Caught In The Crossfires - Spinoff

19

CHAPTER 19

Lola

Elise and I bypassed the main house, coming to the side entryway with a coded door. She centered four quick digits, and it popped out. Okay, Fancypants. We then went straight to the poolside guest house.

I shuffled hastily on my feet, trying not to fall behind as my eyes took in the huge backyard. Shit, and I thought my place was too big.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Elise laughed as she opened the guesthouse door and walked inside. There was nothing humble about this home. I thought, stepping in and closing it behind me. She threw her bag down beside the couch before sitting, and I followed suit.

"So, have you been in Miami long?" I asked, tucking a loose piece of wavey raven hair behind my ear. Elise's green eyes followed my movement then she sent me a smile before answering my question.

"A week but before I left for Cali, thirteen years. My family isn't originally from here, so we moved here when I was younger. What about you?"

Elise reached over, opening a drawer on her coffee table, pulling out a little tin box, and placing it on the table. Sitting back on the couch, I let out a weak laugh, "same. My family is from Italy. I used to go a lot as a kid," smiling at the memories of running through my Nonna's farm, eating wild grapes, and playing with the livestock.

Then a sudden wave of sadness washed over me. "That was before my parents were murdered."

Sheesh, Lola. I really wasn't sure why I was talking about this with a complete stranger, but I had decided to give her a chance. Which meant I wanted to be as transparent as she had been with me about why she moved back. Plus, she seemed like a pretty cool chick. Something about her was so familiar to me, but I couldn't quite place my finger on it. It felt like I'd known her forever.

"Shit, murdered? I'm so sorry, man," Elise shook her head, sending me a sad smile as she opened the box. I furrowed my brows in curiosity, leaning forward to see what she was doing. Ah! She pulled out a perfectly rolled joint, bringing it to her lips and lighting it.

Exhaling a massive cloud of smoke, she extended her arm, passing it to me, but I shook my head. "No thanks, I've only done that once, and I ended up eating my weight in mac and cheese. I was bloated for days."

Waving her off, I shrugged. Elise smiled and took another hit. "More for me than."

Weed had never been my thing, but I did like how it made me feel. It was just the eating everything in my line of sight that I had an issue with though I did have the best sleep of my life that night. Sleep hadn't come easy since Brody came to my shop, and I could use some solid rest. I mean, what's the worst that can happen, right?

"You know what, I think I'll give it another go."

︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

Two joints and a few bowl packs later, we were stoned off our asses, chuckling over the stupidest things until my stomach was so tight it physically pained me to laugh. I couldn't remember the last time I laughed this hard.

Elise and I had spent the last two hours smoking while comparing notes about who fucked up our relationship was with both our older brothers. I found out: her favorite color is green, like the color of her eyes. She's a lesbian. She loves to travel, and like me, Nic, and Enzo, Elise lost her parents at a young age.

I liked her. For whatever reason talking with Elise came easily. Which I really enjoyed because it reminded me of how effortlessly Catalina and I clicked. It's weird how similar things are between her, and I think I made a good decision befriending her since my BFF didn't seem to have much time for me these days. Not that I minded. I knew she and Liam were going through a rough patch. I just missed her and making more friends couldn't hurt. Right?