by Ellis Marie
“I think we hit you that time, Princess,” Trent mocks before eyeing up Matt’s friends. “I wouldn’t try anything, boys. You’ve already seen what can happen.” The wink Trent sends to Carter isn’t missed. They take a step back, all instead running over to check on Matt who has pulled himself up from the ground.
Behind them, the bell rings and people begin to fill the halls again. Trent turns to look at me. An almost euphoric feeling fills my entire being as he smiles down at me with a glint in his eyes that makes my heart race as he squeezes my hand back.
“Let’s go, minha deusa.”
I take one last look at the person who I once loved crumpled on the floor. For the first time, I feel no pain, only sadness at the person I lost to him.
“Let’s go.” I grin and follow Trent as he begins to run across the parking lot, picking up our belongings on the way. I giggle as we stumble away from the growing crowd of people and into the fresh air, our laughter flitting around us like birds.
For the first time in years, I feel like I can fly.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“I don’t know if I can breathe.”
Currently, Trent and I are driving in his car. Where we’re heading, I haven’t the foggiest, but all I know is that I’ve never felt more euphoric in my life. Or breathless.
“Just take deep, slow breaths,” Trent urges, reaching his hand out and holding onto my thigh, which does nothing but rocket my heartbeat up to about one hundred miles per second.
“That is not helping,” I gasp, pushing it off my leg as tingles erupt all over me. Trent lets out a chuckle as he puts his hand back on the steering wheel, his grin almost blinding. “It’s not funny!”
“It actually kind of is, you almost punched him,” Trent replies. I look up at him to see if he’s making fun of me. I’m kind of embarrassed that I hadn’t managed to, but instead of an arrogant expression, his face has nothing but pure glee glittering across it, his eyes crinkled at the sides in laughter. “I think you’ve made my year.”
I pause, listening to what he’s said. The smile flickers on to my lips without me realising as my breathing begins to slow down and my chest starts to shake. Trent faces me briefly. As soon as he lets out another guffaw of laughter, I can’t contain my own anymore and I let it out, my stomach beginning to hurt from it.
“I can’t believe you actually punched Matt,” I half-scream, clutching onto my body as I bend forward, my cheeks turning tender. “His face!”
The sound of our laughter echoes through the car as we continue to drive. At some point, Trent pulls over and switches the engine off. At first, I think it’s because he can’t stop laughing, but when I look up and see what’s in front of us, I realise that we’ve actually reached our destination.
“East Bay,” I comment, a strange kind of peace washing over me as I wipe my eyes, still laughing. “Where we went to that party.”
Where we almost . . .
I glance at Trent and catch an easy smirk on his face right before he turns away and looks out the window, coughing quietly to cover a chuckle.
Well, this is awkward.
I clear my own throat and look out the window, watching the wind breathing through the trees. I feel my own lungs fill with fresh air as relief settles over me.
“Thank you,” I whisper after a moment, making him turn to me with confusion over his features.
“For what?”
I sigh, shrugging my shoulders as I look up at the roof. “Jeez, I don’t know, for pretty much anything you do at this point?” I laugh but Trent just frowns a little and turns back in his seat again, playing with the material of the steering wheel.
“I just mean, thank you for supporting me, and for looking out for me. If I was just thanking you for things today, then it would be for helping me in the hallway, for walking me to class, for carrying my books . . .” I trail off, glancing down at my fingers as they twist together.
“For standing beside me while I did the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, for then punching Matt for me, for getting me out of there, for bringing me here. I don’t think I could ever list every single thing that I’m grateful for when it comes to you.” I swallow the lump in my throat as I sneak a peek at him to see his reaction.
Maybe I went too extreme?
The previous look of confusion is now replaced by a gentle smile, and his soft eyes are already looking at me when I look up, catching me by surprise. A gasp escapes my lips as I straighten up and flash him a smile, my cheeks flaming up.
I probably shouldn’t have said all that.
“You never have to thank me for anything, Elle,” he tells me softly, reaching his hand out and taking a hold of mine, stopping me from twisting my fingers repeatedly. “Especially when it comes to supporting you.”
My heart bubbles at his words. I can feel my nervousness melting away as his thumb slowly runs itself over my skin. His eyes cast downwards at our intertwined hands.
Although my heart is continuing to bang against my chest, the rest of my body feels at ease, and my mind manages to process through everything that has just happened. I can breathe easily once I’ve come to terms with it.
“It’s finally over with him,” I whisper with a smile gracing my lips as a short breath leaves them. “I don’t have to be in his control anymore.”
Trent squeezes my hand. I look at him, watching as he furrows his brows together.
“Elle, you never have to be in control of anyone . . . anymore.”
He clenches his jaw. “I promise.”
His eyes are glowing a vibrant gold and the silence in the car is deafening as I watch them, following every little line of detail within the tiny space they occupy.
What is this feeling in my stomach? Is it hope?
I feel myself lean into his gaze a little, raising his hand up to push my hair away from my face before resting against my cheek. It’s as if everything in me wants to be pulled towards him, as if his other hand is curled around my necklace, dragging me forward.
