Alice's Umbrella

Chapter 15: Dogs and Cats

Alice lay on her bed, tossing one of Buttercup's balls into the air. Their family cat was a nuisance; he was lazy and hostile toward anyone who wasn't her mom, and he was only tolerable when he was being fed. Alice didn't know why her mom insisted on buying him more toys. He never played with them. For fuck's sake, Alice played with them more than the cat did.

"You know, sometimes I wonder if you were a cat in another lifetime," Elliott mused from his spot below her. His voice startled her-he hadn't spoken for a while-and she missed catching the ball when it arced back down, bouncing off her face. He laughed, and she scowled, rolling onto her side to look at him. He was sitting cross-legged on the floor of her bedroom, his books and homework spread out around him. He always had a lot of work to do. Her classes were relatively easier, and she'd already finished her nightly assignments. Elliott had come over to work on their AP Biology homework with her; they'd finished that first, but he'd stayed to work on the rest of his class assignments. She didn't mind.

"Sometimes, I wonder if you're actually a Golden Retriever in this lifetime," she replied, folding her arm under her head. He pouted at her.

"What makes you say that?" he asked, then he whimpered to imitate a dog. She buried her face in the crook of her elbow to muffle her laugh, and he grinned, turning back to his work. He was such a puppy sometimes, though not nearly as annoying. Keeping her face tucked into her arm, she studied him quietly. His expression was intense as he read, his brow furrowed slightly. The pink tip of his tongue was pressed between his teeth in concentration, darting out occasionally to wet his lips. From her spot, she could make out the smattering of freckles on his nose, the length of his eyelashes-they were longer than any girl's she'd ever seen. She was kind of jealous. But oddly mesmerized.

A text alert from her phone drew her from her reverie, and she picked it up off her nightstand. Her stomach swooped when she saw the name. Gale. They'd been texting sporadically the last couple of days since Jade had given him her number. She still didn't know what to make of the situation. It was strange. She hadn't been pursued by a guy in years; she didn't really know how to act or even really how she felt about him. But she guessed it was worth a try. He was nice to talk to, at least.

She texted him back to answer his inquiry about what she was up to, telling him she was just doing homework; she added as an afterthought, What about you? When she sat her phone back down, she found Elliott looking at her quizzically.

"Who was that?" he asked, twirling his pencil between his fingers. She flushed slightly.

"Umm, just Gale."

His eyebrow twitched. "Gale, huh?" he repeated nonchalantly, directing his attention back to his textbook. "What does he want?"

She shrugged. "Just saying hey," she mumbled. Her phone pinged again, so she picked it up and read his response: What hw?

She debated what to tell him, as she wasn't currently actually working on anything. She finally just settled on, I was working on AP Bio.

"So, are you two just friends, or what's the deal?" Elliott asked, still reading his textbook. She didn't know why, but her stomach knotted suddenly.

"Friends, I guess," she replied, pushing up on her elbow. "Pretty sure I would have mentioned something to you if I'd started dating somebody." His expression was impassive, and he nodded.

"But he wants more, right?"

Alice frowned. "I don't know. He hasn't asked for more."

Elliott made a sound in the back of his throat, nodding his head again. Finally, he added, "Well, just be careful."

She blinked at him. "What?" she asked, sitting up fully on her bed. He sighed, shutting his book.

"I mean, be careful. He's 18, Alice. He might expect certain things from you, or he might just be looking to take advantage of a high school girl."

She gawked at him silently for a moment before her brain caught up to her mouth. "Are you kidding me right now, Elliott? Don't be so fucking patronizing!" she snapped, throwing her pillow at him. His arm blocked it, but he gaped at her incredulously. "I can take care of myself. I'm not an idiot. And he's been nothing but nice to me! You don't know him, so I can't believe how judgmental you're being."

Like he was one to talk. He was a 16-year-old high school boy. She knew he'd had sex before. Why did people even date in high school other than to fuck, really? They were all just a trembling mess of hormones ready to explode all over each other.

His jaw tightened, and he rolled his eyes, gathering his books and notebooks. "I'm not being judgmental-I just know a lot of low-lifes, our age and older, and all they talk about is banging chicks. I'm just being practical."

She glowered at him. "I thought you said not every guy wants to fuck every girl they meet," she spat, but he didn't respond to that, stuffing his books into his backpack. She frowned as she watched him pack up. Why was he leaving all of a sudden? Her phone pinged again, but she ignored it, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't understand why you're acting so weird right now. Are you jealous or something?"

She regretted the words the second they left her mouth. Elliott zipped his bag with such force, the sound ripped through her room. Exhaling loudly, he stood up and threw his arms through the straps, then he ran his hand through his hair. "No," he said finally, his voice quiet, but he wasn't looking at her. "I just remember the last time you started hanging out with guys like him, okay?"

She fell silent at that, unsure how to respond. He didn't move from his spot though, waiting for her to say something. Anger and nerves still twisted in her stomach, and she pressed her mouth into a thin line, shaking her head. "Gale isn't like those guys. I'm not like that anymore. And I can't believe you don't trust me," she said tightly, hurt that he could think she would abandon him again. She was miserable without him. Why didn't he understand that?

Elliott sighed again. "It's not that. I'm sorry. I do trust you. I don't know-I'm overreacting, I know. Sorry," he said haltingly. They fell silent again, Alice digging her toes into the carpet. "I'm sure Gale's cool," he offered after a moment, rubbing the back of his neck. The next thing he said, however, threw her completely. "Danielle asked me out on a date this Friday. I think I'm gonna go."

Her jaw dropped. "What?!" He shrugged, and she shook her head, trying to comprehend. "You said you don't even like her! Why would you go on a date with her?!"

"She's nice. And I guess she's cute," he replied, staring at her bedroom wall. "I told her I needed to think about it. I don't know. Maybe I do have a type. Maybe you're right. But she's not it, not really. And my type hasn't really worked out so far, so I thought I should at least give her a shot. That seemed fair."

She couldn't believe him. He was acting like a complete idiot. "You know, Elliott, for someone so smart, you sure are stupid sometimes," she said. He glared at her.

"How is that stupid?"

"Because you know how much she likes you, but you know you don't actually like her-and you never will-so you're just going to break her heart!" she yelled, gesturing wildly. Her phone beeped again, but she didn't care. Gale could wait.

Elliott huffed angrily. "Now who's being patronizing?" he said icily, and she clamped her mouth shut. But just like that, Elliott deflated, and he held his hands up. "Look, I don't want to fight with you. We're being stupid, and I think I'm just stressed out with all this school shit I've gotta do, so I'm just gonna go." He moved toward the door and glanced at her over his shoulder. "I'll see you at school tomorrow, okay?"

She didn't respond, so he slipped out the door, shutting it quietly behind him. Annoyance surged through her then, and she snatched the cat ball off the floor, hurling it at the door furiously.

What a fucking jerk.