Tragic

Chapter Twenty-Four: Poison & Wine

Elliot

Judah winces when I press the damp washcloth to his lip. "Sorry," I whisper. I attempt to move as gently as I can around the cut. He peeks up at me, and I keep my gaze averted. If I look at him right now, I won't be able to hold it together anymore.

"Elle?"

I swallow the lump in my throat. "What?"

There's a long pause and I finally lower my eyes to his. "Are you with him?" he asks.

When I don't answer fast enough, he pulls the rag from my hand, catching my full attention. He tosses it to the table. "You are, aren't you?"

Ignoring him, I reach for the bag of ice lying next to the bloody washcloth and place it to his cheek. "You're already swelling up. It will look even worse if you don't take care of it now."

He grabs my wrist gently. "Elliot, please. Tell me that I'm wrong." I look down at him and see the panic in his eyes. "Tell me that you're not in love with him." His throat bobs when he swallows. "At least tell me that."

I'm not sure why it's so hard to admit it to him, but it is. He sees it in my face though. I can't hide that. My feelings for Hunter are too strong now to be denied anymore.

I take a step back from him and lean against the counter, gripping the edge to hold my balance. "I'm sorry," I say again and then take a shaky breath. "I don't know what else to say."

He looks at me like all the air has been knocked out of him. "How could you do this?"

"How could I do this?" I ask. I stand up straighter and draw my hand into my chest. "You're the one who wanted this."

Judah stands up from the chair abruptly and instantly regrets it, clutching his side. He lets out an angry breath through his nose. "I never asked for this. You weren't supposed to fall in love."

"What was I supposed to do, huh?" I cross my arms over my chest. "Sit around and wait for you until you banged every girl that made your dick twitch out of your system."

He shakes his head roughly. "No." His eyes lock on my mine, and the intensity in them brings me pause. "You were supposed to miss me."

My eyebrows pull in. "Miss you? How was any of this supposed to make me miss you?"

His eyes lower to the tile floor for a moment. "I wanted you to come with me." He looks up and gives me a guilty look. "I thought it would make you want to come to Cornell next year."

"Why would this make me want to do that?"

He narrows his eyes slightly. "I sure as hell didn't think it would make you bang your English teacher."

"Fuck you, Judah," I say , stepping forward. I point my finger at him. "It's not like that and you know it. He's our friend."

Judah laughs bitterly. "Not my fucking friend. Hunter and I were never bros." He cocks his head to me when I lower my hand. "I was cool with him because of you. That dude never looked at me right." He laughs again and then locks his eyes on me. "I never liked the way he looked at you, either."

"Things were completely innocent between us until recently."

Judah throws his arms out in frustration. "Yeah, so what changed? Don't you think I had a right to know?"

"Are you serious right now?" I point between us. "You and I were over. I didn't have to explain anything to you."

Judah's jaw clenches. "Dating someone and being in love with them are two completely different things."