“Trent,” I whisper, his name leaving my lips as an exhale. He closes his eyes in response, breathing in the word deeply. I feel my eyes flutter close as I move even closer to him, my body leaning into him and my head tilting upwards. I can feel his finger trail along my jaw to my chin, barely touching me but igniting a fire across it nonetheless. It slowly comes to a stop at my lips, gently pressing against them as he lets out a shaking breath.
“La mia tentazione.”
His words make me open my eyes a little and squint up at him, desperate to understand what it is that he’s thinking, but his tense jaw and focused gaze give nothing away.
I open my eyes completely, suddenly aware that although I’m leaning in, he is staying where he is with his eyes unwavering from my lips.
What’s wrong?
Finally, he sighs and moves back from me, returning to his position in his seat and embarrassment flows up my neck and onto my cheeks.
“I told you,” he murmurs. “Not until you ask.”
What is he talking about?
A scream leaves my lips as I jump in my seat, a bang echoing from the window behind me, which makes me spin around in surprise. I back away from it with fear overtaking my body. It takes a few seconds for my eyes to lose their fear, but when they do, my whole being relaxes and relief spreads through me, a nervous chuckle my new response.
“You broke up with Matt!”
Scratch that relief.
“Truthfully, when Kristie told me what happened, I really wasn’t believing it,” Tom confesses through a mouthful of crisps. “Like, it’s kind of unbelievable.”
“Not in a bad way,” Kristie interjects, shooting the blond boy a glare but I just laugh. “Just in a ‘we can’t believe it’s finally happening’ way.”
I smile and lie back against the log that I’m leaning on. My eyes wander out to the lake where I can see people moving around, setting up the place.
Apparently, as he had missed the last one, Tom d
emanded that Cole throw another party at the beach tonight in honour of ‘Elle becoming a new woman.’ Cole with, as it appears, zero backbone caved immediately and agreed to it while he was driving them over here.
It turns out that the news about Matt and I spread pretty quickly when people saw him on the ground and noticed the lack of me around him. It didn’t take long for the news to reach Kristie. As soon as she knew what happened, she attempted to find me. Unfortunately, I turned my phone off as soon as we reached Trent’s car, right as the texts and phone calls from Matt begins to come through and so she recruited Cole.
And Tom recruited himself, it seems.
“I’m really proud of you, Elle,” Kristie says softly, taking my hand in hers. “What you did today is amazing.”
I smile gratefully at her as Tom leans towards me, taking my other hand.
“I cannot express to you how happy I am for you and how brilliant you are.” He smiles, squeezing my hand and tears prick as they look at me with nothing but support in their eyes.
“Thank you,” I whisper back, not able to say anything more, but they get it, nodding in reply before sitting back again and letting go of my hands.
I’m lucky to have them and so grateful that they’ve stuck by me through everything.
“What I am really proud of, however, is that hunk of a man that you have wrapped around your finger. If you could write a book on how to do that, you’d be a great friend,” Tom announces, his eyes moving past me and to something in the distance.
I turn and follow his gaze, immediately finding Trent in the group of boys. He bends down as he picks up a table before rising and carrying it on his shoulders. I already knew who he’s talking about before looking, but I didn’t need an excuse to look at him.
“Oh mama,” Tom whispers.
I have to admit, it is quite the sight; the bulging muscles that are visible from even where we’re sitting plus the ease he carries the heavy objects with definitely hits a certain spot.
Oh mama, indeed.
“I would climb him like a big, sturdy oak tree.”
Tom and I look at each other with wide eyes before we turn and face our friend who seems to be caught up in a daze, her focus not at all on us until we start laughing.
“Did I say that out loud?” Kristie gasps, her face turning a deep shade of beetroot. “F*ck.”
The three of us continue to laugh until our stomachs hurt, the sound echoing around us until they dissolve into small chuckles and sighs.
“This place is really beautiful,” Tom murmurs, looking around. “I was kind of scared when Cole said we were coming here, after everything I’ve heard about it.” He looks over at the group of boys who are shouting at each other, their jokes not reaching our ears. “But looking at it, it doesn’t seem at all bad.”
He’s right, the place is like a breath of fresh air. The calming effects of it are clear. I haven’t seen the rest of the town, but if it is anything like this, then I have no idea why our own town would be so afraid of it. Or so cut off from it.
“I think I prefer it here to our school,” Kristie jokes, but the frown on her lips stops it from being funny. “I mean, especially now when we go back.”
She glances at me as she speaks, and my heart drops a little. She’s right, the school is most likely going to be a hell of a place now that I had ended it with Matt. We have no idea what he will do or what anyone else will think by the time we return.
I bite my lip, my eyebrows coming together as I try not to think too hard about what possibilities might lie ahead, what Matt might be thinking.
“You guys enjoying your rest while we work?” a voice snaps all three of us out of our own thoughts. We turn to look at the person who has now crouched down beside me, smirking at our expressions.
Maybe I could handle school with a certain someone looking out for me.
His hair flops slightly on to his forehead as he watches us. His familiar scent sneaks its way into my nose and I try not to inhale it like air.
Not until you ask.
