His Butterfly

Chapter 9

"Hey, stop beating yourself up about it." Ellie weightlessly drops herself onto my bed and unlocks her phone.

"You should've seen the look on his face though." I argue, flopping down on the floor, facing her. 

She adjusts herself so she's facing me and glances up from her phone, "I saw it. I was there, remember? It happened like two hours ago."

I force a smile and she rolls her body onto the floor, "He'll come around Brooke, just give him time."

I bite my lip and fall onto my back, "I guess."

"And plus, as you said, it's not like you like him so why does his opinion matter so much to you?"

I stare at the ceiling and place my hands over my stomach as if I'm in therapy, "I don't know." I say quietly, wondering why it makes me feel like this.

We become silent and I close my eyes, listening to the occasional tap of Ellie on her phone. Every now and then she let's out a quiet chuckle, obviously looking at memes, then continues scrolling.

I finally start to relax, letting all the tension from my body go. I concentrate on the tapping of her thumb and feel myself become restless.

"Brooke." I feel a shove on my arm and look to see Ellie staring back at me, "Your mom said someone's at the door for you."

I squeeze my eyes shut, fluttering them quickly to refocus from my oh so little rest, and pull myself up on my feet. I hear Ellie following and quickly spin, bumping right into her, "You can stay in my room, it won't take long." 

"I know, but I feel awkward alone so I'm just going to follow you."

I nod, and bolt down the stairs to the door while she takes her time.

I swing open the front door to see Jaxon sitting on a bench while my mom talks his ear off from across him. When he hears the door open, he instantly turns in my direction, and stands up acknowledging my presence.

"Brooklyn, you're going to have to wait, I'm not done telling Jaxon about this new recipe I found." He turns back to my mom, giving a little smile and continues listening to her ramble.

I step outside and Ellie follows, standing next to me, "Mom, he doesn't want to hear it."

She looks at me then quickly pats Jaxon's arm, "Oh I'm sorry, I'm not boring you, am I?" This is obviously her way to get him to feel bad and continue listening, which of course he gives in to.

"It's no trouble at all," he smiles again and I stuff my hands in my pockets, leaning against the bricks.

El looks back down at her phone, not knowing what else to do and my mom sighs loudly to make it more dramatic, "Fine, fine, I'm going. I guess I'm not cool enough anymore."

Ellie looks up from her phone and grins, "I think you're pretty cool."

"Suck-up," I mumble under my breath.

"And this is why you're the favourite daughter." My mom smiles, before shutting the front door behind her.

I glance up through my lashes at Jaxon who's already watching me.

"Do you want me to leave or...?" Ellie stands, placing her hands together and Jaxon shakes his head, "No it's fine, I think you should actually be here for what I have to say."

We both stay quiet and stare at him, unsure exactly what to do.

"I'm sorry for the way I acted today, it was unfair to you. What you said was right, I have no right to get involved in your business and in your life and I'm sorry. Even if I don't think you are making good choices, if it's what makes you happy, then I'm happy. Sure I'll point out when something feels wrong, but if you decide to ignore my opinion, that's your choice and I should support your decision."