by Toni Aleo
God, he was perfect.
They all gathered in the first dining room since it was bigger, and classier as her mother always said, it also sat fifteen people if needed. The room was straight out of Better Homes and Gardens. Classy white, with light blue accents, some of Elli’s prints of the kids hung on the wall, not like her mother would ever own up to it, though.
Shea pulled out Elli’s chair when they reach the table, and Elli flashed him a smile as she sat, the smile fell when she saw her mother sit next to her and Victoria in front of her.
Great.
Everyone else sat down, her daddy at the other end of the table, beside Adina and Lauren since Liam and Noah wanted to sit beside Shea. As Mrs. Harris and the rest of the kitchen came out to serve dinner, the guys started talking hockey. Liam and Noah were dumbass about hockey so they basically listen as Shea talked about the last Assassins game and how they won. When all the food was laid out and after her daddy said grace, everyone dug in.
Shea was looking around the room as he ate; he did that a lot, Elli noticed. Always took in the scenery, another reason she just adored him, because she did the same.
“I have to say, your children are beautiful,” Lauren and Adina grinned big as Liam and Noah kept eating.
“Thank you, Riley and Max just adore you. Jason’s still a little young, but he does love himself some hockey,” Adina gushed, as Lauren blushed.
“You guys will have to bring them out to Kids’ night, my nephew comes, they got along pretty well when we met at the park, don’t you think, babe?” he asked turning to Elli, she smiled big,
“They sure did.”
“They would love that, thank you, Shea,” Adina grinned, Shea nodded towards the pictures.
“Those look like your work baby, did you take them?”
Bless his heart; she would adore this man for forever.
“She did,” Olivia said, before Elli could say anything, and that’s all she said.
“We have a lot of Elli’s work through the house, not only pictures of the family, but she did some really nice black and whites of a tree for my office. They are the best things in my office,” Michael said, Elli grinned widely at her father and he gave her a wink as Shea nodded. “Shea, aren’t you about to go out on a road trip?”
Shea nodded as he took a drink of his beer then said, “Yes, sir, I leave Monday.”
“Yeah, Bryan said something about y’all leaving. He was gonna fly out to some of the games, ask if I wanted to go. Maybe we can go together Elli bug.”
Elli nodded, “Sure, daddy.”
“Bryan?” Shea asked, and then Elli dropped her fork.
Shit, shit, shit, shit.
“Yeah, Bryan Fisher, the owner,” Michael said, Shea looked at Elli, then back at her daddy.
“You know the owner?” Shea asked, she could tell he was confused as everyone laughed.
Shit, shit, shit, shit.
“Oh course, I do son, he’s my brother. Eleanor didn’t tell you.”
Shea took a deep breath and then looked over at Elli. She couldn’t tell if he was pissed or shocked, it was probably both.
“It must have slipped her mind.”
“Yeah, that why she has them amazing seats, and she’s at every game. Elli belly is Uncle Bryan’s favorite,” Liam said, “he hates the rest of us.”
“For good reason,” Elli said, “Y’all name drop like a mother, I don’t, plus I actually like hockey.”
Everyone rolled their eyes as they continued to eat. Uncle Bryan was a touchy subject; he only talked to Elli and her father since they were the only normal ones in the family. Shea hadn’t started eating again, he was just staring at his plate, and Elli wished she could beg him not to be mad, but it was bound to get worse, so she just picked her fork back up and started eating again.
“So, Shea,” Elli looked over at her mother, as Shea did, “Do your parents live in Nashville?”
“No, they live back in Boston where I’m from.”
“That’s nice, what do they do for a living?”
“Mom,” Elli groaned, Olivia gave her a look.
“What darling? It’s a simple question.”
“Its fine, Elli,” Shea said, looking back at Olivia, “My dad is a college professor at one of the private colleges in Boston, while my mother is a teacher at the local high school.”
