*Geek Boy*
Ellie Kent was my girlfriend.
Ellie. Kent. My. Girlfriend.
The words made my heart race.
I don't believe it. I can't believe it.
I couldn't stifle the grin that stretched across my face as I drove home. Before I could stop myself, I was laughing, my chest filled with a fluttering warmth only Ellie could incite.
The memory of her staring up at me with wide eyes, cheeks the exact shade of crimson, lips slightly parted, was burnt permanently into my mind.
She'd said yes.
I chuckled.
And I was her first kiss.
The first guy she'd ever kissed.
My face burned at the thought.
What kind of boyfriend was I? Taking her first kiss outside a high school football game?
Boyfriend. Gosh, that sounded so right.
Ellie's face remained in my mind as I pulled into my driveway. I still couldn't believe it. Couldn't believe that something I'd dreamed of for years had happened. Ellie and I were dating.
Everything was just...wow.
I was still smiling as I hopped out of the car and headed into the house.
I stiffened at the sound of voices.
"When was the last time you spoke to Dad?" Jed's voice.
My heart sunk. All my happiness vanished in a single breath.
There was a pause. Then my mother murmured, "Five years. He called once, to check up on Will."
I heard the sound of shuffling. "Mom..." Jed sighed. "You need to speak to him."
"It's not that easy Jed. There were a lot of words said after..." she trailed off but I could fill in the blanks. The Incident.
"He misses you. You know that?"
"D-did he say that?" My mother's voice was an octave higher.
"Yeah," Jed replied. "When I spoke to him last night."
My entire body froze.
He'd spoken to our father last night?
I'd been that close to hearing my father's voice?
There was a long pause. My mother gave a breathless laugh. "It can't work," she muttered. "It won't, not after everything."
"Think about Will then. Doesn't he deserve to see his father? How do you think this is affecting him? They haven't spoken in seven years," he said softly.
She didn't reply this time. Then, finally, she breathed, "I can't... I just can't..."
There was a pause.
I shouldn't listen to this. I turned to walk up the stairs, then one word froze me in place.
"James?" Jed asked.
The silence was deafening.
"Jed, stop, please," my mother choked out.
"And--"
"Don't go any further Jedidiah. I'm serious."
Another pause. "You cannot imagine," Jed began, his voice cracking, "how incredibly guilty I feel for--"
"Don't do that, honey, please." I heard the sound of movement, heels clicking against the tiles. "Please, just don't."
I walked forward, my gaze finding them in the living room.
She was hugging him. Comforting him.
Jed glanced up, catching my gaze. His eyes widened as he spoke, his voice coming out choked, "Will."
My mother pulled away, her wide eyes honing in on me.
I didn't respond, turning towards the stairs.
My mother cleared her throat. When she spoke, her tone was brisk, "William, you can't keep skipping dinner. Come down at 6:30. We have matters to discuss."
I nodded before I kept walking.
I didn't breakdown until I reached my room.
I crumpled down onto the bed, staring at the wall.
How could they discuss everything so casually? How could they just throw around James name like it meant nothing?
Like his life hadn't been completely screwed up.
I can't do this.
After everything that happened, they could still talk like before.
The sound of my phone vibrating jarred me out of my thoughts.
I pulled it out of my pocket sluggishly. My heart spluttered the moment I saw the name of the person that had texted me.
The words in the text made my heart pulse:
Hi, Will :)
This is my address, I can't wait to see you on Saturday xx
Ellie
Beneath that was her address.
The message was from Beauty. I'd changed her name on my phone the moment I'd reached my car.
My breath caught in my throat as I reread the message. Then my eyes drank in the phone number, memorising it, burning it infinitely into my mind.
I typed back immediately: Hi. Thank you.
Then I hesitated, before I added a few more words: Hi. Thank you. I'm looking forward to it.
I gnawed on lip as I waited for her response.
You don't need to thank me :)
Then my phone vibrated again before I could reply.
