Chapter Twenty-Four

❝Was she real? What part of her,

will he pretend not to love today?❞

El pulled back.

     He let out a deep breath he didn't know he was holding. She was so close to him, and it felt so right, and fuck, she was so beautiful. He had to force himself to look away every time she turned to him, at that neckline that exposed so much skin he could never get tired of seeing. Skin he was aching to touch and taste.

     But she had been right in front of him, and she was touching him, and fire burned through his bones, and there was a sudden desire to say to hell with it and pull her close until they didn't know where each other began —

     She cleared her throat, looking at anywhere but him.

     Selfish, he roared to himself. He was fucking selfish.

     She was someone else's.

     And if these feelings fucked up his mind, then he couldn't even begin to imagine how it fucked up hers.

    "Chase's going home in a couple of days," he decided to say.

     El blinked. "What?"

    "Mom and Dad just sent us a date last week." He ran a hand through his tousled brown hair. "It was an abrupt decision. I don't know if this is another ploy or if there's a motive somewhere, but it's set. I can't change it."

     His heart tugged at the seams. He knew El had gotten used to Chase, the boy who showed compassion in his eyes, the boy who read college textbooks for fun. But they still had unresolved issues with their parents, and she knew this.

     Seeing her face now, crushed with disappointment, he wished it wasn't true.

    "I feel like I just met him yesterday," she whispered.

     He followed her gaze, looking at Chase softly. "Me, too." Emotion was in his eyes, and he shut them briefly. "Maybe it's for the best. He can't stay here just because of me; he needs to get back home. He can't run away like I did."

    "Maybe running away isn't a bad thing," she said quietly. "As long as you know your way back."

     His body tensed, and he was silent for a while, not confirming if he agreed. Then, an intense, heavy feeling crackling, like the moment right before an explosion, when she asked:

    "Are you leaving with him?"

     More silence. He found it hard to breathe.

    "I don't know," he admitted. It was a contrast now to how they were a few minutes ago — instead of looking at each other's eyes, close and earth-shattering, they were avoiding what they were afraid to see. "I might."

     It was a horrible truth, but if it came to making sure his brother was alright, he'd know for sure that he'd go with him.

     But the girl next to him...

     I might. I might. I might.

     She started turning away.

    "El — "

     Then the tent bursted open.

    "Sorry to interrupt," Zach let out in a rush, not even commenting at Theo and El's tense stance. Alarm caught in his chest. "Len, Travis is drunk. And it's not looking good."

***

     Travis Porter, apparently, had one too many drinks.

     Theo hadn't seen him at all during the event, too busy hanging out with his brother, except for that one time he went inside to grab some food. The first thing he noticed was that his arms had been around El — something that forced him to look away, but he couldn't. Maybe he took self-loathing to a whole different level, but he couldn't keep his eyes off of them. How absolutely far away she felt.

     She looked happy, laughing and nodding off to whatever Travis was blabbering about. But in certain times, he thought the smile he saw didn't reach her eyes. To the average person it was believable, but to him, it looked like a role she needed to play.

     The one in front of him was not that girl.

    "Trav," she called out, confused. "What are you..."

     Travis wasn't surrounded by a bunch of people, nor was he at the centre of attention, not like how Theo saw. He was closer to the catering tables now, and Daisy was standing close to him, holding a warning hand. She turned and sighed in relief at El's arrival.

    "Thank God," she breathed, briefly looking between him and El before focusing at the matter at hand. "I don't know how he got it, Len, but he was starting to get a lot of attention, so I dragged him here to Jeff..."

     He frowned as he listened, glancing over to Travis. He saw the way he was standing unsteadily, the glazed look in his eyes, and the bottle he was holding in his hand. A bottle that was three-quarters finished.

     Theo inched closer to El.

    "Lenny, babe!" Travis's smile was wide, eyes already slightly glazed. "Where did you go? I was looking for you everywhere."

     She didn't come closer. "You've been drinking."

    "Champagne's being served everywhere, babe."

    "That's not champagne."

     Travis blinked. "So you've seen." He held up the bottle of whiskey. "Want a taste?"

     El stayed quiet. Her moves seemed strategic; the words she chose to say, the distance she kept herself in. Did something like this happened before? "Tempting, but I think you've had enough." She gave him a charming smile, but her eyes were guarded. "Save some for me?"

     Travis smiled back, but it was a lazy smile, one that meant he was not easily tricked. At least, maybe not anymore. "Oh, Lenny. You don't even like whiskey."

     El stiffened. "Trav, just give me the bottle."

    "That'd be a waste of good money."

     The tension sharpened. Theo did a quick look around, and he realised Zach was trying to distract the guests from noticing, as well as Daisy, who stuck around close enough to block them from public view. He saw one of the coaches, Coach Banks, about to glance at them, but Zach deflected him just in time. He caught Theo's eye.

     Zach subtly shook his head.

     Don't.

    "Babe, please." She was closer to him, but Theo forced himself to stay his ground, trusting her to handle him. Ignoring the fact that his heart lurched when she called him babe. "Not here. We talked about this — "

    "Talk, talk — all you want to do is talk these days. What are you stressing about?"

