Summoned

Chapter 30

"Will you tell me now?" Marlee called behind me. I whipped my head around, losing my balance and falling off the stool. I laid on the ground and groaned, tilting my head back to rest on a piano leg.

"Do I have to?" I griped. "You're going to tell Aaron," I added softly.

"No I'm not," she said before seating herself beside me. "Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to have all this drama around you, but nobody will spill because they think you're going to tattle to big-brother?"

The idea never struck me. "I'm sorry, Marlee," I sighed. "I'll tell you, but don't repeat this."

She nodded her head and moved around the carpet to face me when I spoke. "Aaron and I have been arguing, and I've seen him be extremely open with his other relationships. I thought I might've been special to him, and that's why I opened up."

My voice began to waver after that, but I bit back the tears building in my eyes. "He's kissed the other girls, just as he had me, and I can't help but feel like a toy he's put aside because he wants to play with a different one. I can't open up to him when I know that it will all go to waste when I get sent home, and I definitely will seeing how things have gone lately!"

Marlee watched with sympathetic eyes as I spilled my story out to her. She scooted closer to me and put her hand over mine while resting her head on my shoulder. I squeezed her hand in comfort. "I hope you don't get sent home," she said softly after a while.

"Why?" I asked quizzically. I turned my head to look into her blue eyes. I noticed her hair held an auburn tint as well. It was noticeably stronger than Aaron's, though. "You have all of these girls here with you."

"Well, yeah, and the ones who talk to me are nice and all, but they're so fake. I can tell they're just trying to suck up to me, and it's annoying. You don't try to please me; you speak your mind as if I was one of your closest friends. You don't treat me like a princess, but a friend."

I felt a smile come to my face. It wasn't fake, or sad, or forced. It was genuine and sincere, and it was the first one I had let out in a while. I hugged Marlee tight to me, and she embraced me back. We rose from the ground and brushed off our dresses.

"Do you want to play a song with me?" Marlee asked. "I have sheet music, and I can just play the guitar."

"Of course," I replied happily. On the opposite side of the room were guitars, basses, ukuleles, and other instruments of that nature.

Marlee shuffled her sheet music around to show it all to me. She strummed the guitar while teaching me the melody of the song, and she sang the harmony. After we had learned it fully, we played it again with full out vocals.

She strummed the last chord and the usual silence filled the room. We began laughing for no reason, and eventually died down as Marlee put her guitar back in its place. "Why this song?" I asked curiously.

"Well, I think it fits the situation, and I think it's pretty," she replied.

She door opened, and we both froze up. Aaron appeared around the corner, looking into the room. I internally cringed and turned my head, while Marlee did the same. "What are you doing in here, Aaron?"

Aaron looked taken aback. "I wanted to see who was singing with you," he replied innocently. "Is that such a crime?"

"Well, if I was in my room and you heard laughing and singing, would you come in?"

"No," he replied as if it were obvious.

"Then mind you own business!" Marlee shouted. "Just because these girls are staying here, it doesn't mean you have to have them under lock and key!" She neared him and began poking him in the chest. "Dear god," she muttered before leaving the room.

Therefore, leaving me alone with Aaron. I rose from my chair and shuffled awkwardly before speaking, "I should probably go," I said as I tried to walk past him. He grabbed my forearm and wouldn't let go.

"Elisa," he said softly. I looked up at him and into his blue eyes. His gaze held, and he wouldn't look away. "Can we please stop this?"

"Aaron," I choked. "I don't like fighting with you, but I also don't want to have my heart broken by being told to leave all of a sudden."

"Then don't fight with me," he pleaded. By then he had taken both of my hands. "Don't you know by now that you're not going home any time soon?"

"How am I supposed to know that?" I asked softly.

"Do you think I give nicknames to all of the selected? Do you think I have inside jokes with them?" Aaron said accusingly. My gaze continued to hold the floor. "I know it's hard here, and it's definitely not your ideal romance. I can say I really like you, but I don't know if I love anyone yet."

"I don't either," I said.

"I don't expect you to," he said as he pulled my head to his chest. We sat on a sofa as he stroked my hair. "Please don't close up on me," he pleaded.

"I won't," I promised. "Thank you."

"What for?" He asked curiously.

"Forgiving me," I responded.

"I can't stay mad at you for a long time, anyway."

"Let's hope it'll stay that way," I sighed.

"Why wouldn't it?"

"Because one of us says so," I replied as he bit back a smile. I grinned and we both laughed for while, and it was nice to hear his laugh again. He kissed me suddenly, soft and sweet, and I could tell both of us had a smile behind it.

The silence I was expecting never came.