Tobias

"Where's everyone?" Her voice comes clear from beside me. She sits down. "Swimming." I say as I look at her. Her hair is pulled up into a messy bun. Her neck looks like it's covered with makeup or something. "I don't remember you hating swimming or anything." She says breaking the awkward silence. "Well, I am not in the mood." I say. "You and Elite had a fight?" She asks. I look at her. She's looking at me. "How's your neck?" I say, changing the subject. She looks back at the ocean. "Okay." She mumbles. "How was the visit?" I ask, looking at the ocean as well. "Weird." She says. "Sorry." I say. "I am not sure it's entirely your fault." She says. A part of it is, she means. The part where my father killed her little brother. "You're back!" Alexander with a towel around his neck says. "Hey." She says. "Was it fun then?" He asks. "Yeah." She says. I look at her. She's lying to him. Why would she? Maybe she doesn't want him to see the truth? To know it? "Not gonna go for a swim?" He asks. "Maybe not right now." She says. "Okay. Want a beer?" He asks making his way to the portable fridge. "Yeah, want one?" She asks, looking at me. "Why not." I say. "Get one for Tobias as well." She says. I look at her as she says my name. I have always liked how she said my name. How it was her special thing. Now, Elite calls me Tobias as well. Alexander sits beside her and hands her the two beers. She hands me one. I drink as I watch Alexander stare at the girl I have always had a thing for.

"I missed California." Ash says, the firelight reflecting on his face. "It is beautiful." Elizabeth says from his side. "How come we're all adults now?" Albert asks, swinging his beer to his lips. "You tell me." Ruby says. The fire is making her hair look like it's burning. The sparkle that reflects in her eyes, is beautiful. "I wish we could just go back to being seniors." Ruby says, staring at the fire. "Yeah." I mumble with a sight. Her eyes meet mine. It feels like we're having a conversation but no one knows about. I know that there's something still between us. It might be weak but it's still there. If I work on it, I might even get Ruby back.

I watch Elite as she ties her hair. She wouldn't talk to me since she came back from that day she had with the rest of the girls. I wonder if Ruby told her anything. "What's up with you?" I ask. She looks at me. "What do you mean?" She asks. "You've been acting weird since the other day." I say. "Does it matter?" She says. "What is this about?" I ask, crossing my arm. "It's about you Tobias!" She says with force. My blink a couple of times, taking in her words. "Don't look at me like that. I am not stupid. You lied!" She says. "What are you talking about, Elite?" I ask. She stands up from the bed. "About you and Ruby! It's always been her! You and her!" She yells. I stand up as well. I really hope no one can hear her. "El, please come down." I say, taking a few steps towards her direction. "You're a fucking liar, Tobias! You promised me to not see her again back at New York!" She shouts at me. "I didn't!" I lie. "For fuck's sake, stop lying! She told me you guys met!" She shouts at me, her eyes tearing up. "El, listen to me. It's okay. Let's take this slowly and talk about it." I say, getting closer to her. "Talk about what?! Did you fuck her, then?! Huh?!" She shouts. "Keep your voice down!" I say, grabbing her arm. She lets out a yelp of pain. "You did?" She says, looking at me with eyes full of tears. "No! I am your boyfriend. I am with you!" I say. "You're a fucking bastard!" She says trying to loosen my grip upon her arm.

I let go off her with a sight. She sobs.  "You lied to me. Why? Why would you do that?" She sobs. I take a deep breath. This is not what I wanted. I turn to look at her. She's sobbing into hands, sitting on the ground. Her sobs tear into me. I kneel down in front of her. "Hey. Hey, look at me." I say as I place my hand on her arm softly. My hand left a red mark on her arm. I remove her hands and hold them in mine. "I would never hurt you, El. Ever." I whisper as I look at her red face. "Why did you lie?" She sniffs. "I needed closure. That's all." I say in a low voice. She looks at me with red wet eyes. "I am so sorry." I say, kissing the palms of her hands, one at a time. She buries her face into my neck. I run my hand up and down her arm. I carry her to bed. "You're okay." I say, planting a kiss on her forehead. She rests her head on my chest as we lay in bed. What the fuck have I gotten myself into?