tragedy

chapter thirteen

word count: 1434

Getting clothes from Adam was harder than Iris had anticipated. She should have known that he would badger her about why she needed them. "Uh, I just need some PJs," Iris said, already heading over to Adam's dresser. "Yo, wait." He said quickly as he stood up from his bed and blocked the dresser from Iris. "You don't want to look in there," Adam explained, his face a bright shade of red. "Well then just give me something," Iris argued, trying to erase the image in her head of what was in Adam's drawer. "Tell me why and I will." Adam offered. "The real reason why." He added, giving his sister a knowing look. "Fine." Iris rolled her eyes. "Eli Goldsworthy may or may not be downstairs dripping water all over Mom's floor." She mumbled. "Excuse me but what the fuck? The guy who beat the shit out of Declan twice and then stopped talking to you is downstairs right now?" Adam asked for clarification, confused as to what he missed.

Adam had pried information out of Iris a few days before. He caught her staring at Eli as they walked into school and wouldn't let up until she told him why. Iris told him everything, except for the part where she and Eli maybe almost kissed. She didn't need to listen to his teasing along with Alli's. "I'll fill you in later. Clothes please." Iris stated more than asked, holding her hand out in between her and Adam. He turned around, using his body to shield Iris from seeing into his drawer. He pulled out a pair of black sweatpants and a white T-shirt. "I better get these back." Adam huffed as he handed Iris the clothes. "And I better get the rundown." He quietly yelled, Iris waving him off as she walked out of his room.

As Iris made her way down the stairs, she caught a glimpse of Eli pacing around the entryway of her house. "Just talk to her." He mumbled quietly to himself, running his hands roughly through his wet hair. "Hey," Iris spoke up, bringing herself into view. Eli looked at her with the same look that he had greeted her with. "The bathroom is the first door to the right," Iris explained softly, awkwardly handing him Adam's clothes. Eli thanked her with a forced smile before heading to the bathroom to change.

Iris sat on the couch, patiently waiting for the boy to return. Could this be any more awkward? What am I even supposed to say to him? Her mind was racing with possibilities as to why he had shown up there. Iris was pulled out of her thoughts by the sound of Eli exiting the bathroom, holding his soaked clothes in his hands. "Here," Iris said, standing up and taking the clothes from him. "I'll wash them." She stated, quickly throwing them into the laundry room that was located next to the bathroom. The living room was still dark, Iris not wanting to wake her parents with the lights. However, the moonlight was just enough for the pair to see each other through the darkness. "You don't have to," Eli argued. Iris didn't even bother to answer him. Instead, she walked over to the couch, taking a seat and giving Eli a look as if urging him to talk.

"I'm sorry," was all that he said, one hand in the pocket of his borrowed sweatpants and one hand rubbing the back of his neck. He wasn't making eye contact with Iris. "Why'd you shut me out?" She questioned, wanting to get the answers that she was looking for. Eli ran his hand down his face. "I didn't want to." He began to explain. "But you don't get it, Iris. I'm not a good guy." He spoke again, his voice strained. Iris didn't know what to say so she just responded with a confused look. "Jesus Christ, doesn't it bother you?" Eli spoke again, raising his voice by a few notches. He wasn't speaking loud enough to wake up her parents but it was definitely louder than his whispered tone before. "Doesn't what bother me?" Iris wasn't sure what he was getting at.

Eli looked away from her, staring at the rain hitting a window on the far wall. Iris could tell that he was getting worked up but she couldn't pinpoint what was bothering him so much. "I know I scared you." Eli finally spoke after too many silent seconds. When he turned to look at Iris, she could see the tears that had to begin to leave his eyes. She stood up to walk towards him and he turned around, his back facing her. "You didn't." Iris lied. She didn't like seeing him like this. The truth was, Eli did scare her. But she wasn't sure if that fear was enough to make her stay away from him.

"I did. And I hate myself for it." Eli argued, his back still facing Iris and his hands tugging at his hair. "You looked at me the same way you looked at Delcan." He continued, a bit quieter though as if he didn't really want Iris to hear him. "Eli, you di-" Iris tried to comfort him but he cut her off. "Stop trying to lie to me." Eli was practically yelling at this point as he turned around to face Iris again. Tears still stained his face but his expression was angrier now. Iris would be lying if she said she wasn't a bit afraid of him at that moment but she pushed the feeling down. She knew who Eli was and this wasn't it.

"Eli." She said softly, trying to reach out to him. He responded by taking a step back and looking away. "I'm not afraid of you." Iris took another step forward but Eli didn't back away this time. "Why'd you do it though?" Iris's sudden question brought Eli's attention back to her. His face was softer now and he seemed to have calmed down a bit. "I just wanted to protect you," Eli explained, trying to gauge Iris's reaction as he searched her eyes. "When he showed up here... The fucking tone of his voice and the way he- the way he treated you... It made my bones burn." He continued, his voice laced with disdain. "And when I saw him again at school, I just couldn't stop myself. I couldn't stop hearing the sound of you crying..." Eli trailed off. Iris could see the regret on his face. She knew that he was being genuine and he never meant for this to happen. "He kind of deserved it," Iris said as she let out the slightest chuckle. She didn't know how to respond. Hearing Eli talk about Declan made her feel as though he really cared about her and she didn't know what to do about it. Eli gave her an awkward chuckle in return. Just as quickly as the small smile on his face appeared, it was gone again. "I'm serious, Iris. I really am destined for tragedy. And I'm not taking you down with me." Eli said solemnly, looking into Iris's eyes.

She felt as though his gaze would make her head explode. She could tell by the sound of his voice that he didn't really want to be saying those words. He didn't want to tell her to stay away from him but he felt as though he had to in order to protect her. Iris wanted to tell him that he was wrong. She wanted to tell him that she has never felt more seen or safer than she has with him by her side. "It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves," Iris responded softly, knowing that he would understand exactly what she was trying to say. Before she could comprehend what was happening, Eli's lips were connecting with hers. The kiss was gentle and slow and it seemed to be composed of everything that the pair didn't know how to say. Both of Eli's hands cupped the sides of Iris's face as one of her hands found itself in his hair, the other holding his arm. Iris felt Eli smile into the kiss and she couldn't help but pull away with a slight giggle. Neither of them opened their eyes as they rested their foreheads against each other. "Is twenty hundred kisses such a trouble?" Eli whispered and Iris didn't even have to open her eyes to know that he had that stupid smirk on his face before he pulled her into another kiss.