All too well ² // the fisher brothers

004

Eleanor 🎀

We arrive at the party, and I decide to stick close to Isla since I'm not much of a social butterfly. However, she leaves me alone to hang out with Aaron. "Hey, cute girl," a guy approaches me, and I feel a bit uncomfortable.

"Um, hey?" I respond cautiously, glancing over at Aaron who comes to my defense by putting his arm around me.

"Is he your boyfriend?" the guy asks, eyeing Aaron.

"She's mine, so you better leave before I pull your eyes out of your eye socket," Aaron warns, his protective instincts kicking in.

"Okay, no need to be defensive, man," the guy backs off, sensing Aaron's seriousness.

I tease Aaron, "Someone's jealous."

"Am not," he denies, but I can tell he's a little on edge.

"Am too," I playfully retort.

"Okay, I'm going to the drinks table," I announce, feeling a sudden urge to drown my thoughts in alcohol. I start drinking, and before I know it, I've had too much.

Aaron intervenes, taking the drink from my hand. "Come on, give it to me, Ella," he urges gently.

"No, please let me have it," I plead weakly.

"No, go do something else. But no more drinking," he insists, his concern evident in his voice.

"Okay, if you say so. I'm gonna go flirt with some guys," I declare, attempting to lighten the mood.

"No, stay. Don't go. Flirt with me," he says, his tone serious this time.

"I knew it," I tease him again as I walk inside and sit on the couch, Aaron following closely behind.

"When?" I ask him, feeling the effects of the alcohol clouding my thoughts.

"What?" he responds, clearly confused.

"When did you like me?" I clarify, needing to know.

"I think the question is when didn't I like you?" he admits, his words catching me off guard.

"Huh," is all I can manage to say, my head spinning.

"Come, let's dance. You dance with her, and I'll dance with him," I suggest, pointing to two blurry figures on the dance floor.

"No," he refuses.

"Why?" I press, feeling a mix of curiosity and frustration.

"She's not you," he confesses, his voice filled with sincerity.

"What?"

"She. Isn't. You," he says, his voice filled with emotion.

"What do you mean?" I ask, feeling my heart race.

"You're so oblivious. I have always liked you, Ella. There has never been a moment where I haven't liked you," he says, smiling sadly. "From the first day you and Isla became friends, I fell in love with you. And from that day on, I don't think I have been able to not fall in love with you. My heart is, and always will be, yours. Fuck Conrad and Jeremiah. Be with me; I won't break your fucking heart the way they did."

"Hey, you still there?" Conrad asks me, his voice pulling me back from my thoughts. "So... my roommate Trusky..."

"Oh, did he sleepwalk in his underwear again?" I ask, trying to lighten the mood.

"No, he didn't, he didn't, thankfully. But we were talking, and it turns out he's a 5G conspiracist."

I laugh a little. "So apparently, that guy that Katie was seeing had a girlfriend the whole time and it just sucks. Like, he didn't really seem like the type, you know?"

Conrad's voice drops, serious. "Did you know my dad cheated?"

"Shit! I'm sorry," I say, my heart aching for him.

"The first time my mom was sick, he had an affair with his secretary, Kayleigh. I found out about it last spring, on, like, the same day I found out about my mom's cancer coming back."

"You know you could have told me. I would have been there for you," I say, feeling a pang of guilt for not knowing, for not being there.

"I know."

"How'd you find out?" I ask him. I wasn't there for him last summer, but now he's the only one who needs me, and I'm determined to be there for him.

"Um, I came home early from school one day and... heard them fighting. She was crying so much, Ellie. She... I've never heard her cry like that before. So I left. I went back out, drove around town for two hours, and came back and pretended not to know anything."

"I'm so sorry," I say, feeling his pain. "It sucks that you had to carry that secret for so long." I want to give him a hug so badly. I know how much he needs it, but I can't because we don't live close. So I guess I've got to talk and listen to him.

"Yeah, it was just exhausting. I couldn't turn my brain off. It was like if you do this, then this horrible thing is gonna happen, but if you do that, then, you know, this catastrophic thing will happen."

"Oh, my god, that sounds so stressful."

"Yeah, it really was."

"Oh, goddamn it, it's 2:00. You said you have to practice early. I should let you go," Conrad says, sounding reluctantly.

"Five more minutes?" I ask him, not ready to hang up just yet.

"Sure," he says, and I can hear a smile in his voice.

Aaron comes closer to me and starts twirling me around. I feel a dizzy wave crash over me. "Aaron, I feel sick," I say, just as I vomit on his shoes. He looks down, stunned, as I stumble away, barely managing to keep my balance.

I walk outside, the cool night air hitting my face. Milo, Taylor's boyfriend, is singing some song I can't quite place, and I see Isla standing nearby. I make my way over to her, though I can't even walk in a straight line. "Hey Islaaaaaa," I say, my voice slurring.

"Shit! You're drunk," she says, her eyes wide with concern.

But I laugh it off, waving my hand. "It's fine," I tell her.

"It's not fine. You've never gotten this drunk before. And where's Aaron?" Isla asks, scanning the crowd.

"I don't know. He said something about loving someone, and then I vomited on his shoes," I say, giggling at the memory.

"Shit! He told you," Isla says, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Told me what?" I ask, my brain foggy and slow to catch up.

"Nothing," Isla says quickly, avoiding my gaze.

I try to focus, but everything feels like it's spinning. I know I should be worried about what Aaron said and why Isla looks so anxious, but all I can think about is how much my head hurts and how much I just want to lie down.

Word count: 1,111 words