Tea and Tattoos

by Yasmine Magro

  ‘’Good God Desiree what’s wrong?’’ He asked her. ‘’Is your dad okay?’’

  ‘’He’s fine, it’s just, I let Elliot go and I miss him already.’’ She told him as she tried to stop the tears from falling.

  ‘’Oh Desiree, what did he do to you? C’mon you can tell me all about what happened, you need to say what you are feeling or you will break, I know how you are.’’ He told her with the smile that he used just for her. She couldn’t help but miss the simpler times that she had had with Noah when they had dated, but what she had felt for him was nothing compared to Elliot.

  ‘’Hot chocolate and a Nicholas Sparks movie, with my sorrows as background music for old time sake?’’ She asked him with a small smile.

  ‘’I would love that.’’ He told her as he walked inside and gave her a tight hug.

  ‘’Thank you, Noah.’’

  ‘’I told you that I will always be here for you Desiree, whenever you need me.’’ Noah said as he grabbed her hand and lead her to the kitchen where they started to prepare their hot drink.

  35☕

  ❝Love conquers all❞

  Five days had passed since Desiree had seen Elliot. Five days of hell. She could think now that he wasn’t there, but the only thing that she thought was that she had been foolish to let him go. Without him she felt empty.

  Noah had been with her every evening for the past five days and sometimes even Mia came over. Their company did make her happy, but they were nothing like she felt when she was with Elliot.

  On the morning of the sixth day she grabbed her phone as soon as she woke up and dialed his number, she wasn’t sure what his reaction would be but she had to at least hear his husky voice that she missed so much.

  He picked the phone up after two rings. ‘’Desiree? Are you there?’’ He asked.

  When she heard his voice she couldn’t say anything, it was like she had froze.

  ‘’Desiree please talk to me.’’ Elliot begged her.

  ‘’Elliot, I need you.’’ She cried as she clutched the phone close to her ear.

  ‘’I’ll be right there, baby girl.’’ And with that the line went dead.

  Not more than ten minutes later the doorbell rang and she ran downstairs, she had changed into some black jeans and the first shirt that she saw, but she knew that she wasn’t close to being attractive. In the past days she hadn’t eaten that much and sleep wasn’t somewhere where she could relax.

  She took a deep breath and opened the door. Elliot was standing there in black jeans and black shirt, he had dark circles under his sad green eyes and his brown hair was a mess.

  ‘’Hi.’’ He told her as he met her eyes.

  ‘’Hi.’’ She couldn’t control herself as she threw herself in his arms, automatically his arms came around her and his head rested on her head. She felt safe in his arms, he smelled like home.

  ‘’Fuck, Desiree I missed you so much!’’ Elliot told her before their lips were met in a passionate kiss.

  ‘’I missed you too, these past days have been hell.’’ She said as she held his face in her hands.

  ‘’Promise me that you will never leave me again, baby girl.’’

  ‘’I promise.’’

  ☯

  Desiree and Elliot had decided to spend three more weeks in Chicago with Desiree’s family. They had gone to Elliot’s parents’ house, but their relationship hadn’t improved at all.

  Her dad was back home and back to work so she wasn’t worrying that much, glad to see him healthy and on his feet once again. Her mother was her usual caring self, although when she told them that they were going back to London she threw a little fit. And Alice, Alice was experimenting and doing stuff that teenagers did. This worried Desiree a little bit and she and Elliot had talked to her several time about what she should and shouldn’t do, knowing what they have both been through.

  The day to leave arrived, and they were in her family’s car as they drove them to the airport while singing along to the songs on the radio all happy.

  When they arrived at the airport it was a different story. Amber was clutching her daughter to her chest as she cried and begged her not to leave her.

  ‘’Mum, I’ll be back in a few months and you know that you can come over, we have enough room for you in our new house. Speaking of the new house I would love for you to see it, it’s so beautiful I’m sure you will love it.’’ Desiree told her as she hugged her mum back.

  ‘’Oh I know that I will, darling I always loved your tastes.’’ Amber smiled.

  At that precise moment there was an announcement that their flight would depart in ten minutes.

  ‘’Desiree make sure to call every night and we can skype.’’ Alice told her as she hugged her for one last time.

  ‘’I’ll make sure that I do. I love you all so so much!’’ She told them as she hugged them all.

  ‘’We love you too, and even you Elliot! Take care!’’ Her mother called after them as they started to walk together hand in hand.

  ‘’I love you too and I will!’’ Elliot yelled as he turned around and waved at them before they both got on the escalator and went out of sight.

  ☯

  When they arrived back at their home, they were both thankful to see that nothing wrong had happened while they were away. Since they were both really tired from the long flight they had a shower together and went to bed.

