“Yeah,” I agree and bite on my lip again, the pain taking away the pain in my chest, but only slightly. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No, I’m glad you did. You’re not wrong. We were stupid, foolish and naïve and I should have known better.” He pulls me back to him and I welcome his warmth. “But who cares? What’s done is done. I’m happy. You’re happy. Sure we’re stressed, but we were always going to be stressed about something anyway. Couples always are…”
Are they though? I don’t know; this is my first time as much as it is his.
“I’m going up. I want to finish my assignment.”
He nods and helps us both stand. “How’s that going?”
“It’s so much harder than I thought it would be and I swear my Professor is singling me out.”
He rolls his eyes.
My hands immediately go to my hips. “I’m serious. He’s always calling on me and I’m in a class with forty nine other students.” I blow my fringe from my face. “Forty freaking nine!”
“You’re talking about which Professor?”
“Professor Franklin. Honestly, he’s a nightmare.”
I follow him into the kitchen and rest my hip against the counter. “But you’re getting the grades,” he points out.
“Only just.” I admit on a mumble. “But I’m always having to fetch his papers, or help him carry stuff to his car.”
He bristles and immediately stops what he’s doing before turning to me. “On your own?”
“No, never on my own, always with another student, but still… it’s usually always me.”
“Maybe he likes the way you smell.” Isaac grins as his hands go to my hips. “It’s the red hair.” He pushes me backwards into the wall and runs his nose along my temple. “If he makes you feel uncomfortable, speak to his supervisor. Or speak to him with Kira.”
“Are you crazy?” I shove him back and he goes back to making sandwiches. “I’m not going to do that. Besides, he doesn’t make me uncomfortable. He’s a really sweet guy. It’s just annoying. I do have places to be, you know?”
“I don’t know what to tell you, sweet. How are your other classes?”
I let out a long huff of air. “They won’t be going anywhere if I don’t finish my work.”
“Go.” He nods to the doorway and kisses the air. “I’ll finish making us something to eat.”
He also rubs my entire body down with oil, front and back, kisses me everywhere possible (and I mean everywhere) and cuddles me to sleep without wanting a single thing in return.
I guess he really is sorry.
I let him off this time as it’s his first offence but, as the saying goes, I may forgive but I’ll never forget. It’s not the words that he said, those will probably pass with time, but the pain he made me feel. The pain he’s capable of making me feel with just a few simple words...
That scares the crap out of me.
Chapter Fourteen
Eloise
Back at school it’s almost like everything back home is a distant problem. I know it shouldn’t be that way, but it is what it is.
I find that I separate my lives now. It’s become second nature and I’m not sure it’s healthy.
The last week I spent back home was definitely a sad one. Isaac changed for the better. Things got back to how they were before, but after all of our discussions, new weights lay heavy on our hearts, new worries and concerns over things we never thought of before.
So I’ve pushed it away, eager to get on with school, finding a job and enjoying time with my friends, which is what I’m planning to do tonight as I get all dolled up in front of the mirror in the bathroom.
My hair is curled and glossy; my lips shine with shimmering lipstick; my eyes are shadowed with gentle tones of browns and golds, making my green eyes pop, and my lashes are so long with mascara they’re almost touching my eye brows.
I smooth down my dress, wipe the lipstick from the corners of my mouth and finally exit my bathroom.
“Hubba hubba!” Kira grins, looking as equally hot as I feel. It’s been a while since I dressed up and it feels really fucking good. “You look amazing!”
Jordan exits his room wearing a simple white shirt and light blue jeans. His hair is tousled and slightly wavy. He grins at me, takes my hand and forces me to do a spin. “Nah, you look better without the makeup.”
“Please, you’d totally bone her,” Kira harrumphs and links her arm through mine.
“I’d bone you.” He wags his eyebrows and grins triumphantly when she cackles loudly.
“In your dreams, lover boy.”
I find myself laughing with them. It’s nice to feel carefree.
“So, I have these…” Jordan grabs a bag of seemingly innocent looking jelly sweets from the side.
I know exactly what they are and I snatch the bag greedily. “Vodka bears!”
“This night has had the perfect start.” Kira snatches the bag just as greedily as I did, after I tip some into my mouth. The texture is so strange. “To the part-ay, people!”
“Did you call a taxi?” I ask Jordan, who nods and holds the door open for us.
“Did you remember to bring your phone?” Kira asks and I nod in response, which is hard to do when I’m tipping more of the sweets into my mouth.
“Swallow, swallow, swallow!” She cheers, holding the bag so I can’t move it away.
I almost choke, but it’s still funny.
Jordan takes his bag back, frowning at the few sweets left. “You guys suck.”
“Sorry,” I try to say, but my cheeks are full so it sounds more like ‘oh-rog’.
Kira seems to find this hilarious.
I do not.
Jordan is too busy scraping the sweets from the bottom of the bag to join her.
My phone rings as we climb into the taxi, where the taxi driver warns us that if we vomit in his car it’s an immediate sixty quid fine.