“Oh, that’s nice,” Olivia said, basically pushing her nose even farther in the air at Shea. If Elli could kill someone it would be her mother, mean old bat. Olivia laid her fork down and then looked back at Shea “Are you going to continue dating Elli while you’re gone?” Everyone got quiet, looking down at Olivia, as she gave Shea a pointed look, “You know, she is just so busy with that picture taking business of hers, and she won’t be able to go with you.”
Elli’s face fell into her hand, as Shea cleared his throat, “I know, but that doesn’t mean we can’t talk on the phone every night or text, or Skype, we did just fine while I’ve been traveling the last month, we’ll do fine this time, too.”
Elli’s heart warmed as she looked over at Shea. He wouldn’t look at her, but he had to feel her staring at him. She slid her hand onto his lap and he took it tightly in his.
“Well, that’s just silly, you’ll get so lonely.”
“Olivia,” Michael warned. Elli looked down at her plate as Olivia let out a frustrated breath. They went back to eating as small talk, about a bunch of nothing, was tossed around the table. That was until Elli reached for more greens. They had always been a favorite of hers, and she couldn’t cook them the way Mrs. Harris did, so she was going to get her fill while she was there, that was until her mother stopped her with a smack on the back of her hand. Shea quick intake of breathe was louder than Elli’s as the room went completely silent.
“Now, Eleanor, I’m not gonna let you get to the way you were, you’re done.” Elli had never been so embarrassed in her life; she looked up at Victoria who was grinning ear to ear.
“Yeah Elli belly, you get fat again, there’s no way Shea will stay,” she said with a laugh, causing everyone else to laugh. The tears were stinging in her eyes, as she looked over at her mother.
“Victoria Renee!” Michael said sternly.
“I was sick, that’s why I got fat,” Elli said as strong as she could.
“Oh, I know you were sick, but still we don’t want to chance it, for all I know you ate yourself into a coma up in New York cause of all the nerves of Broadway.”
Shit, shit, shit, shit.
“Broadway?” Shea asked, everyone turned to look at him, except Elli.
“Oh, yes, Eleanor has a voice of an angel,” Michael said with a grin trying to change the subject. Little did he know, Michael was just making it worst. But her daddy had always been her biggest fan “She didn’t even go to college first. Bryan had called one of his director friends up in New York and Eleanor auditioned at seventeen, next thing you know she’s on the stage, starring at Fanny Price for Funny Girl. She was, and still is, amazing.”
Shea looked over at Elli again and like before she couldn’t look at him until he squeezed her hand, causing her to look up at him.
“Another thing that must have slipped her mind.”
Elli bit her lip as her mother laughed.
“Oh, no, she probably didn’t tell you because she got kicked off Broadway when she got fat. It was terrible, I tell you, Shea, she was close to what Victoria? 200 pounds?”
“Yeah, it was crazy,” Victoria added with a disgusted look on her face.
“It was, poor Justin, he just couldn’t take it, that’s why he broke the engagement.”
Fuck.
Shea had to of heard Elli’s mother wrong, “Engagement?” he asked.
Shea felt Elli tense up beside him.
“Yes,” Olivia said, taking a drink of wine, “She was engaged to Justin Yates of Yates Financing, such a fine man.”
“Until Elli got crazy fat and he left her for one of his interns,” Victoria ad
ded.
“He didn’t leave me, I left him,” Elli said, but no one was listening since they kept going on about Justin.
“They were engaged for what momma, four years?” Liam asked
“One year,” Elli said
“No, I think it was three,” Olivia said, completely ignoring Elli.
“Yeah, they were together forever, though, eight years?” Noah asked
“Five years,” Elli said, laying her fork down and taking a pull on her beer.
“Yeah, eight years, honey,” Olivia added.
Shea looked around the table. Michael had his head down, shaking it, as Adina and Lauren looked at Elli with sympathy in their eyes. “It was so sad to see him go, that’s why, Shea, honey, I’m not really getting attached to you. I don’t see you staying with Eleanor, you know between her weight issues and her so called career; she isn’t really good enough for you.”