  ‘’You don’t know how glad I am that we are here again.’’ Elliot told her as he took her hands in his and kissed them.

  ‘’Me too, I didn’t know why I wanted a break, I knew without a doubt that I would miss you way too much.’’ She told him as she kissed him softly.

  ‘’Go to sleep now, Desiree, tomorrow I have somewhere to take you.

  When they woke up the next morning they had breakfast together and drove into town.

  ‘’Elliot, where are you taking me?’’ Desiree asked him as they started passing countless of shops on both sides of the road.

  When Elliot parked his car in front of a tattoo shop she looked at him with confusion all over her face.

  ‘’Come on you’ll see.’’ He told her as he grabbed her hand and got out of the car.

  When they walked into the shop, the tattoo artist who was covered from head to toe with tattoos recognized Elliot immediately, her guess was that he had done some of his many tattoos there.

  ‘’Come have a seat Elliot, I will be with you in a moment.’’ He told him as he gestured to an empty seat.

  ‘’Oh what tattoo are going to get?’’ Desiree asked him as he took a seat and she sat on his lap.

  ‘’You’ll see soon.’’ He told her with a wink.

  ‘’Are you ready, Elliot?’’ The tattoo artist as he approached them and Desiree got up from his lap.

  ‘’Ready as I’ll ever be.’’ Elliot said with a smile as he took off his shirt and followed him to a private room with a stretcher in the middle of it.

  ☯

  ‘’It’s ready, go check it out.’’ The tattoo artist announced after an hour or so had passed.

  ‘’I love it, thank you so much Taylor.’’ He thanked him as the two men briefly hugged.

  ‘’You’re welcome and feel free to come again.’’ He told him before he exited the room, leaving the couple alone.

  ‘’Do you like it Desiree?’’ Elliot asked her as he turned around to show her the top of his back where the words Love conquers all and a yin yang symbol were inked permanently into his skin. ‘’It’s for you.’’

  Desiree walked towards him and slowly moved her fingers across his tattoo. ‘’I love it, Elliot.’’ She told him as she hugged him from behind.

  ‘’I hoped you would. I felt that it explained our relationship perfectly, and the yin yin yang represents us. You are the white half since you are the light in my life, and I’m the black part because well, I’m not a very kind person.’’ He told her as he turned around to face her.

  ‘’I th
ink it’s vice versa, but I love it and I love you.’’ She told him as she kissed him.

  ‘’I love you too, baby girl.’’

  36☕

  ❝I don’t mind you under my skin❞

  The day of Anne and Paul’s wedding soon arrived and Elliot and Desiree had went back to his mother’s house to get ready since it was what she had wanted.

  Desiree was in one room with the girls getting her hair and make up done while Elliot was with the men as they sat on the sofa with beers in their hands as they joked around. Elliot liked Paul way more than his biological father because he was down to earth and his main priority wasn’t money, but his mother.

  With one hour to go the women rushed around as they all got in their dresses and posed for photos. Desiree looked at Anne smiling in her stunning white silk wedding gown with her close friends who were also her bridesmaids dressed in pale pink. She couldn’t help but long for the day when she would be in Anne’s place, smiling as she got ready to marry the man of her dreams.

  After they all posed for several more photos a knock came on the door and Desiree went to open it while Anne hid in case it was Paul, and it was bad luck to see the dress before the wedding.

  When she opened the door she found Elliot standing there, dressed in a dark grey suit and with his hair gelled back. He looked different than his usual self and she didn’t say anything as she looked at him. Elliot had the same reaction as his eyes roamed all over her body. The champagne floor length strapless chiffon dress that she was wearing hinted at her curves without showing them all off. Her dark brown hair was in a simple up style, she looked beautiful.

  ‘’Woah Desiree, you look absolutely breath taking.’’ He told her with a grin.

  ‘’You don’t look bad yourself, although I prefer your usual messy hair.’’ She said as she wrapped her hands around his neck.

  ‘’You can mess it up later.’’ He replied with a wink as she blushed. ‘’Now, where is my mother?’’

  ‘’I’m here, darling.’’ She told him as she came out of her hiding place and stood behind Desiree.

  ‘’I’ll give you two some privacy.’’ Desiree said with a smile as she walked away to give them some privacy on that important day.

  ‘’Mum, I wish you all the best of luck and if Paul mistreats you call me immediately. I’ll be sure to knock some sense into him. I’m sorry for all the times that I made you worry about me and all the times I disrespected you and didn’t show you that I love you. I’m sorry for everything, but know that I love you and you mean a lot to me.’’ He said as he looked at Anne who wiped tears from her eyes.