“Hello?” I speak breathlessly as we all fight to find our seatbelts on the back seat. It leads to a lot of pushing and shoving.
“Are you on your way out?” Isaac asks, his voice sounding careful.
“We’re in the taxi now. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, just wanted to tell you to have fun.”
I giggle. “But not too much fun, right?”
“Of course.” I can hear the smile in his voice. “I love you. Don’t put yourself in danger.”
“I’ll only drink my own drinks and I’ll make sure to call you when I’m home.”
Kira elbows me in the temple as she slap fights with Jordan. Holy crap, what the hell have I gotten myself into?
This is awesome. It reminds me of being back home with my old gang, with added bruises.
“I love you,” I say and Kira yells, “I love you more!”
And then Jordan yells, “I’d bone you too!”
“They sound animated.” Now I can hear the frown in his voice.
“They’re kids, what do you expect?” I laugh. “Goodnight, Isaac.”
“Goodnight.”
I hang up and feign anger at my friends as Jordan untwists the top of the vodka he had hidden in his trousers and takes a swig. It gets us into a lot of trouble with the driver. Sigh.
The party, which is being held in quite a large house not too far from the University campus, is in full swing.
It’s jam packed. We barely make it through the door intact for all the people loitering there.
I keep a tight grip on Kira’s hand, and she keeps a tight grip on Jordan’s hand as he leads us through the crowd and down the wide hallway. We pass door after door, stepping over empty beer cans and paper cups along the way. The smell of vomit is prominent as we pass another door with a long queue leading from it, the person at the front hopping on the spot as he cups his groin with both hands.
That’s amusing.
“This is insane,” I call loudly over the music.
Kira turns her head and winks at me. “Told you,
you were missing out.”
“Whose house is this?”
“Some spoilt little rich boy is my guess.” Kira responds as we come to a stop in the room at the end of the hall.
Jordan greets a group of guys and girls all our age, standing in the corner of the room. Two of them seem to be trying to balance a pint of beer on their foreheads. It’s not going to end well.
And as if by premonition, one of the beers topples off and splashes a girl’s front during its battle with gravity.
Kira and I both wince and certainly don’t join in with the laughter of the crowd.
“Aiden, Liam.” Jordan turns to us, two guys beside him. “Meet my roommate, Eloise, and her annoying friend, Kira.”
“I’m Liam.” The tallest one with skin as dark as chocolate says, smiling politely and holding out his hand. I take it and return his smile. “It’s nice to meet you. We’ve all heard a lot about you.”
“Like what?” I eye Jordan warily.
“Like how you beat on Jordan for leaving wet towels on the ground,” Aiden chuckles and takes my hand as soon as Liam drops it. He’s very attractive, with his thick dark hair and dark eyes shadowed by thick lashes. “It’s nice to meet you, Eloise.”
“In my defence, they go damp quickly and it stinks.” I point out, giving Jordan a look that would kill him if I were cruel enough to allow it. “It’s nice to meet you too.”
“So,” Kira grins after reintroducing herself. “Whose fabulous idea was this?”
The guys all shrug. I can’t believe we’re at a party and we don’t even know the host.
Whatever, I’m here to enjoy myself, not worry about the expensive carpets and upholstery.
“Drink?” Liam offers. Jordan nods and heads over to the corner where the beer was spilt moments ago.
He vanishes around a partitioning wall as I make small talk with Kira and Aiden, before returning with three cups between his hands and the bottle of vodka tucked under his arm.
Kira and I clink cups before swigging the contents.
I know I said to Isaac that I’d make my own drinks, but I trust Jordan. He’d never do anything to hurt me.
I hope.
“Oh my god,” Kira suddenly squeals when she catches a glance of something through the window. “Hot tub!”
Isaac
I wake up, beads of sweat lingering on the surface of my body.
Pushing off the blanket, I rub my eyes with my hands before reaching over to Elle.
Right… she’s back in Cambridge.
She was also going to a party when we spoke last.
I check my phone. It’s past three in the morning. She’ll be home by now; she won’t mind me calling her.
It rings continuously before hitting her voicemail. I hang up and try again, and then again, and then a final time. Still there’s no answer.
She’s probably sleeping.
I roll onto my side and inhale deeply. I love her scent. It lingers on the bedding in such a comforting way. I’d prefer her though.
Closing my eyes, I toss and turn, trying to find a suitable position for my clammy body to slumber, but there’s not a single position that I find comfortable.
I just can’t shake this awful feeling I hold in my gut. It twists and turns and floods my mind with images, horrid images that I’d rather not have.
I promised Eloise I’d trust her. I really need to trust her, but the thought of her in bed with another man right now… I can’t bear it.
I call her again, knowing she won’t answer. I wish I’d called her sooner.
This is fucking killing me.
“Pick up your damn phone, Elle.” I hiss into the night. “Pick up the damn phone.”
I just need to hear her voice, that’s all. I just need to know that she’s all right.
All I can think of is the way I treated her the last time she came home, the way I spoke to her. The things I shouldn’t have said and the things I should have said weigh heavily on my mind and heart.