    "I'm not stressing," she refuted, but her voice had gone quieter. Vulnerable. "You can drink but you can't be drunk right now, Trav. Did you forget where we are? Coach Banks said if there was a second time, you'd be — "

    "I don't fucking care." Travis took a long swig again. "He needs to chill."

     Theo tensed.

    "Travis," and that one word was sharp. A warning. "You need to chill."

     El's hand quickly reached out for the bottle, but Travis was quicker; he pulled his arm away and held it above his head. That smile was gone, and he looked down at her with eyes that held a cold intensity.

    "Len, don't be a bitch."

     Theo's blood ran cold.

    "Don't talk to her like that," he growled, striding forward. Jeff's eyes widened nearby, and Daisy turned around in surprise, eyes widening in warning.

     But he couldn't. That was the last straw.

     Len, don't be a bitch.

     Theo was almost too angry to look at him in the eye.

     Travis raised an eyebrow, tilting his head back slowly. It was in that moment that he resembled a predator looking down on a prey. But Theo wasn't scared easily. 

    "This is none of your business, Samuels."

    "You talking shit to her," he edged closer, passing El now, "makes it my business." 

     Travis clutched his bottle, staring at Theo with a glare that matched his own, even though Theo had a few inches on him. "You're not her anything. And you never will be. Even clinging to the idea of that makes you fucking delusional."

    "Travis," Daisy took a step towards him, in all that golden glow, "it's better you leave. Now."

     Travis stopped to glance at her, and realising that he was basically cornered, decided to step down. Theo wanted to scream at his face that everyone in this room — him, El, Daisy, Zach and even Jeff — were trying to help him from ruining his reputation.

     Theo's hands balled into fists, his jaw clenched. He wasn't going to start a fight. But if Travis made the first move... well, he had nothing to lose.

     "Jeez, alright, everyone calm your tits." Travis raised his arms up in mock surrender, and began walking forward. To everyone's alarm, he grabbed El's wrist. "Come on, Len."

     She blinked a few times, out of her frozen state. Travis used this to his advantage, dragging her submissively, and she got pulled, but the clear discomfort was in her eyes. She didn't want to go with him. 

     Travis wasn't taking the fucking hint.

    "Alone," Theo growled.

    "Like hell I'm leaving without — "

    "I'm staying," El blurted, silencing the two boys.

     Travis's hand never let go of her wrist when they abruptly stopped. Their eyes fully met now, like they were truly seeing each other and communicating only a language they knew. El's gaze was a soft resolve, saying a thousand words alone against Travis's blind outrage.

     After what felt like forever, he finally released her. Her arm was dropped harshly by her side, due to Travis's abruptness, and he said nothing else before stalking out the room, flapping open the tent. Only a couple of passers-by noticed, one of them being Zach, who let out a thank-fucking-God sigh.

     Without wasting another second, Theo strode towards her, the previous emotions lying in its wake. Taut expression, clenched jaw. Hardened eyes. His body felt tight and tense, and he saw El's lips forming the same familiar words, those damn words.

    "I'm sor — "

    "Are you okay?" he murmured, flitting over her features quickly. He'd stopped right in front of her, only a breath away, leaning down close.

     She sucked in a breath. "I'm fine."

     He hated, hated when she apologised in Travis's behalf. He had realised this happened quite a lot, and Travis always got away with it. Maybe she didn't even noticed.

     For a moment he felt like it was only the two of them, like they didn't have an audience. It didn't matter. Only the girl in front of him did. El's eyes didn't stray away from his, as if feeling the same way, existing in a moment where everyone else drifted away. 

     Then he shifted.

     Or maybe she shifted. Either way, Theo's arm had brushed against hers, and she had let out a soft hiss. A hiss that made Theo's body froze.

     Slowly, he guided his hands to her own. He glanced at her, making sure she was okay with it. When she didn't protest, he lifted the hand that he brushed, holding it delicately — afraid she might break. And he saw it.

     A red mark was around her wrist, from where Travis had touched her.

     He had hurt her.

     Theo didn't know what came over him next.

     One minute he was near the food tables, and the next he was almost at the tent's entrance, a rage he had never known before boiling in his body. His eyes could only see red. Red, hot anger that burned through his eyes, his chest, his hands. He was glaring forward as if he was about to burst the whole place open, and at that last second, he almost did.

     But one minute and El's hands were on his chest.

    "Theo," he heard her say, and that voice — that voice that was able to make him melt, to make him feel, to make him touch the ground again.

     He looked down. El was looking at him with a painful expression on her face, her eyes pleading. Her hands adding a light pressure to try to hold him back.

    "Don't make it worse," she whispered.

    "He hurt you," he whispered back.

     El shook her head, but her eyes were shut, like she was in denial.

     He tried to control his breathing. Then, upon just realising how just tired she looked, he stepped down. Just like that.

     His shoulders sagged, his rage dwindled down, and there was no logical explanation as to how he was pulled to her, like it was gravity itself. By her voice, her presence. His head tipped down, letting his forehead touch hers. As their skins made contact — somewhere they'd never made contact before — a sudden warmth filled him, strong and consuming, and he could hear her rapid breaths, could feel her shaking.

     He didn't care that their friends were watching. He didn't care that this was wrong. No, he cared about the heart that was beating in front of. him.

     And the heart that may be slowly breaking. 

A/N:

This book is just full of pain, isn't it? What is actually wrong with me.