Dust ✔️

Chapter Forty: Drown

Chapter Forty: Drown

Her hair was in a messy ponytail, pulled together by a grey scrunchie. Her dark blue over sized sweatshirt fell over her shoulder and revealed her prominent collarbone.  She was wearing minimal makeup and it was evident she didn't need any to begin with. She was wearing black ripped jeans, exposing her soft, creamy skin underneath and had her shirt tucked in the front. I took in every feature, trying to keep a photographic memory of her beauty.

She was absolutely breathtaking. My whole world was standing right in front of me.

    She moved to the side of the door and allowed my entrance. I slowly crept through the door, keeping my face forward. I knew she was watching my movements. I didn't even know where to start, how to begin. I should have just kept off the grid and disappeared. She deserved much better than that. I was thankful for mastering my mask of emotions.

    I cleared my throat when the door closed from behind me.

"You look beautiful today," I murmured.

    "Eli... Where the hell have you been?" There was a bit of a snap in her voice. Hm, she's upset. I could work with this.

    "I had to deal with some things," I said with simplicity.

    She walked ahead of me and turned around to face me. I stayed near the door, knowing I'd need an escape route soon.

    "Yeah, I remember you telling me something about that. What, does this emergency have anything to do with your bruised up face?" She motioned towards me. I forgot about that.

I could tell through her anger, she was worried about me.

When I didn't answer, she continued. "I went over to Tyler's house when I returned home from California. I was hoping you'd be there with him, but to my surprise, he was alone and you were nowhere to be found." She stared at me.

    I trained my eyes on hers. She was accusing me of something but she wasn't sure what.

    "I asked what was going on," She persisted. "I asked if he was okay."

    I raised my head and fixed the hat on my head to see her properly. "And what did he say?"

    "He gave me nothing." Her brows creased with defeat. "He said that you would tell me when the time is right."

    I watched her eyes in need of answers. She'd be disappointed. I was proud of my friend though. It was good to know that even when I was doing the shadiest of things, he'd still have my back. I'd have to keep that in mind.

    I nodded and ignored the screaming pound of my chest.

    "Is the time right?" She asked.

I said nothing.

"Eli what is going on?" She raised her voice with plea. "You disappeared for days without a single phone call. At my fathers funeral. Tyler doesn't even seem to-"

    "I'm done."

    She stared at me and stepped back on her foot, placing all of her weight on one side. I glared at her with a cold expression while she remained silent, taking in the two words I interrupted her with.

I didn't expect myself to even say the words out loud. I felt like I couldn't breathe. This was it.

    "What?"

    "You heard me," I muttered.

    She seemed to have paled. Beautiful eyes in my direction.