What are you doing???
My heart thudded. This couldn't be happening.
I texted back: Nothing much. How is the restaurant?
I waited anxiously for the few seconds before her response.
It's alright. It's a little loud though.
Then my phone vibrated again. My eyes widened as I read her text.
Can I call you?
Of course. Definitely. Please. Anything.
Sure.
In a few seconds, my phone began to vibrate. I took a deep breath before I answered the call.
"Hello? Will?" Ellie's voice floated into the room, making my heart pound.
Even on the phone she sounded adorable. Her voice was the audio for bubble gum and candyfloss. The moment I heard it, my stiff muscles melted, and any thoughts about my mother and Jed dissipated into nothing.
"Hey," I replied.
She paused, and I could just imagine her blushing.
"H-hi," she stuttered back.
I felt my lips twitch. Goodness, she was adorable.
"How are you?" I asked.
"O-ok I guess." Then a pause. I could imagine her biting her lip. "Better now that I'm talking to you," she murmured softly.
My eyes widened, and for a moment, I couldn't respond. My face was burning.
Finally, I cleared my throat. "So, Gemma and Layla won?
"Y-yeah," she replied. "They're so excited. They haven't stopped talking about it all day." As if to confirm her statement, I heard the sound of squeals and ruckus for a few seconds before quiet returned. "Everyone's celebrating. I had to hide in the bathroom."
I felt a smile grow on my face as Ellie went into a description about the massive party that was taking place at the restaurant.
In the corner of my mind, I felt a nudge of guilt. I was taking her away from her friends.
"Will?" she asked.
"I'm here," I replied.
"S-sorry, I started babbling."
"Don't be." I smiled. "I love the sound of your voice."
There was a beat of silence. I felt my face warm. Embarrassing much, Will?
"T-thank you," she finally mumbled.
I grinned.
"I wish you were here," she murmured.
My heart stopped. Then it was pounding erratically.
Did she know what she was saying? The way it incited warmth in my chest?
For a moment, I imagined leaving the house and picking her up. I imagined taking her down to The Sweet Plaza. I imagined watching her face light up as she ate whatever she wanted. And then the way she would blush when my fingers caressed her face.
I was so close to asking. Then Catherine's voice filled my mind: You're her secret, aren't you?
I didn't want to embarrass her.
But, surely, I couldn't be a secret if she was willing to invite me to a party? Then again, she hadn't introduced me as her boyfriend when we'd seen Madison or her sister this afternoon.
I wish I could just ask. But I was too scared to hear the answer. It would kill me if she confirmed Catherine's statement.
"I wish I could be there too." You have no idea how much.
She paused, and I could imagine her smile. "Will?" she hesitated.
"What is it?" I probed.
She paused. "You're not coming in tomorrow?"
Do you want me to?
I frowned as I remembered the university classes I would have to attend for the rest of the week. I had never regretted taking the courses more.
"I can't," I said softly.
But if you ask, I will. I don't care what classes I have.
"Oh," she said, sounding deflated.
No way.
I was about to tell her I'd changed my mind and I was going to school tomorrow, when I heard a knock on my door.
I flinched. It was either my mother or Jed.
Neither option was good.
"Ellie," I said, my eyes focused on the door, "I have to go."
The words physically hurt.
"Oh," she breathed. "A-alright. See you on Saturday then?"
I nodded, my lips twitching. "Yeah." I paused. "I can't wait to see you."
She made an odd breathy sound. "Y-yeah. Me too."
Then, reluctantly, I hung up.
I regretted it almost instantly.
I stared at the phone, the memory of Ellie's voice dancing in my thoughts.
There was another knock.
Was it my mother? When was the last time she'd stepped into my room?
I stood and pulled the door open.
Jed stood in the hallway, hands tucked in his pockets.
My fists clenched. "What?" I asked.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your call with your girlfriend," he said as he leaned against the doorframe.
My muscles tensed. I took a step back, trying to put more distance between us. "You were listening?"
