The Risk Takers

Part 5 | Trust

The next morning I roll over to find that Liam is no longer next to me. I felt him toss and turn all night so I am surprised to see that he is up and out of here so early. I quickly shower and after I am dressed, I see a text from him, Can we trust Teddy? I lift my head up confused. Is this why he was unable to sleep? He is debating whether or not we can trust Teddy? I quickly write him back, What makes you think otherwise? I continue getting ready and after I am finished curling my hair I hear my phone buzz. It all just seems too easy. I sit back down onto my vanity chair and run through everything that happened yesterday. I was completely stunned to discover how calculated Teddy's been but I don't think I should doubt our friendship. We've hung out almost everyday for the past two months and never once has he given me a reason to distrust him. I guess until now.

But on the flip side, I haven't been completely honest with Teddy either. And if I really needed Teddy right now, I think he'd do anything for me. I write back Liam, Yes, I think he has hidden stuff from me, but what else could Teddy's agenda be? Everything makes sense and if his parents were interested in the abilities themselves, they had them at their disposal. It doesn't make sense for Teddy to double cross us. Come back here so we can hear his plan and then we can decide. As if on cue, there's a light knock on my door and Teddy's big brown eyes peek through the crack.

"Are you decent?" He asks me and I allow him inside my room. I see he's dressed in nice khaki pants and a red button down looking nice for Thanksgiving.

"How'd you sleep?" he asks me and I decide to see if Teddy is really trustworthy.

"Not well actually, I think Liam and I don't connect like we once did ya know? I think spending all that time apart showed us that maybe we aren't really compatible. I think we are over," I lie and make sure I'm shielding my thoughts. Teddy strides over to me and quickly slides his arm around me

"I'm sorry Ellie, I know you've been looking forward to having him back."

"Yeah...but we got into it this morning. I don't think we can do whatever plan it was you wanted to do. I don't even know if I'll see Liam today, or ever."

He pulls me into a side hug and says, "Don't worry about it. We'll figure something else out okay? Let's just enjoy Thanksgiving then."

I look to him and try out my best acting skills, "But what about your parents? Aren't they going to be mad that you got this close and I ruined it all for you?"

Teddy lets out a light laugh, "Ellie it's not the end of the world. We'll think of something else and to be honest, we don't really need Liam to carry out a plan. We couldn't guarantee he'd ever show up so we had other ideas, plan B. It was just a bonus that he turned up."

"Wow, I didn't think you'd be so cool about this." I confess and I figured he'd lose his cool if his only intentions were getting close to Liam and Topher. He stands up and starts walking back to the door, "Let me know if you need anything. Let's just focus on Thanksgiving today and we'll figure out the rest later."

Right as he's about to dip out of my room I call out to him, "Teddy wait!" He looks back to me and I wave him back inside.

"I lied. I'm sorry, me and Liam are fine," I confess and he instantly looks puzzled. "I wanted to make sure you weren't setting us up for something. I thought maybe if I told you Liam and I were over you'd freak out or something."

Teddy looks to me hurt, "You don't trust me?" I reach my hand out and pull him over to me.

"Teddy I have known you for a few months now and you've never given me any reason to doubt you. But then I find out our friendship has been a bit calculated and Liam wasn't sure if maybe you had another agenda."

"Ellie, I told you that my parents didn't want me to say anything. I had to protect them too."

"I know, I know..."

"Look, I don't know what I gotta do to convince you that I'm not going to double cross you or have another agenda or whatever it is you are worried about." I look to him and my silence causes him to add, "I'm still Teddy. I'm still everything you thought you knew."

He's right. I've slept in his bed, we share food. He's let me literally cry on his shoulder over Liam and I've read and helped reply to over half his tinder matches. I know him. I wave my hands in front of me, "I know, Teddy. I trust you. Liam is on his way over and you can tell us your idea once he gets here." Teddy pulls me to my feet and we make our way downstairs where my mother is waiting with a delicious spread of breakfast foods.

"Good morning you two, have some breakfast," she says warmly and from her airy attitude, I know she'll drop yesterday's events until the holiday is over.

"Thank you Mrs. Adler, this looks great," Teddy gushes as he fills his plate with fluffy quiche and fruit. I follow behind him and we both take a seat at the table. I've noticed my mother has already decorated the downstairs with fall themed decor and I imagine the dining room looks even more elegant. She always hosts a lavish Thanksgiving so I know I am to be on my best behavior today in front of all of her guests. My little run in with the police needs to stay secret and I don't even think my dad is aware of all that yet. My mom usually keeps him in the dark as long as she can.

"What time is dinner?" I ask my mom as she folds a stack of napkins and she responds, "The caterers will be here to drop off the food around four and we will plan on sitting down to eat around six. So whatever it is you think you are doing today needs to be done by four o'clock." I glance to Teddy and he nods. Tell your mom you are going out for a bit.

"Okay mom, I was thinking of taking Teddy to the town center today to walk around for a bit but we'll be back before four." I tell her and she nods to me before taking her neatly folded napkins into the dining room. Teddy and I finish breakfast and as soon as we are done, I grab my mom's keys and head to the garage. I try calling Liam to see where he's at and he answers on the second ring, "I'm on my way to your house now." It throws me off that he actually answered because I've grown accustomed to listening to his voicemail.

"Okay, Teddy and I will be waiting outside my house for you." We walk down to the end of the driveway and I see Liam walking up to my house from down the block. I realize he doesn't have a car, which means where ever he has been he went on foot.

"Does Liam trust me?" Teddy asks me before Liam is within earshot and I glance to him, "I think he wants to."

"Well if we are going to pull this off, I need you both to trust me." He says right as Liam approaches us. Teddy glances between us and cheerily says, "Are you ready for this?" Liam nods with a quick glance to me. He's also dressed nicely in sleek black jeans and a slate gray sweater. Looking at Teddy and Liam standing next to each other, I realize the two men in my life couldn't be more different- in personality and looks. Teddy has bright features and dresses in casual shorts and t-shirts. He always has a positive attitude and he blurts out whatever is on his mind. Liam has dark, sharper features and is always looking polished. He's always inside his head and I have to force his thoughts out into the open. But even though the two are so different, they seem to be able to get along, which is huge to me.

"Look Liam, Ellie told me that you two were a bit hesitant about trusting me, and I totally get it," Teddy explains and Liam looks to me like I betrayed him. "So, I thought to make it easier to know I'm not trying to pull one over on you, I'd keep my thoughts open. You two will have access all day." Suddenly, Liam and I can both openly hear Teddy's thought process so I decide to open my thoughts too. Shockingly, Liam decides to let us into his head and without saying a word, we are all in agreement to trust each other.