The Book of Us

A bit carried away?...

"Come for dinner, kids" Kirsten called up at us

"Coming," Grace  calls back. She stares hard at the two of us again, whilst i make an effort to re-clip my bra. She walks out. As she gets out the door she puts on a smile and heads down.

"Grace, I'm sorry..." i say getting up. She turns to me and just looks. The fake smile still on her face, but her eyes bore into mine like they're daggers. Nathan gets up to go to the door. He looks at me and goes to kiss my cheek, but i pull my face away, so he gives me a friendly hug instead. I walk out just after him.

*****

"Dinners great, Love," Mr Edgley says, its true, I haven't seen Mr Edgley this happy in a long time. The only time Grace looks up from her food is to stare at us. Nathan and i sit next to each other, the hand that he isn't eating with, rubbing my thigh to try to comfort me, he can see I'm moments away from tears.

"Excuse me, I need a bit of Fresh air, I'm feeling a bit ill." I wipe my mouth and walk outside. I climb to the top of the fortress, a five story tree house Grace and i started to make but never finished. Only the floor space of each level is completed, and grace and i are the only ones who can get to the fifth floor. The tree is a enormous weeping willow and the fifth level is completely covered with the leaves and i have a water proof bean bag up here so i can read in peace, but today I collapse into it, crying

"Ella" a voice calls from below "are you in the fortress?"

"Kirsten? Yeah I'm up here" i call down

"Would you like some ginger tea to calm your stomach?"she asks

"Yes, please, that would be lovely" i reply i go back to crying. I might well have lost my best friend and my first kiss to the wrong person. I cry until someone taps my shoulder. I turn to see Grace, holding a cup of tea. "Go away" i say in an unflatteringly croaky voice.

"No, i have a job, to protect you and i cant let you go around snogging the most popular boys in scotch" She's talking about the most prestige boys school in Australia. "First it'll be Nathan then you'll meet others and start going out with them. It just will keep going and it'll transform you into something else. I can allow you to-" she get interrupted by a voice on the fourth level of the fortress
"But your allowed to shag James in the attic" i realise the voice is Nathan's and i let down the secret ladder.

"That was one time, Nathan, one time"

"Wait who's James?" I ask

"He was my best friend" Nathan replies "until i walked in on him taking off her shirt in the attic, he just pushed me out of the attic and continued what he was doing.

S"o you can go around telling people who they can and can't like and dislike. But i don't even get to know when you've lost your virginity!?" I scream at Grace."I hate you, i always will" she starts crying and leaves the fortress.

"Ella, that might've been a little harsh. I mean she made a mistake about who to be with. We all do that."

"Me and grace have our problems and one of them is who we're dating. It's an obstacle we've avoided for way to long and now I've got to address it." He lays down next to me on the bean bag

"I think I love you Ella, but there are obstacles in everyone's life, and we all have to deal with them." He looks at me, he's sad about something "do you love me?" He asks with sad eyes. He pulls me closer to him. And pulls me on top of him. He kisses me so passionately that it might actually be real. Once again his hands snake up my back and undo my bra. That's when I realize that this has gone on too long, I'm getting addicted to it. I push him away from me and get up and leave the fortress.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I run into graces bedroom and engulf her in a hug. "I'm so sorry Grace," I whisper over and over, crying

"What happened, what did he do to you,"she asks, concern in her eyes

"Ella, what's wrong"Nathan says as he barges into the room

"She's having a moment, cant you see?" Grace says. He lifts his hands in defeat and walks out the door."what did Nathan do to you?"

"I cant take it, Grace, it hurts too much. I think I might lov-"

"Don't you say that Ella, he's got you under his spell. He's popular, he knows how to make you want him. I want to know exactly what happened earlier. With the game of truth or dare,"

"He just...kissed me" I️ cant tell her the truth, shed hate me forever

"And do you think he loves you?"

"He said in the fortress that he thought he loved me"

"Yes. But what do you think"

"I don't know, Grace, he's nice and i sure wouldn't mind kissing him again. But he didn't seem real. Not like Hudson. Hudson would comfort me when I was crying and not give advice. Just comfort and ask what's wrong. Nathan, on the other hand, he's doing what he thinks is right. But its not right. He's telling me what to do, where as Hudson would just listen. I think he might love me, but not enough for it to be real love."

"Ella, to be honest with you, that sh*t is so f*cking sappy and I️ hate it but whatever. But right now I️ really need to use the bathroom"
I laugh, Grace makes me happy.

"You go do that, Grace," she leaves the room and i hear the door of the wash room close. Then Nathan walks in and looks at me, sadly. "Hey, um, before we go into any details, i want to know how much of that you really heard." I ask. He walks up to me and flat out kisses me. Really passionately. He lifts me up and i wrap my legs around his waist. He really is good at kissing. He stops kissing me and puts me down his arms around my waist, my arms around his neck, my head on his shoulder, his head resting on mine. He kisses the top of my head.

"I hope that felt real enough for you, Ella" he whispers in my ear. Then he lets go of me and walks out. And just in time, because grace walks in about three seconds later. She looks back suspiciously.

"He came to apologise" I️ lie "for being such a dick in the fortress"

"Like hell he apologised" she retorts