TROUBLE

Chapter 11

Layla's POV

Eric opens the door to his black jeep rangler and puts out a hand to help me up into it. I take it graciously and climb up into the large off road vehicle. This is a damn nice car.

He comes around the other side after shutting my door and starts the engine. The jeep rumbles to life and I laugh at the sudden vibrations. He puts it in gear and peels out of the parking lot, most likely leaving skid marks behind.

I can't help but watch him as he changes gears every so often. It's very attractive, the way his triceps flex when he pulls back on the stick.

Eric glances at me out of the corner of his eye and smirks. "Something caught your eye?"

I can feel my cheeks burn red and I look back towards the open road.

"Where are you taking me?" I say, changing the subject.

"You'll see." Is all he says.

The road is lined with huge oak trees on both sides, providing an endless shadow that stretches for miles. It's nice, though on such a hot day like this. As we crest a hill, tumbling green pastures greet us.

The jeep suddenly accerlerates and my stomach drops as we pummel down the hill. I throw my hands above my head like I would if we were on a roller coaster and I start screaming.

"Go faster!" I yell at him. He smirks at me before changing gears again. We lurch forward and the wind starts to rapidly hit us. My heart pounds at the adrenaline rush but I can't get enough. I honestly can't remember the last time I even attempted to drive over the speed limit.

After a few more miles, tall stadium lights come into view. I know where we are now.

I look at Eric and he returns my gaze.

"Thought I forgot about this place, Gracie?" We're still going exceptionally fast so he has to yell a little bit over the wind but I can still hear the softness in his voice.

"I never thought you would forget."

This was the old stadium for the varsity football team. When Eric and I were both freshman, it got shut down because the school board decided to build a closer field to the school campus. I remember when we were extremely small how Eric would always talk about playing on this field one day and leading the team to the state championship.

"Me and some of the guys come here and practice sometimes." He says as we pull into the parking lot. I wrinkle up my nose in confusion.

"You can still get in?"

He laughs as he steps out onto the pavement and comes to open my door. He's being quite the gentleman today.

"Technically, no. But when has something like that stopped me before?" I have to roll my eyes at his amused tone. It must be nice to get away with so much.

He interlaces his fingers with mine once again and we begin walking to the field. The fence and bleachers have rusted over after continuous rain and little to no maintenance.

Eric pulls open the gate to the entrance and pushes me forward onto the weathered grass. This place has to be over 30 years old.

"How exactly is bringing me here going to help with my injury?" I finally say. Although it's nice to reminace, this has nothing to do with what he said earlier about helping me.

"I keep a bag of stuff here. Like I said, we come and practice." He jogs over to an open shed on the side of the field. It must have been placed there to store stuff but never got hauled away once they were done.

Eric comes back out, holding a burgandy bag. He sets it on the ground in front of him once he's made his way back over to me and starts rifling through it.

He pulls out a tube of something, I'm not quite sure what and unscrews the cap. He rubs the white cream in between his fingers and then steps closer to me to examine my face. He gently rubs the cream along my jaw line up to my cheek bone. It tingles my skin on contact.

"What is that?" I ask, looking down at the tube in his other hand. He continues to massage my face as he speaks.

"Pain relief cream. It will help with the swelling." I hadn't even realized that it had swollen.

He seems so lost in thought as he stares at the side of my face. I rest my hand on top of his and he finally looks at me.

"I am sorry." It almost sounds like a command that I have to believe. But what is he sorry for? For hurting me physically or emotionally?

"For?" I say, stepping away from his touch. His expression changes into a hard glare.

"For hurting you."

I cross my arms over my chest and kick at the ground mindlessly.

"Yeah, but for this?" I point at my cheek. "Or for kissing that other girl?"

He rolls his eyes and lets out a frustrated breath. "Does it even matter? I apologized. What else do you want from me?!"

I step back, away from his angry tone. Why is he so mad all of a sudden.

"I just want to know what's going on."

He throws the pain cream back into his bag, viciosly and looks back up to me.

"I don't know, Layla. I'm just trying to have a good senior year before real life starts. I got my parents, your dad, every fuckin person on friday night, watching me! This is a crucial time. Talent scouts are going to come see me."

He's gradually gotten closer with every word and I stare up into his eyes. He's stressed.

"Well you could have just said that. Instead of dragging me into things."

His face twists with rage as he narrows his eyes down at me. "Dragging you into things? I kissed you. A fuckin kiss." He runs his hands down his face as his teeth grind together.

"I should have known you would take things personally. Just like you always do."

A pain shoots through my chest at his sudden attack of words. I watch him as he steps away from me and starts collecting his things.

"Well I'm sorry for thinking that you kissing me, after all this time and everything that's happened over the past couple of years, would mean something!" I yell at him at his back in turned towards me.

He whips around and trudges over so that he's in my face. His hot breath hits me.

"After all that's happened? What's happened, Layla? Last time I checked, you got too good for me. You ran off with Four!" He spits out the name. This is what this is all about?

Without thought, I place my hands at the him of his shirt and tug lightly. "You had your own friends. We went our separate ways. I didn't think that it bothered you."

He grabs my hands and holds them tightly in between his. He pulls me closer to his body, forcing me to look up at him.

"You left when I needed you the most." What? He needed me? No, that can't be possible.

"But why didn't you say anything?" I whisper. He licks his lips and brings his head down level with mine.

"Because. Seeing you with all of them, made me realize that you were going off to do better things. You wouldn't have time to deal with the me and my shit."

I wrap my fingers around his biceps and bring my face closer to his.

His lips brush mine so softly. I don't know what to say to him. So long we've stayed in the dark with one another. I did go my separate path from him. Not on purpose. He didn't even seem like it bothered him. He had all his friends and all those other girls.

But when I press my lips to his, none of that matters.

What is everyone think so far? I've got big plans for this story!!! Thanks for all the ideas! Comment and vote!