Tangled

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

"Are you okay?" Elliot asked, searching Tatum's eyes for some confirmation that she was doing alright. "Niall told me what happened yesterday, with your sister."

Tatum snorted, turning her attention to the brown haired boy. "Since when did you two become so close?"

"Since he started dating my best friend," Elliot replied, leaning back in chair to look at her. "If something's bothering you, Tay, you need to tell me."

She dropped her head on the table, smacking her forehead against it loudly. A few people in the café turned around to look, but most were far too involved in their personal conversations to care how an irrelevant teenage girl's life was going down the gutter.

"I don't like feelings," Tatum whined, her head still attached to the table. "Feelings suck. They make you do things you don't want to."

Elliot raised his eyebrow. "What exactly did you tell him?"

Tatum looked up, suddenly, the memory flowing back. "He found a picture frame from when I was twelve while we were cleaning up my room yesterday morning. He asked about my Dad and at first, I didn't want to tell him. And then he didn't push me to tell him either and I felt myself opening up. Like, I wanted to tell him."

Her friend nodded, understanding where she was coming from. "Go on."

"I told him about my Dad, about Bailey, Sophie and Chantel. But when I got around to telling him about Tess…" She paused, waiting for the correct words to slip from her tongue. "She came into the room and humiliated me in front of him, just like she does in front of everybody."

Sighing, Elliot dropped both his tanned arms on the table, staring Tatum straight in the eyes. It was obvious she had not slept much last night. There were light bags under her eyes, her hair was curlier than usual, and her body was basically lagging. Everything in her seemed to ache and take her right back to where she had been yesterday.

"This can't go on forever, Tatum." Elliot said to her sternly. "You have to tell Tess exactly what happened that summer."

Tatum scoffed, finding humour in his serious tone. "Do you honestly think, my sister, Tess Ryder, of all people is willing to listen to anything I have to say? She'll probably tell me off faster than I would be able to string together the next sentence."

The brown haired boy heaved a long sigh. He was used to this sort of response from his best friend. She had confidence in everything that she did except for when it came time to face her sister. Maybe it was Tess' dramatic ways that forced her to pull down her flag or maybe it was the solemn fact that she was afraid of the person who was really behind everything, would get hurt. Elliot did not understand why she wanted to protect her, a person who fled the scene and planted a false blame on another.

But then again, Tatum was an odd one.

"Then maybe," Elliot nodded towards a tall boy with chestnut coloured hair who had just walked through the door of café. He lined up for an order, completely ignorant of them. "You should get someone else to do the talking for you. Someone she will listen to."

The blonde haired girl swiveled around in her seat, setting her gaze on the boy whose back Elliot was boring into with his stare. He had not changed much since she had last seen him, or glanced at him, as she was leaving the second last day of school. He was dressed in a light shirt and khaki pants, his hands shoved in his pockets. Rocking back and forth a bit on his feet, he took a glance around the room, not particularly searching for a familiar face. Although, he did manage to find one.