“We were just watching you and your friends doing such a good job and we decided that we’d only make it worse,” Tom lies, fluttering his eyelashes at Trent who scoffs at his words but laughs nonetheless.
What does he mean by that?
“Oh really? And here I thought I’d become more to you than just a ‘tall, dark, and handsome stranger’.” Trent winks at me. “Apparently not.”
Tom gasps as Kristie covers her mouth with her hand but the giggles escape anyway. I can’t help but grin at Tom’s blushing face as he stands up, brushing his legs in the process.
“Well,” he begins, clearing his throat. “I suppose I missed out big-headed too.” He smirks at Trent before grabbing Kristie’s arm. “Come on, K, let’s go show these macho men how we girls do it.”
Kristie barely gets time to respond before she is dragged from her seat and across the grass, towards the boys who are lifting some more tables.
“The cavalry is here!” I can’t help but laugh at Tom’s words. Trent chuckles, too, before looking at me with quizzical eyes, making my breath hitch.
“Are you okay?” he asks. “I noticed you were a bit caught up in your own thoughts when I came over.”
It takes me a moment to respond.
Am I okay?
I’m scared about what school would be like from now on. I’m terrified at what Matt might do, and I haven’t even begun to think about my father and what his response will be.
But am I okay?
It only takes me a few seconds of looking into Trent’s caring eyes to know my answer. He’s there for me; he’s proved that today, as well as every other day that he has helped. I’m not alone in this, and I don’t have to fight it all on my own.
“Yeah, I’m good.”
He hesitates for a second, watching me as if he is waiting for me to continue, but then he smiles, standing up again and stretching out his arms.
“Well, come on then, no sitting down on the job. We’ve got a party to organise.”
I take his hand and he pulls me up and towards him, looping his arm around my waist as I find my balance, our bodies flush against each other. He pauses for a moment, scanning my features as though he’s committing them to memory, like he’s waiting for me to do something, but before I can figure out what to say, he takes a step back and looks over his shoulder, turning to face his friends.
“Let’s go help then, we might need to save a few of them from Tom.” I follow behind him, my eyes trained on the back of his head as I struggle to open the window into his mind, wishing I could just peer in.
I’m going to figure out what he meant before.
What does he want me to ask him?
***
“This party is wild!” Tom shrieks, spilling his drink a little on to my foot. I laugh at his gleeful expression, his wide eyes filled with excitement. “Everyone is so nice! How on earth are we meant to enjoy Tracey’s parties now that we’ve experienced this!”
He wraps an arm around my shoulder and sighs dramatically. “I don’t think I’m ever going to leave.”
I put my arm around his waist and hug him to me as the people around us giggle at him.
“You’re welcome here anytime, Tom.” Rochelle chuckles. He gasps in happiness, throwing both of his arms around her as he shoves me back, almost knocking me over. I’m so happy to see the two girls that I had met before at this party, and it seems that they are just as excited to see us; all of us have immediately bonded together for the night.
“Have I told the two of you that I love you? You’re definitely my favourite girl pair here.”
“Hey!” Kristie and I exclaim in unison as Laura and Rochelle laugh.
“Oh hush,” he chides, rolling his eyes. “I practically hate you two. I just have to love you at this point.”
“The feeling’s mutual,” I assure. Tom giggles, blowing us both kisses while Kristie just rolls her eyes, throwing him a middle finger.
“Let’s get shots,” he announces before spinning around, dragging the two unexpecting East Side girls with him and away from us as they head directly for the table of alcohol.
“He’s something else.” Kristie laughs. I have to agree, he really is one of a kind. “And he wonders why we don’t take him places.”
We watch them for a moment with silence between us. It’s actually pretty nice to take a breath in the middle of the busy party and actually look around. It’s similar to the last one—fairy lights hung up in the trees, bonfires lit in the designated spots, and music thrumming through the ground, but this one is busier. Perhaps they have all been at Tracy’s party.
“You seem at ease,” Kristie states, looking at me from the corner of her eye. “I haven’t seen you look this calm and de-stressed since you first started dating Matt. It looks good on you.” I can’t help but smile at her words. My eyes wander through the crowds of people, searching for a large figure amongst them.
“Thanks, K,” I mumble, taking her hand. “You’ve done so much for me. You’re allowed to relax too now, y’know.”
She sighs, pulling me into her side and kissing my temple, our hips connecting as we both breathe.
“Yeah, I know. Plus I think there’s someone looking out for you now that I can’t compete with.”
Right as she speaks, I find him in the darkness. He emerges from the water with a few of his friends. Although it’s difficult to see, the light from the bonfires and the fairy lights illuminate his body as he steps onto land, his grin evident as he laughs.
Oh mama.
His body is as if it has been sculpted by gods, and I struggle to pull my gaze away from him, watching instead as the water runs down it and disappears into the waistband of his shorts. The arms that I had ogled previously through his clothes are now on full show. I have to admit that even my imagination does not give them enough justice.
“It’s like all of them just spend their time at the gym,” Kristie groans, breaking me out of my ‘Trent only’ focus. I survey the other guys beside him, agreeing immediately. “Any one of them look like they could crush stone with those biceps.”