"I may not remember much, but I do know that I had the best time with you last night." Charlie drops his hand from his mouth and lifts his head to stare into my eyes, pushing his hair back from his face at the same time. "And I know this is awkward...
I look back up and Jer is nowhere to be seen, the door to the back porch is wide open as the noise from the party filters back inside. Ellie and Archer are gone too, although I have no idea where they disappeared too.
"Shit, I need to find Jeremiah and explain what's going on."
Charlie laughs as he pulls me closer temporarily. "Come back to me quickly."
"Eww stop Charlie," I laugh pushing him away. "I was serious when I said you can't do that as long as you're pretending to date Ellie."
He nods in understanding, releasing my waist as he holds up his hands in surrender. "Okay, but hurry back, alright?" I smile as I push inside, disappearing into the thick crowd. All of the adults are laughing, clinking their glasses together as some of them embrace each other. I walk into the living room, hoping to find Jeremiah sulking on the couch, but he's nowhere to be seen. I frown as I walk out of the room and into the kitchen, thinking he has to be there.
But he's not.
So I check both of my parents' offices and head upstairs to look in Archer and my rooms, but he's still nowhere to be found. I pull out my phone and call him, but after two rings I am sent to voicemail. I frown down at my phone as I sit on the floor in front of my bed. I call again but this time it's sent right to voicemail. The same thing happens as I call him four more times in a row.
Finally I just text him, hoping he'll reply that way.
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I wait a few minutes, but I don't get a response. He doesn't even read them. I stare down at my phone, trying to figure out what is going on.
I get up and wander the house once more, this time looking for any of the people that were out on the porch during that big argument, but I can't find Jeremiah, Archer, Ellie or Charlie. I stop in the middle of the hallway, not caring that everyone has to push around me as I pull out my phone again. So I text Charlie, hoping he can rescue me from myself.
He texts back a couple minutes later.
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I look down at the phone, my heart pounding as I reread the words over and over again. I thought he said he would always be there to rescue me. I shake off the feeling, trying to smile as I walk back into the living room.
He said he would always get there as soon as he could. If he's busy, it must be something really important.
●●●
I shove my phone into my pocket I as walk around to the side of the small house, stepping off the deck and walking carefully to make sure I don't get dirt on my freshly-shined shoes. Ellie is already there waiting for me, a scowl on her face as she trembles from the cold.
As soon as she sees me she walks across the space and yanks me to the side, blocking me from the view of anyone that may wonder outside as she drops her voice.
"Charlie, what the hell are you doing?" She hisses. "I told you the other day to back off and let me handle it."
"I saw your version of handling it," I frown, "and it wasn't working. Kaiydeen was going to go with Jeremiah, so I stepped in to help her make the right choice."
"Being with Jeremiah is the right choice for her! She doesn't need to be dragged into this anymore than she already is!" She grunts. "You have no idea what's at stake here!"
"No, you have no idea!" I hiss, all niceness gone from my tone. "We both have a lot to lose if this doesn't work out the right way."
"I told you that I was in you corner! I'm not going to do anything to sabotage y—"
"I'm not willing to risk it." I laugh loudly, hoping that it's loud enough for everyone to hear me. She doesn't respond, glaring at me as she clenches her jaw shut.
"I know more than what you think I do, Elysse." I step away from her, crossing my arms over my chest. "I held up my part of the deal. Now it's time you come through with yours."
A/N Soooooo what do y'all think??
To be completely honest, y'all don't know how stressed out I've been reading your comments, knowing that this twist was about to happen. I already know that some of y'all are gonna be pissed as fuck at me and hate this shit, so tell me why you hate it! Comment what you thought was going to happen, or what you think I should have done differently!
If you like these three chapters, let me know what you liked about it!