“Wow, mother, thanks!” Elli said causing everything to look at her. She threw her napkin on her plate, standing up, causing her chair to fall back. “And this is why I don’t come home. I’m leaving.” She looked over at Shea, “I’m sorry,” she whispered as tears welled up in her eyes. Elli then walked out the room, leaving him with her family. Michael stood up, calling after her before he sent Olivia an evil look and rushed out of the room. Shea stood up slowly, throwing his napkin on his plate.
“Oh no, Shea, honey, don’t leave,” Olivia said, standing up, “She’ll be alright, she’ll come back when Michael tells her to.”
Shea was trying so hard to breathe, and not blow up Elli’s mom, he counted to three before looking at her, “I apologize if this comes out rude Olivia, but what the hell is wrong with you people? That woman is the most amazing person I have ever met, there is no weight issue, she’s beautiful, and her career, I mean, do you even know she is one of the most prestigious photographers in Nashville? Why are you guys doing that to her?” He shook his head, “You guys have issues.” Shea stepped out from the table looking down at Lauren and Adina, “It was nice meeting you, ladies. Everyone else, I could have went on without watching you tear Elli to pieces, let me say this, you’re lucky you are her family.” With that, he walked away, when he got to the front room, Michael was walking back towards him.
“She’s calling a cab apparently,” was all her father said as he passed by, Shea was pretty sure Elli’s family was about to get it from Mr. Fisher. They needed it that was for damn sure.
“It was nice meeting you, sir,” Shea said turning to look at Elli’s fathers back.
“You, too, Shea, now please go get my baby.” Shea nodded as he turned and walked out of the big doors to see Elli pacing by his car. He walked down the steps and when he got close enough to where she heard him coming, she looked up, her big green eyes full of tears as some started to fall over, rolling down her cheeks. His chest clenched at the site and he had to look away.
“I’m calling a cab, so you can leave.”
“Elli, get in the truck,” he said, going around the truck, and opening the door. She looked at him, then back down at the floor.
“You’re mad,” she stated
“Yup, pissed as fuck, so don’t test me, get in the truck.”
Shea thought she was gonna fight him on it, but she didn’t. She got into the truck and he slammed the door before going around and getting in his self. They drove off the property and nothing was said until they hit the interstate.
“I mean, do I even know you Elli?” Shea asked, the tears were falling fast and Elli didn’t even look over at him, “You never told me your family is rich or that your uncle is Bryan fucking Fisher, my boss. You didn’t think you should have told me that?”
“It never came up.”
“Apparently, nothing came up! Elli your uncle is my boss; don’t you think I needed to know that?” When she didn’t say anything he kept going “What if he trades me when he finds out, what if we broke up and he got pissed and fired me, then blacklisted me! What then! Don’t you think these are things I need to know!”
“I’m sorry, Shea, I should have told you about my uncle, but Uncle Bryan isn’t like that.”
“I don’t care; it is still something I need to know, Elli!” She wiped her face, looking at her skirt that had little spots from her tears, “Broadway Elli? Really?!”
“It was a long time ago.”
“I mean, I didn’t even know you sang for a living, and you were sick? It’s as if you kept a part of your life from me, hid it from me. I’ve told you everything, I mean damn, it’s as if I don’t know you and in one night I meet the family from hell and find out a bunch of shit about you.”
All Elli could do was nod as she cried, “I can’t believe this, it just blows my mind, but the kicker Elli,” he didn’t say anything until she looked over, she saw nothing but hurt and angry in his eyes as he said “You were engaged, you were fucking engaged, which means you lied to me, because I asked if there was someone important, but you lied and said no.”
“He wasn’t important Shea, he was a convenience.”
“Did you have sex with him?”
“Yes, but-”
“He was important then, you said yes when he put a ring on your finger.”
“But I broke it off cause I didn’t love him.”
