A Tangled Web We Weave (Completed)

13. T is for Trouble

Hudson

"Welcome to my humble abode." I opened my front door and led her inside.

Elena made a weird face as she walked in, talking her Vans off by the entryway. She looked around at the navy furniture, the fur rug, the modern art, turning back to me. "Humble?" She walked towards the kitchen and set her backpack on our brand new table. "It's-" She seemed to be searching for a word and met my eyes. "Nice."

I quirked an eyebrow. "Thanks." I picked her backpack up off of the table and walked downstairs with it. As she followed, protesting, I quickened my pace, eager for some reason to get her alone.

"Who do you live with?"

"My brother. He's 25 and stupid smart, so he just takes care of me."

"That's sweet of him." 

 I sat down on the plush carpet and crossed my ankles, singing, "Let's talk about sex, baby."

She glared and plopped down next to me. "It's lust and that's the assigned topic, ok?"

I laughed. "Lighten up, Ellie."

No words, just an icy look.

"Oh, c'mon, you must like me just a little."

"And my thighs are just a little smaller a Barbie's." She pursed her lips, raising her eyebrows.

Rolling my eyes, I pulled out my laptop. "Let's get started, huh?"

She nodded and paused, looking over at the kitchenette. "Actually, can I grab a drink of water?"

I shrugged. "There are water bottles on the second shelf in the first fridge. The second is my brother's."

She opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again, before standing up, shaking her head. "Some people have more money than brains." She looked back at me with a look, but I was little distracted by her curves. Perfectly slim, perfectly round in all the right places. She caught my eyes and glared.

I grinned sheepishly. "Are those leggings new? They look nice."

She just blinked at me, which made me feel insensitive, and opened the fridge. "Wait, this is just your fridge?" She sounded worried.

"Yeah, why?"

She turned around holding my Smirnoff Red, White, and Berry, scowling over the counter. "So, does that mean this is yours?"

I grimaced. "That's really old. Like a year old. I've been meaning to throw it out."

She scoffed in disgust. "So this is yours. That's revolting. Do you know how much this screws up your liver?" She fiddled with her nose piercing. "You're an idiot."

I smirked. "You say that like you didn't already know that."

Elena put the vodka back, grabbed a water bottle, and stomped back to where I was sitting. "Why am I not surprised?

"I think it would've been more fun if you had found a pot stash." I grinned. "If I still had one."

She shook her head. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Drugs and alcohol aren't that bad for you. Alcohol can just screw up your liver and drugs are only bad if you overdose. But I've been sober for a long time."

She scowled at me. "There are so many mistakes in that sentence I can't even think." Opening the water bottle and downing a few gulps, she plopped down next to me.

I laughed. "Calm down, Ellie. Just about everyone does it or has done it."

"I haven't. Can we get back to lust please?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. "I honestly can't believe that just came out of my mouth."

I shrugged. "Whatever you say."

She pulled up the PowerPoint and began typing furiously. "I think I put the outline in your notebook."

I scooted closer and opened my notebook. "All it says is the definition of lust."

She sighed. "I know. I can't think of anything else to do. How do we do anything that doesn't turn into lowkey porn?" She suddenly turned her face towards mine and I realized that she was a lot closer than I had intended.

"I have no idea," I muttered, leaning towards her face.

She slid towards me for a second and then abruptly moved away, standing up. "Well, I have to get home to... help my sister... with homework." She stuttered, scrambling for her backpack and shoes, swearing under her breath.

"What about the project?"

"Let's just do it over the computer," she put a finger out to stop me before I could make a comment. "The project. Let's do the project over the computer."

"I can drive you home," I started to get up.

Elena put her hands out to stop me. "No, it's really ok, you can just stay here, I'll just walk home." And without another word, she ran up my stairs and all the way home.

What. The. Hell. Just happened?