The Tree Remembers

Ohio

I watched Elle as she kicked her shoes off and walked to her kitchen counter, setting her bag and keys on it. I looked around her apartment.

It was a studio apartment, her large bed pushed up against the window that was letting in moonlight and her couch in the living room area, facing a large stereo with a collection of albums and cassettes in shelves around it. Her Christmas lights that she hung around her apartment were lit, giving everything a soft glow.

"Do you want a beer or something?" she asked. I smiled and nodded at her, pulling my jacket off and hanging it off the back of the couch. I started walking towards her, but she held her hand up, stopping me. I raised an eyebrow.

"What?" I asked. She scoffed.

"Were you raised in a barn? Shoes off," she ordered.

I grinned and pulled my boots off before padding over to her. She grabbed two beers from the fridge and handed me one. I twisted the cap off and we clinked our bottles together to cheers each other. I leaned close to her, looming over her. I grinned as she turned red and scurried around me, messing with her stereo and putting an INXS album on. She sat on the couch, of course not inviting me to join her. I plodded over to her and dropped onto the couch, close to her. I grinned at her, taking a sip of my beer.

"Give me enough room to breathe, weirdo," she snapped, elbowing me. I laughed and scooted over, giving her some space. I leaned back and watched her, grinning as she started getting fidgety.

"Your apartment is nice," I complimented. She nodded, still not looking at me.

"Thank you," she responded tersely. I could tell how nervous she was, and I reached out to touch her elbow gently.

"I can leave if you want me to, Belle," I offered, wanting her to be comfortable. She shook her head.

"No, no – it's okay," she insisted. She finally looked at me, smiling weakly. "Just not used to visitors."

"Well, I'm thankful for your hospitality," I replied.

"Not that you deserve much," she quipped. I felt my chest burn – I loved when she was mean to me. I nodded and smiled at her, taking another sip of beer. We continued to listen to music and make small talk, the room becoming more and more charged with the tension between us.

She stood, finishing her beer and offered to take my empty bottle.

"Ready for bed?" she squeaked, padding away before I could answer.

She threw our bottles away and disappeared into her bathroom for a moment. I heard her sink run for a bit, and I stood, waiting for her to return. The sink shut off and she reappeared. I felt my heart catch when I saw her in a nightgown that clung to her curves, and she handed me a pair of oversized sweatpants.

---

"You can change in the bathroom," I explained, nodding to the room. He smiled and took the pants from me, our hands brushing against each other. I felt my face flush, and he sauntered off. "There's a spare toothbrush on the counter, too."

He nodded at me before closing the door behind him. I let out a shuddering breath, overwhelmed by the tension between the two of us. Everything he said or did made my stomach flip, and I needed to calm down.

I moved around the room, shutting off the different fairy lights around my little studio apartment off. I turned my stereo off, and I felt my heart skip when I heard the sink shut off. I pulled a blanket from my bed and spread it on the couch. I turned when Eddie reappeared, my stomach flipping. He was in the wifebeater that he was apparently wearing under the flannel he had been wearing and the sweatpants left by an ex-boyfriend of mine. He grinned and set his clothes on the coffee table before spinning around.