Isaac: I love you. Call me when you wake up.
Eloise
I hear vomiting as my eyes blur into focus and my ears ring with a high pitched tone.
I have no idea where I am right now.
I sit up. My bones ache and my head throbs angrily.
How much did I have to drink last night? I don’t really remember much after the fifth, maybe seventh shot.
Oh god.
This isn’t my bed.
Oh my god.
My heart races as I scan my surroundings. My dress and shoes are scattered on the ground, along with a pile of other clothes I don’t recognise, yet I appear to be alone, save for the sound of retching coming from beyond a door that sits beside a large wall mounted TV.
I push my hair out of my face and throw the satin, ivory bed spread off my body. I’m in a pair of dark grey boxers with blue stripes, which seem to be slightly damp, and my bra, which feels like cardboard against my skin.
My nausea worsens tenfold as I take in my current attire.
The room is large with modern décor. The windows are open, making the black and grey curtains flutter and billow with the cool breeze.
At least now I know why I feel so cold.
I mean… who opens the windows in winter?
I look around for my bag and find it on the bedside table, my phone still in its confines.
The toilet flushes. I grab the blanket and pull it tight around myself as the door opens.
Jordan steps out, looking as crappy as I feel, in nothing but his boxers. His smile is shaky as he walks towards me and drops onto the other side of the bed. I stare at his bare back for a long moment. It’s nothing new; we live together so I’ve seen him almost naked plenty of times, but before it was innocent. This time it might not be.
“Morning.”
I open my mouth to respond but no sound comes out. What have I done?
“W…where’s Kira?”
He leans up and looks around before shrugging and face planting the bed again. “She must have left before we woke up.”
What does that mean?
Did we?
“Jordan?”
“Hm?”
“What happened last night?”
He turns over and rubs his eyes. “What do you remember?”
I think on it hard, even though my headache worsens. “I remember a hot tub. I remember…” Suddenly memories flood back into my mind, but none of them answer my questions. “I remember fire buckets.”
“Awesome drink.”
“Not helpful at all.” The thought of said drink is making my nausea worsen. “Where are we?”
“Still at the house. You made friends with the host.”
I did? “Who?”
“The dark haired guy with the tattoo of a guitar on his neck.”
“Oh, yeah, him.” What’s his name? It begins with a ‘D’ I think. “Damon.”
“Yeah that’s it… I think.”
My mind starts fitting the pieces back together. “How did we end up in here?”
“Kira decided to crash on the couch. Damon offered us his spare room. One thing led to another. Kira fell asleep; you fell asleep and I didn’t want you both staying in a house, passed out drunk, filled with guys you don’t know, so then I fell asleep.”
“All of us, we just slept, right?” I ask, my tone pleading for clarification.
He lets out a bark of laughter. “Yes, Kira was in the middle. Don’t worry.”
My breath leaves me in one long sigh of relief. “I genuinely thought…”
“Please, you wouldn’t have let me touch you last night with a ten foot barge pole. You were too busy telling people you eloped in France.” He sits up suddenly, his face serious. “Is Isaac really your teacher?”
Oh shit. “Was…” I mumble, wishing I could recall half of this at the same time as wishing I’d never remember. “I can’t believe I told you that.”
“You didn’t; Kira did. You got pretty annoyed with her.”
He raises a brow. “Not that I blame you.”
I chew on the inside of my cheek and shake my head. “Was I really bad?”
“You were awesome. Everyone had a great time. Stop worrying.”
I am worrying. I’ve never worried so much in my life over anything. “Turn around. I need to get dressed.”
“Good idea.” He rolls over and pulls the blanket over his head. “Call Kira while you’re at it. She was here when I woke up to puke so she can’t have gone far.”
I quickly slip back into my dress and shoes, hating that I look like I’m doing the walk of shame, and pull my phone from my bag. It’s as dead as roadkill.
Shit.
There’s a clock above the door that tells me the time is just past eleven.
Isaac is going to be going crazy right now.
I need to worry about Kira first, though. Why didn’t she wake me?
“Phone’s dead; how’s yours?”
“I didn’t bring it, remember?”
Right. He always loses his phones so he doesn’t take them out with him, relying on his friends’ instead.
“Are you coming with?”
“In a minute.” He pulls the pillow over his head. “You leave. I need to vomit again and it feels weird vomiting when I know you can hear me.”
“I’ll see if the host will be kind enough to allow you some toast.”
He’s out of the bed and into the bathroom faster than a speeding bullet. I leave the room, allowing him his privacy as requested.
The hallway is sparkling clean. I remember it being trashed last night. It was littered with cans and wrappers and plenty of other crap. It has been cleared. The wooden flooring has been scrubbed and I smell bleach.
I follow the hall down to the very end until I reach the wide staircase.
The downstairs isn’t as clean as the upstairs, not yet anyway. I hear the faint sound of a bin bag rattling in the distance and decide to follow it.
The guy with dark hair and a tattoo of a guitar on his neck comes into view. That tattoo is pretty damn awesome.
Destruction: The Distraction Trilogy #2 Page 19