“But you said yes, so he meant something at the time!” he yelled, scaring the piss out of her, she looked back down at her hands, and nothing was said the rest of the way to her house. When he pulled into her driveway and didn’t get out, Elli started crying harder.
“I should have known something was up when you wouldn’t even let me in your house, wow, Elli, wow. If you didn’t want me to know who you are, then why did you let it go this far? Why did you even bring me around your parents when you knew they would throw all your shit out? I mean shit Elli, damn.”
Elli didn’t look at him; she just reached for the handle and got out, shutting the door behind her. She didn’t even look back when she heard him whip his truck out of her driveway; she just walked up the step as sobs ripped out of her. When she unlocked the door and went in, Adler started barking but then went silent as she went through the house, bawling as she ripped her clothes off. When she got to her bathroom, she filled the bathtub up before crawling in it, dipping down so the water was to her chin as she cried.
He was totally right, she set herself up for this, she ruined their relationship, and he had no choice but to break up with her.
She was a liar.
She thought she had prepared herself for what was bound to happen.
Nope, what a stupid idiot she was.
Shea was pissed, pissed because Elli lied, pissed because her family is a bunch of idiots minus her father, and pissed because he wasn’t sure, but he was pretty sure he just broke up with her. He drove down the road, digging his phone out of his pocket to call Grace, she answered on the third ring.
“Oh no, it went bad.”
“Bad isn’t even going to cover the fucking mess I just left.”
“Oh no, Shea, where’s Elli?”
“I fucking left her at her house and I think I fucking broke up with her.”
Grace took in a quick intake of breath then said, “Shea, calm down, pull over.”
Shea did what she asked, shutting the car off and letting his face fall to the steering wheel. His eyes shut as he replayed the way Elli looked as she cried her heart out in his front seat. He actually felt like crying and he never wanted to cry!
“Now tell me what happen.”
So he did, he told her everything, about Elli’s so called family, her sister, brothers, her so called mother. Shea made sure to say nothing but good things about Michael, since he was a really nice guy. He also told her about the stuff he had learned, and Grace being Grace just sat there listening even after he was done, she didn’t say anything, and Shea knew she was processing what he had said.
“Okay, so you’re mad because she hid stuff from you, right?”
“Yes, she was on
Broadway, Grace, she apparently can sing, then she was sick and that’s how she gained all kinds of weight, apparently, and then she was engaged, Grace. She told me there was no one worth talking about in her fucking past! Not to mention her uncle is my damn boss.”
“Okay, I get the being pissed about the Uncle thing, that’s huge, but she never really talked about her family, and now you see why, and I agree with you being mad about the engagement, but did you give her a chance to explain?”
“No, she didn’t even try, she just cried.”
“Shea, come on, she was just torn apart by her family in front of you, how do you think she feels?”
Shea sat for a moment, Grace was right; he slammed his hand into his steering wheel. “I should go back.”
“You should go back, because I’m telling you, she isn’t going to chase after you, she knows she did wrong. Plus, she doesn’t even think she’s good enough for you. I’m telling you, God, Shea, this is a mess, and you’re going regret not going back if you don’t.”
For the hundredth, millionth time, Grace was right.
When Shea pulled into Elli’s driveway, he noticed her house was dark. He glanced down at the clock; it was only nine, and he knew Elli wasn’t asleep. He got out of the truck, taking off his jacket and undoing his tie before shutting them inside his truck and walking up the drive. He was undoing the top buttons of his shirt when he noticed the buckets of fall color flowers that aligned her walk way. Elli must have just put them out because they weren’t here last time he was here. He bent down, picking a purple one, and continued up the walk way. Adler was sitting in the window watching and started barking when Shea reached the porch, but no lights came on.
Shea was worried for about two seconds before the door open and Adler came running out, leaving Elli standing in a bright purple robe that had the team logo on her breast, and a 6 above it. Her hair was wet, going down her shoulders, and her face was splotchy. She had obviously been crying. She looked everywhere but at him as she stood in the doorway.