On the sixth day of our a week away, Tobias had come to a very surprising invitation. "Do you wanna go visit my grandma?"
"Seriously?" I knew he must've seen the look on my face. And I knew it looked funny.
"Yes, Elliot. Seriously."
Holy shit. "Holy shit."
"But if you don't want to-"
"No, no. I do want to. It's just surprising and also weird. I didn't even get the chance to pack nice clothes! At least, you could've given me a heads up, Tobias."
"That kills the thought of surprise."
"You are full of surprises."
"I can't say I'm not." He smiled. And that was that. I will be meeting Tobias' grandmother and I need to look good and prepare what I need to do. Tobias looked me in the eye. "Don't think of it too much, Elliot. Just be you. My grandmother is an elegant woman. She'll love you."
"I hope she does." I really hope she does.
***
We took a car ride from Paris to the provincial region of France. It was sunny that day and I have a pair of sunglasses on my eyes the whole ride. I watched as the world go fast and the sun stood at the very vast space of the sky.
From time to time, Tobias would lay his hand on my lap. And I would take it and hold it. We'd stay in that position, in the silence that we didn't hate. I mostly think about a lot of things. But for now, all I could think of was meeting Tobias' grandmother and how would it go.
Tobias broke the silence. "Are you nervous?"
"You really have to ask?" I said.
He sighed. "Don't be. Please."
"You can't tell me what not to feel, Tobias."
"What could I do to take that feeling away?"
"Hold my hand." I said.
"I'm already holding it," he said.
"Hold it a little bit longer."
"I'll hold it for the whole ride."
"Just for the whole ride?"
"You know I'd hold your hand forever. I'd hold it 'til I could trace and memorize each of the lines from your palm. I'd hold it 'til our hands get numb and the the last thing we would feel is each other's grasp."
Tobias Antoine, a man full of words.
"You are indeed full of surprises and full of weird things. I don't know what my life would be without you." And then I held his hand tighter, just like the first time I did.
YOU ARE READING
Elliot
Teen Fiction[Unedited] College freshman Elliot doesn't care much about the world. School, video games, smoking, skateboarding: his life revolves on those things only. He is put into a miserable episode when he had his break up with his girlfriend. But then he m...
