Haunt You x Conrad Fisher

Chapter Thirty-Five

Elena

I stood in front of the Fisher's front door nervously rocking back and forth. It's been two days since mine and Conrad's date. Since then, I haven't heard from him. He's been ghosting me and I needed to know why. I thought the date went well. We even made out in his car before he dropped me off back home that night.

I woke up this morning so determined to get an answer from him. I don't take being lied to, too kindly. Two days ago when I called Conrad he was oddly short saying he wasn't feeling well, so I gave him space. This morning however, Jeremiah called me begging to get Conrad out of the house because he has been nothing but moody and moping around.

So, what went wrong from the time he dropped me off at my house to the next morning when I called him?

I reached out to press the doorbell but before I could, the front door swung open and my gaze fell on mischievous ocean blue eyes.

"Oh thank god, you're here El," Jeremiah said letting out a huge sigh of relief. "Conrad's back to his funk he had before you two started messing around. Everyone is so on edge around him because we never know what will set him off."

Before I could I say one word, Jeremiah's hands were on my shoulders pulling me into their house. A small gasp escaped as I stumbled forward gripping onto his forearms to steady myself. "Jeremiah!" I hissed.

"Sorry, my black cat. I'm in a little bit of a rush, you see," he said pointing to his outfit which now caused my gaze to follow. He was in a white lifeguard tank and red shorts and I raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Long story short, because I really am late. I work at the club as a lifeguard. Steven and Belly will also be at the club. Steven also for work as a waiter and Belly for the debutant lunch. Only Laurel, mom and Conrad will be home."

Jeremiah working as a lifeguard at the club was definitely something I had to see for myself. He wasn't a big fan of kids and majority of the people occupying the pool was children.

He finally paused, taking in a deep breath. Jeremiah did a little twirl going behind me and nudged me forward towards their kitchen. Once again I stumble forward, furrowing my eyebrows not appreciating being pushed. "Conrad has been grumpy cleaning the kitchen spotless for the last hour." I turned to look at him, a mischievous grin displayed on his face. "Please handle him, however you like."

And before I could let out a second word to this whole conversation, he was out the door, slamming it shut. I loved Jeremiah, but man, sometimes I wish the guy would take a breath and slow down.

"Jeremiah, don't slam the door!" I heard Conrad's yell from the kitchen.

I shook my head laughing. That's the golden retriever for you though, always on the go.

"Hey stranger. You think you could just lie to me?" I said walking into the kitchen making my presence known. I immediately stopped talking as I noticed Conrad's body tense as he was washing a dish. His shoulders were slumped and his head lowered. "Everything okay?"

"I didn't necessarily lie. I haven't been feeling too good, mentally. But most of all, I've been wanting to stay home and help my mom around the house. She's actually the one that hasn't been feeling too well," he said.

I nodded in complete understanding, stepping closer to him. I was a little surprised he told me that much to be honest, he's usually closed off.

But, he wasn't avoiding me and that's all I needed to hear. An honest answer was all I wanted. A part of me was scared that he regretted the date- or worse, me. "Has Susannah eaten lunch yet?" I asked.

"No," Conrad shook his head as he continued scrubbing the same dish over again. Definitely signs of an anxiety coping method. I leaned over noticing the plate was spotless clean. "I was about to heat up some frozen leftovers from yesterday's grill for her."