The Vanishing Love Story

Alaine

I woke up feeling refreshed, I checked my phone to see two "good morning" messages from Zach and Elijah. I read Zach's first, reading that we need to reschedule our museum date because his cousins from San Francisco will be home next weekend. I replied letting him know that it's okay and that we can always reschedule. 

I opened his message and typed

Alaine: 

Good morning Elijah! Pick me up at 11 am, we can have brunch at Wildflour.

I sent the message, placed my phone down and did some of my schoolwork before getting ready. I opted for a cozy sweater weather look since it was raining, wearing a white tank top, grey cardigan and a long denim skirt. I tied my hair in a half-moon ponytail, a signature look I always go for. I grabbed my tote bag and headed to the dining room where Madeline, mom and Megan were eating. 

"You look stunning!" Madeline says complimenting my look 

"Thank you!" I replied 

"Who are you having brunch with?" Megan asked, leaning on her hand that was on top of the table 

"Elijah." I say, in a shy tone 

"Why are you blushing?" Madeline asks, touching my red cheeks 

"I am?" I say, grabbing my mirror in my tote bag and looking at myself 

I noticed my red cheeks, I tried stopping it, reminding myself that I am with Zach and not with Elijah. I shoved my mirror to my tote bag feeling kind of embarrassed but I immediately composed myself when my phone vibrated. 

I grabbed to check it and saw his message letting me know that he's in the lobby, I kiss my sisters and mom goodbye and said bye to the cats who were following me. I closed the door behind me, pressing the elevator, and going in. 

I walked towards Elijah, who had his windows rolled down, smiling at me, I felt myself blush but nudged myself out of it, reminding myself of how much I liked Zach. I went into the car, looking serious, and placed my seatbelt on. 

"Vegas Skies" by the cab playing on the car's radio, he drove in silence knowing that I didn't wanna talk. We parked in the mall's parking, crossing to where Wildflour is, the place wasn't as full as I was expecting it to be. I asked the waitress if we could be seated by the booth area, she agreed leading us there, Elijah behind me. 

We sat across from each other, reading through the brunch section which had a wide array of dishes that are normally served in household homes. I opted for the Eggs Benedict with hot chocolate while Elijah ordered their American breakfast; pancakes with maple syrup, scrambled eggs, pieces of crispy bacon with a side of tomatoes and sausages, he also opted for an Iced Mocha for his drink. 

The waitress got our menus, repeating our orders because she headed to the kitchen to give our order slips. While waiting we chatted over our usual topics; his podcast, the launch party, me applying for colleges, him preparing for his freshman year as a psychology major and the upcoming films that will be showing. 

Our food arrived, making us pause on our conversation, we took photos of our meal, before eating it. The eggs benedict was enjoyable, while Elijah seems satisfied with his food, more people started coming in while we were eating. After eating, we had our plates cleared leaving our drinks to continue speaking. We left the restaurant, both paying separately, we decided to go across to shop a bit while digesting our food. 

We went inside the mall, to see groups of friends and families, going in and out of shops on the first floor. Walking around the mall with him was entertaining that I didn't check my phone while we were together, we stopped by Healthy Options, a healthy food store, that was on the pricier side but mom and I would always enjoy their chips. Popcorners and Kettles were our favorite types of chips, I grabbed some placing it in my cart, while Elijah grabbed some other branded chips and healthy bars. 

We both paid, walking around one last time, trying to see if we needed to buy anything else, we decided to eat in Coffee Bean, sitting by the window across each other. We placed our bags on the extra chair facing the outside. I lined up to buy my drink while Elijah stayed guarding our stuff like the "gentleman" that he is. I ordered a French Vanilla Iced Latte with a ham and cheese sandwich, while Elijah ordered a hot camomile tea and some banana bread. 

We had a chill afternoon, sitting in the coffee shop eating whilst talking to each other about life, career plans and how Zach and I aren't going to the museum anymore next weekend. He asked me what I was doing but then told him i'll be working on my college applications instead while focusing on doing my other school requirements. 

He told me that we can work together in a cafe near his house that he wanted to try, I told him I would let him know if I'm free or not. We continued finishing our food while walking back to the car with our drinks. He dropped me off, hugged me and I went out of his car, I gave the guard a smile, while turning back to see him drive the roundabout, towards the exit. 

I sighed, realizing that I was starting to find him attractive, I went up to the apartment, seeing Madeline working on her laptop while Megan laid down next to her watching TV. I greeted mom who was in our laundry room doing some laundry, I headed to my room, putting my stuff down on the couch and sitting on my bed. I checked my messages to see if there were any messages from Zach and saw nothing from him, only a "read" notification on my last message I sent him. 

I scrolled through Instaglow until I stumbled upon a "Promoters Needed" poster from an events company. I tapped the account, to see Elijah's upcoming podcast name, and the details of how the event. Placed my phone down, walking to my bathroom to take a shower, I walked out of the bathroom feeling refreshed. I walked out to the Kitchen and saw two boxes of "Yellow cab" on the kitchen counter. 

"Mom left for a work meeting, so she told me we could order dinner while she's gone." Madeline said, reading the confused look on my face 

"We also ordered some chicken wings!" Megan added, getting a piece of chicken thigh and eating it 

I grabbed a plate, and opened the pizza boxes to see several slices of roasted garlic shrimp, meat lovers and garden special. I took two each from the boxes and claimed my seat next to Megan, Madeline sat beside me eating her pizzas. We ate in silence but talked about her work plans, and how Zach didn't message me at all, Megan told me that maybe he was just busy, while Madeline mentioned about not reading too much into him not texting me. I agreed to their advice, and shifted to Elijah and i's brunch hangout that we had. 

Madeline gave me a smirk while Megan was happy that he and I were hanging out more which made me come out of my shell. I liked that about him, the comfort and happiness I felt whenever I was around him differs to how I am around Zach. More reserved, more cautious and more quiet but with Elijah, i guess knowing his mom and my mom are friends, made me feel a sense of protection. 

I end up watching the dishes, while Madeline placed the leftover pizza in our containers placing them in our refrigerator while Megan fed our Rag dolls who was sleeping near the couch. We greeted each other goodnight, walking into our rooms and turning in for the night. 

Days went by with school being busy as ever, still no word from Zach, I asked for advice from Jamie who has experience with boys during our IW session and she told me that he probably ghosted me. I thought about what she said until I reached home, it's Friday evening and still no message from him. I sent him one last message asking him if everything was okay, I messaged Elijah's events team, letting them know I am interested in being one of their promoters. 

I sent a message from Elijah, letting him know that I'm free for our study session tomorrow, I put my phone down for the night, finishing up my school work and sleeping, feeling hurt by Zach, at the same time, looking forward to seeing Elijah again.