A few days passed until Friday finally came along. And I was dreading it.
Waking up to see the date on the calendar send shivers of dread down my spine as I was reminded of my failure last week. It was just another reminder that life goes on.
Today, Eli had told me he was going to take me out on a date because of what day it was. I knew he was just secretly hoping he could take my mind off of what happened so I could move on.
Although I was excited though, I was still a bit nervous because it was the first serious date I'd been on before. I hadn't had many boyfriends in the past so it was new to me. Not that Eli was my boyfriend or anything, but going on dates isn't exactly the sort of thing friends do.
--
Later that day, I was ready for the date. I wore a casual summer dress with some nice shoes that I had managed to find in my pile of trainers and converse. My hair was left down as usual but I had straightened it so it wasn't so wavy. Little make up had been applied to my face as I liked to go natural as it also conserved a lot of time. I just had a bit of mascara on with some light pink lip-stick.
I climbed out of my window as I had gotten quite used to doing as gently as I could for the fear that my dress would be ruined. When I reached the grass below, I was happy to find that my dress was perfectly fine though and quickly made my way out of the garden and down the street.
Parked across the road was a dark blue car. It didn't look expensive but it wasn't that bad either. Perfect for Jett. I could already see him sat in the driver seat, looking bored as ever as he drummed his fingers along the wheel to a silent tune.
Eli then climbed out of the car and held the door open for me. I smiled gratefully and stepped inside, sitting down on the leather. He then climbed in and Jett drove off without saying anything.
We shortly arrived at a restaurant that I hadn't been to before. Actually, I hadn't been to any restaurants unless it was a fast food one. Jett drove away, simply telling us he would return to pick us up later on.
This restaurant was very nice. We had sat down at a table next to the window where we could look out at the scenery. By this time it was dark out so we could only see what the little lights on the pathway showed us.
"So how have you been?" Eli asked out of the blue and when I looked up at his concerned face, I understood why he was asking. He was worried about me because of it being a week after the incident.
"I've been coping. It's not easy but I'm okay, sort of. I mean, I have you there for me, don't I?" I smiled but it was more forced than natural. He didn't seem to notice though, thankfully.
"Yeah, I understand. As long as you're okay though." He replied. "You always have me to talk to if something happens, you know that."
"Thanks." I murmured, looking down at my menu.
The waiter soon came to our table, smiling at us warmly before asking us what we'd like to order. We each told him our choices and he quickly hurried away to sort it out.
"So, have you been here before?" I asked to start a conversation.
"Actually no. I got the recommendation from Jett yesterday. I'm glad I listened to him, this really is a good restaurant."
"Jett must take girls out often." I remarked.
"Not really." Eli said surprisingly. "He's had a couple of girlfriends but they end up using him. As you can probably tell, he doesn't trust very easily so it gets worse with each one."
Eli sighed, looking out of the window.
"I really hope that one day he can find someone to settle down with. This lifestyle he's living isn't a good one and it's ruining his life." He continued, a distant look in his eyes.
"Don't worry, he'll be fine." I say, trying to comfort him. "He can change his life around if he wants to."
"I know."
The waiter came back a little while later with our meals, placing them in front of us carefully. I watched the steam rise from the food and waited for it to cool down so I could eat it without being burnt.
As I started eating, I noticed Eli was nervously jiggling his leg. He also raked his hand through his hair multiple times, putting me on edge a little bit. I was going to question but my mind started noting down possible outcomes of what his answer would be so I decided against it.
Our meal was finished in silence and despite seeming to have enjoyed his food, Eli still seemed to be very uncomfortable.
We walked outside where it had started to rain after splitting the bill. Eli argued that since he had taken me out on the date, he should pay but I simply stated it would be unfair to just make the males pay for their date's dinner. It's just polite. I shivered in my summer dress, making Eli notice how cold it was outside. He took off his coat and put it around me very delicately as though he was afraid I was a piece of glass about to break at the slightest touch.
"Eli, why were you so uncomfortable earlier?" I asked suddenly. After seeing he was about to make a stupid excuse, I continued, "you get jiggling your leg and you looked like you were shaking quite a bit. Are you sure everything is alright?"
He froze, looking down at the pavement with a frown on his beautiful face. "I lied." He blurted.
"Lied?" I panicked. "About what?"
"About Jett. He does get used by a lot of girls, mostly because the feelings are mutual but I didn't tell you the whole story." He answered, sounding extremely hurt by what he was telling me.
"Jett met a girl about a year and a half ago called Caroline. She was the perfect girl for him and the same goes for her too." He paused for a second, kicking a stone out of his path. "He got her pregnant, Ash. They were only seventeen and she was pregnant. Her dad found out eventually and forced her to get an abortion- he was extremely angry and took it out on Jett."
"Eli-" I said, feeling utterly shocked at this revelation.
"Caroline was banned from seeing Jett and a few months later, her family moved far away from here, taking her with them. And after that, things spiralled downhill for Jett." He sighed. "He argued with my parents more, got into more trouble at school and in the streets, you name it and he's done it."
"So really, he isn't actually a bad person. He's just had a rough time." I stated in conclusion once he'd finished.
"Yes, basically. He lost the person he thought he'd spend the rest of his life with, anyone would be devastated over that. I know I would." As he said this, he looked at me with a strange expression on his face.
"What are you two geeks talking about?" Said a hostile sounding voice that I instantly recognised as Jett's from behind us. He glared at Eli knowingly. "All good things, I hope?"
"Yep, all good things, brother." Eli replied, patting Jett on the back as he walked past him, leaving Jett staring at me.
"I know what he told you," he sighed, "but please don't bring it up in front of anyone else. I don't want people finding out about any of it. It would ruin Caroline if it reached her and her family."
"I understand, Jett." I smiled warmly. "You can trust me with anything."
He held a cold glare on his face but I knew he didn't mean it so continued to smile at him.
Seconds later, he pulled me towards him into a hug. He didn't relax though, he never did seem to. Instead, he was tense as though he always had to be on high alert. I hugged him back though and felt myself relax against his chest as I listened intently to the fast beating of his heart, almost matching the speed of mine hammering against my ribcage.
When he finally let go, he stepped away and returned to his usual self: cold.
"Tell anyone that happened and I won't speak to you anymore." He threatened.
"If that's the consequences, I wouldn't even like to think about telling anyone." I grinned before letting him lead me to the car. I didn't fail to notice the slight blush on his face.
Why could I not get that hug out of my mind though?
