"Tell me. What are the dreams of Ellie Cartwright?" He asked me, smiling down. The sun glimmered in his hair, forming an angelic look around him as the light created a halo. I half smiled, realizing that this boy honestly could pass as an angel.
I sighed, "A world where relationships are never full of bullshit."
Keaton laughed, "That's so deep I can't even see you anymore."
"Laugh all you want, you know it's what you'd wish for too," I told him. He paused and nodded, then began to run his finger through my hair.
Smiling, I let his fingers dance through the tangled waves of my hair. My head in his lap, both of our legs stretched out and being tickled by the flowers and grass. We sat together in the middle of a gorgeous yet dying meadow.
"Do you ever wonder what your life will be like in twenty years?" He asks me.
I close my eyes, "I wonder what my life will be like in one year."
He nodded in understanding and pulled his hand away, leaning back on both of them in the grassy field. I opened my eyes to stare up at the clouds as I watched them morph into different shapes. I smiled at a rose-shaped cloud, fluffy and pure white.
"Let's go steal a bottle of liquor from the club," I slipped without thinking.
Keaton laughed, "You're on."
And so we drove down near the club and walked the rest of the way there, walking through the alley, "This'll be fast."
I ran in through the side door and ducked into the back storage room, grabbing a bottle of vodka. I sprinted back out and crashed right into Keaton, who caught me easily. He sat me on the ground where I sat cross legged. He mimicked me as I popped open the bottle.
"How much can you take?" I questioned.
He raised an eyebrow, "Guess we'll have to wait and find out."
An hour later, the vodka bottle was empty and lying in the alley. Keaton helped me to my feet and I slipped off my heels that I had stupidly worn today. I walked down the cobble alley with bare feet being pinched by every pebble and stone.
"I cannot believe you drank half of that in 15 minutes," Keaton slurred and I laughed.
"You know, I think you're drunk!"
He gave me a weird look and shook his head like a five year old, "I'm not drunk!"
"Whatever you say, Keaton," I say while shaking my head.
As we neared the edge of the alley, three figured blocked our path. I froze at the sight of the one in the middle. The middle person stopped too, staring at me, "El?"
"It's Ellie to you," I spat, grabbing Keaton's wrist and dragging him out of the alley and past the three guys. After a five minute jog, he stopped me.
"Who was that?" He cupped my face, making me look directly into his eyes.
I shook my head and slipped out of his grasp, "No one. Can we go back to my place? I'm sure my dad's gone by now."
He nodded and we walked down the roads in silence-- I'd come back for my car tomorrow. We reached the house and walked straight in. Carter, Josh and Ethan were playing poker in the dining room. We joined them and played poker for another three hours until everyone decided they had to go.
Ethan went up to bed and Josh and Carter left together, leaving Keaton and I alone once more, today. As we finished cleaning up the cards, chips and snacks, he looked at me curiously.
"You know, I don't care that I have a hangover forming right now. I want to know who that was," He told me, a steely look in his eyes.
I turned to him after throwing a broken glass into the trash, "Listen, it's not important."
He grabbed my forearms, "To me it is."
I sighed, "You can stay in my room tonight, I'm not letting you walk home in your condition."
He rolled his eyes, but followed me upstairs nonetheless. I changed into shorts and a tank top while Keaton changed into a pair of shorts that Ethan had lent him. His torso was bare and I had to admit, he was pretty muscular.
I crawled into bed with him, the room dark and peacefully quiet. A sudden thought popped up in my head and I smiled, "You know, we never had that boxing match."
"You're so on," He said, laughing.
Another ten minutes of silence.
"Ellie," he cut through like a razor blade, "Please tell me who that was."
Closing my eyes, painful memories filled my head, "He was my ex-boyfriend."
∞
YOU ARE READING
Ellie
Teen Fiction"Elliot Cartwright, will you be my girlfriend?" He asked me, down on one knee. He held a dozen white roses and had hope plastered on his face. His smile was dazzling and he looked like a frickin' Hollister model in this moment. But then, everything...