  ‘’Elliot you are going to mess up my makeup.’’ She laughed as she tried to stop the tears. ‘’ Know that I love you too son, and I’m so happy to see you happy and healthy. I hope that you feel as loved and blessed as I do with Paul and if I were you I wouldn’t lose Desiree, she’s one of a kind and don’t drink too much tonight.’’ She told him as she hugged him.

  ‘’I love you. Mum.’’ He told her as he hugged her tightly.

  ‘’I love you too, but now we have to get going or Paul will think that I ditched him.’’ Anne laughed.

  ☯

  ‘’You may now seal your vows with a kiss.’’ The priest said as all the guest clapped and cheered and the newlyweds kissed.

  ‘’There’s no need to cry, baby girl.’’ Elliot told Desiree as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

  ‘’I know but wedding always made me cry.’’

  ‘’I can’t imagine what you will do in ours then.’’ He told her with a smile as she looked up at him with confusion in her eyes.

  ‘’You know that I can’t live without you, so it’s no surprise that one of these days I’m going to pop the question.’’ Elliot told her with a wide grin.

  ‘’Oh Elliot, I love you so much!’’ She yelled as she kissed him hard on his lips.

  ‘’I can’t wait to make you my wife, angel.’’ He told her as he kissed her back in the church while his mother and stepfather walked out of the church with grins matching theirs.

  ☯

  The reception was beautiful with candles and pale pink roses everywhere. All the guests ate, danced and drank all night and Desiree and Elliot went back to their house.

  They burst through the house kissing and tearing clothes off of each other as they began to make their way to the bedroom.

  ‘’We’re not going to make it to the bedroom in time, so I’m going to have you right here.’’ Elliot told her as he lied her down on the living room floor and he climbed on top of her.

  ‘’I don’t care as long as you’re in me sooner.’’ She told him as she sucked on a sweet spot on his neck and he groaned.

  ‘’I can’t believe you’re mine, all mine.’’ And with that he thrusted in her and lost themselves in each other for the rest of the night and the early hours of the morning.

  37☕

  ❝Every breath you take and every move you make

  Every bond you break, every step you take, I'll be watching you❞

  The morning after his mother’s wedding Elliot went back to the hotel where he worked as a waiter since they had accepted him back after they had went to Chicago for a few weeks.

  Desiree was alone from seven in the morning till seven in the evening so she decided to clean the house and go grocery shopping to fill the time that she wasn’t with him.

  She quickly located the local grocery shop, which wasn’t really big like the one back in her home town, but still had everything that she needed to buy.

  Desiree got out her shopping list from her back pocket of her jeans and started to walk up and down the aisles. In one of the aisles she met a woman who didn’t live very far away from them and had some small talk with her, other than that all the customers were strangers to her. Sometimes life in England did get a little lonely without Noah, Mia and her whole family by her side, but she had started to slowly get used to it.

  After she payed for all of her items, she walked out of the shop with two plastic bags in her hand. The house was only a ten minute walk from there, so she plucked in her headphones and turned the volume to the maximum.

  When she turned the corner of the street she felt a hand on her shoulder and immediately dropped the plastic bags to the floor and turned around to see who was behind there.

  ‘’Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you miss. I called you to tell you that you dropped your purse but you didn’t hear me. I’m Reed.’’ The man who stood behind her with her red purse in hand was the kind of person that people avoided eye contact with and crossed the road to avoid him, with his shaved head, tattooed arms and a dark scar down the side of his left cheek.

  ‘’Um, thank you sir, I appreciate it.’’ She told him with a polite smile as she turned to leave without making it too obvious that he intimidated her.

  ‘’Not so fast miss, are you new here?’’ He asked her as he turned her around to face him.

  ‘’No, not really I moved here a few months ago. It was nice to meet you Reed and thank for the purse once again, but I really have to go now.’’ Desiree said.

  ‘’I’ve never seen you before. That’s fine, but don’t leave without giving me your name.’’ He told her with a smirk.

  ‘’I’m Desiree, goodbye.’’ She told him as she bent over to pick up the plastic bags from the ground.

  ‘’I can see why you are called that.’’ He said under his breath as Desiree walked away.

  As she started walking, from the corner of her eye she saw two dark figures walking behind her. Her encounter with Reed had shook her up, there was something about him that made her feel uneasy, and now the two men behind her didn’t do anything to make her feel better.

  She rushed her footsteps in order to arrive home as quick as possible, but to her dismay she noticed that they had quickened their pace too. She was now sure that she was being followed, so when their house was in sight she sprinted towards it and locked the gate behind h
er.

  Desiree sat on the floor to catch her breath while the two men cursed out loud together. She was sure that Reed had something to do with that, but she didn’t know for which reason they had followed her.