trained on the ceiling. “You won’t fall asleep if you keep watching me.”
A sigh left my lips, but I forced my eyes to close.
I blinked away the memory.
“Turns out, while I was upstairs doing his job, he was downstairs doing my girlfriend.”
It felt like I’d been slapped. My mouth fell open. I widened my eyes at him. It was no wonder that Gabe wouldn’t tell me what happened. He knew that if he did, he would make himself look bad.
“Did you catch them or something?”
He rubbed his left jaw with his right hand. “I ended up falling asleep next to you. I’d been drinking, and I guess the stress of the night just wore on me. Anyway, I woke up a few hours later and went downstairs. That’s when I found them, sleeping on the couch, cuddling and still naked, only covered with the knitted blanket your mom kept on the back of the couch.”
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, truly meaning it. I didn’t blame Elliot for being angry with Gabe. And suddenly I understood why he hadn’t been in a serious relationship since.
“Don’t be. She wasn’t worth all the hassle she caused,” he muttered.
“She must have been worth something for you to avoid relationships all this time.”
He nodded. “I thought she was worth it. I’m only learning now that she isn’t. You’re teaching me that.”
I felt the corners of my mouth softly tip upward. “How?”
He shrugged. “You’re opening my eyes to the way it’s supposed to be. I was just a dumb kid back then. I thought she was something special, but I was wrong. I fell for the same tricks that most guys fall for. I saw something pretty and expected it to be priceless. Turns out, she was more like fool’s gold. She was pretty and she caught your attention, but she wasn’t priceless. She was worthless.” He slid his hand across the table until he intertwined his fingers with mine. “What I’ve found with you is the real deal. I know it as well as I know the back of my hand. I might still be earning your trust, but you’ve had mine for years. Despite everything else.”
With a smile, I stood. I kept his hand in mine as I moved around the table. I wrapped my arm around his neck and pulled him in for a long, hard, slow kiss. He released my hand, allowing me to wrap both of my arms around his neck. His hands found my hips, and he pulled me closer until I was able to sit on his lap, straddling him. His fingertips dug in like he was desperate to hold onto me. My body took on a life of its own, and my hips rolled against him. I felt him harden beneath me.
