New Girl in Town

Chapter twenty

Elijah (Sat, Oct 11)

I had just woken up, reminiscing about everything that had happened last night. Elisabeth and I had sex. I still couldn't believe it. It was so magical I felt like I was in a dream. I turned to the side, noticing that Elisabeth was still asleep next to me. I didn't feel like waking her up, so I tried to keep as quiet as I could. She looked so peaceful while sleeping, probably dreaming about something. I didn't know what she was dreaming about, but I was excited to hear about it when she would wake up.

I suddenly heard a knock on my door. I quickly put some clothes on and covered Elisabeth's body with the blanket. I opened the door seeing Kate and Patrick, looking at me like I was some criminal.

"Is she okay?" Kate asked, seeing Elisabeth still sleeping. I was nervous that they knew what we were doing last night. "It's almost 1 pm and she still hasn't woken up...it's so unlike her. Did the pain from the bruises get worse again?" she continued. I didn't know what kind of excuse to tell her about the fact that we were being intimate the other night. She already had enough guilt for telling her about her shit. She's gonna kill me if she finds out about this.

"Uhh...well...maybe she was tired?" I said, hoping she'd buy it. But she of course didn't. How more dumb could I be? She knows her best friend too well to know she doesn't sleep past 10 am.

"You have 5 seconds to tell me what happened to my best friend," she said, ready to barge in, and that's when Patrick grabbed her hand.

"Whatever reason they have for her to be sleeping until this late, we must respect it. We both know Elijah wouldn't hurt her in a million years," he said with understanding shown inside his eyes.

"Then what's a bottle of vodka doing inside his room?!" she asked, furious this time. Patrick immediately picked her up and pulled her away from the door.

"That's enough! You're taking this too far. As I already said, what those two did last night is none of our business. And what's the problem with the vodka bottle? You know very well that we drink, too. So what if they drank a little last night? Are they going to die or something? It's not like any of us is irresponsible, is it?" he took her hand and ran to his room, locking the door. I went back inside, locking the door of my room, too.

"I'm sorry..." I whispered, feeling like I had fucked things up.

Two hours had passed since the incident with Kate. Elisabeth had finally woken up, not feeling like leaving the bed or putting some clothes on. Notifications kept on popping up on her phone's screen. Kate must've realized she woke up, but since the door was locked, she didn't really bother to try and come in.

"Did something happen while I was asleep? The way she is texting is...off," she said, showing me her conversation with Kate. She truly seemed off. Had she not calmed down after so long? Or had the fact that Kate had woken up gotten her mad again?

"Wait a minute," I said, unlocking the door and running towards Patrick's room. "Can you two come to my room for a little? We should have a chat..." I said, my heart racing like crazy, as if it would rip my chest off. They both quickly unlocked the door and followed me to my room. Elisabeth was lying on the bed, this time fully clothed. I was impressed at how quickly she managed to change.

"Okay..." Kate said while sighing. "Anyone care to finally explain to me what happened last night?" she continued, looking at Elisabeth and me. I was about to say something when Elisabeth interrupted me.

"The only thing we did was play games. And share a kiss or two. Nothing more," she said, her words sounding too sincere for someone not to believe them.

"Oh...I-I'm sorry...I uh...I thought you did something else...I'm sorry...But, what about the vodka bottle?" she asked, trying to make sure Elisabeth was telling the truth.

"Well, sometimes we gotta have a little bit of fun, you know. We drank a little bit to lighten up the mood," she said, giving Kate a smile that proved she was telling her the truth she created. Patrick looked at his watch and grabbed Kate by the arm.

"Looks like the two of us got to go. We'll see you later!" he said, quickly leaving the room and the house. I turned to see Elisabeth showing signs of relief after those two left.

"I couldn't have let them know about what happened last night. Not yet. It's not the right time," she said, getting herself out of the bed and walking towards the toilet.

"So, you and I seem to really have many similarities. Even in the way we think," I said, smiling at her. I knew she was right. She knew I was agreeing with her. We both knew what the best option was.