RIDE OR DIE ➸ OSCAR DIAZ [1]

TWENTY NINE

LOUD BANGING ON the front door makes me rip my eyes away from the tv in front of me and sigh. Ruby and Olivia said they wouldn't be home for a while, Sam's struggling to maintain his 4.0 GPA and Oscar's busy being Oscar. So who else can it really be?

I drag myself off the couch and over to the door and after pulling it open I immediately regret my decision. Elijah stands on my porch, resting one of his hands on the door frame and breathing heavily. "Are you okay?" I ask as my eyes quickly look him over. I notice his face is still bruised up from last week when Oscar beat him up and his lip is bleeding. But other than that, there's nothing visibly wrong with him.

"I got in a fight with some Santos and my first thought was to come here," Elijah says breathlessly, keeping one of his arms wrapped around his waist.

"Oh my god. What did you do now?" I sigh as I open the door wider and help him inside. I shut the door behind us with the heel of my foot and lead the way to Olivia and I's room.

"Just a little disagreement about territory." He flashes me a smile and for some odd reason, I find myself smiling along with him. "Nothing you should worry your pretty head about Cami."

It finally kicks in when he calls me Cami. Everything he said at the game and everything he's done. How could I just invite him in and act all nonchalant?! It's like his presence puts me in some sort of trance.

He lies down on my bed, finally shifting his arm away from his waist. That's when I notice the large gash on his dark skin, through his ripped t-shirt. "What the hell Elijah?!" I gasp, moving his arm to get a better look at the cut. It isn't too deep, but it's deep enough to cause him an intense amount of pain. "Tell me the truth," I demand, rushing out of the room to grab the first aid kit.

When I return, he slowly explains, "Apparently the dumbass Santos you've been kicking it with, saw me with you a couple times. And this is their way of telling me to stay the hell away from you."

I furrow my eyebrows as I flip open the white box. Why the hell would they do that? Unless... "Oscar," I breathe, pulling out some gauze and medical tape. "I'm pretty sure Oscar told them to do that. He can't beat you up and risk going to jail again so he got his guys to do it. I can't believe him." With every word, my lips turn down into a deep frown and my eyebrows furrow angrily.

"Baby girl," Elijah says weakly, prompting me to look up from his toned waist. Heat rushes to my cheeks upon hearing the nickname he used to call me, and I stop bandaging him. I hate that he still has an effect on me. "Don't be mad with him. He's just looking out for you. I would've done the same thing."

"That doesn't change anything though. He still got you jumped and one of them stabbed you! They could've killed you, Eli!" I angrily exclaim, running a hand through my dark hair. How the hell do I talk to Oscar about this without mentioning that Elijah showed up at my house, practically bleeding to death?

"I love that you still call me Eli." His lips lift into a slight smile, as he holds my hand in his own. "Makes everything feel normal." He whispers, looking down at our hands.

Inhaling a sharp breath I say, "Elijah I haven't forgotten all the shit that you said to me at the game." I mumble, pulling my hand away from him and focusing on bandaging up his waist again.

"I know." Elijah sighs loudly, resting his arms behind his head. "But I temporarily made you forget about it. Besides, you still care about me. If you didn't, then you wouldn't have let me in."

I bite down on my bottom lip as I mull over his words. He has a point. Even though he did all this messed up shit to me, I don't think I'll ever be able to stop caring about him. I swallow past the lump that's forming in my throat and continue bandaging his waist. After a few minutes of silence, I tape the layers of gauze together and quietly say, "I'll go get you some painkillers." And with that, I rush out of my room, without giving him the chance to speak.