"Is that her name? Ellie?" he said softly. Something I couldn't decipher flickered in his eyes.
Her name on his tongue made me cringe.
"Don't say her name," I snapped.
He shrugged. "I only heard the last bit. She must be important for you to argue with Catherine over her." He smirked. "When am I going to meet my little brother's girlfriend?"
My entire body stiffened. "What do you want?" I gritted out.
He paused, weighing my expression. "Mom's worried," he finally replied.
The memory of her eternally indifferent expression came to mind.
"I'm sure she is," I muttered sarcastically.
"Will, you need to stop being so tough on her." Jed sighed. His gaze was patronizing. "You were never like this before."
My eyes narrowed. "Please leave."
He gave me a long look. Suddenly, he deflated, his shoulders slumping. He turned and strode towards the stairs.
Just as I was about to shut the door, he spoke, his back to me. "How's James?"
My chest hollowed out.
How did he know James and I were still talking?
I shut the door.
In seconds, I'd locked it. Then I was on my laptop, logging on to Skype, clicking James' penguin profile picture.
My heart thudded in my chest as the call button loaded.
Fear crawled up my throat.
Please be ok.
I sighed in relief as James's face appeared on the screen.
"Will!" he beamed, his face lighting up.
It was dark, probably night time there. My relief dissipated as I took in his ashen skin, marred by a purple bruise on his left eye.
I frowned. "Where did you get that bruise?"
He blinked in surprise before brushing his hair over his face so it was less visible. "It's nothing," he muttered.
"Where'd you get it?" I repeated.
He didn't respond.
"James," I demanded.
"School," he mumbled.
My eyes widened. "Have you--"
"Dad knows," he answered. "I'm moving school now."
This was the third school he'd left since he began attending school again.
"Kiddo..." I trailed off. What was I supposed to say?
"I didn't like that school anyway," he muttered. "Everyone there is stuck up." He stared down, looking away from me.
"James, what happened?"
He bit his lip. "It was my fault." he sighed. "It's just...I hate the way they stare at me!" he blurted out. "They all pity me, like there's something wrong with me. My shirt got stained in chemistry and I had to take it off. Someone came in and saw the..."
Scars.
My heart ached.
"They told everybody. They searched it online and found out about it. Now everyone knows." he still wouldn't look at me. "Ava saw it before. By accident, when she was helping out in the nurse's office. That's why I can't talk to her anymore. Because now all she does is give me this pitying look. Like I'm absolutely worthless." His voice cracked.
I shut my eyes as an ache gnawed on my chest.
"So I got angry. And then I argued with that guy from school, Antonio..." His bottom lip trembled.
"I'm sorry James." I'm so sorry.
James didn't say anything. Finally, he shook his head. He looked up at me, his eyes sparkling with hope. "Anyway, how's Ellie?" His face lit up as he said her name.
I attempted a smile. I needed to comfort him. If he wanted to talk about Ellie, that was what we'd talk about.
"I asked her out," I offered.
His eyes widened, a smile stretching across his face. "Really?! What did she say? What did she say?"
My lips twitched. "She said yes," I replied.
He hooted, bursting into laughter. "Wow, Will! Good job!" His eyes were wide in awe. "That's amazing! So you guys are dating now? That's so cool!"
I laughed. "Yeah, I can't believe it either."
His grin widened. "Can I meet her? Since she's your girlfriend?"
Girlfriend.
I felt that warm sensation in my chest again.
I grinned. "I don't know. Maybe. I'll ask her."
"I can't wait!" he beamed. "Tell me what else happened!" he demanded. "Did you guys go on a date?"
I nodded. "Yeah. On Friday, before I asked her out."
"Ooh," he chimed. "Lucky! Tell me everything! I want all the details."
I laughed. I tried to ignore the pain in my chest from finding out about what happened at his school. Instead, I gave him a play by play of Friday.
"...Anyway, after that, Ellie had to change into a shirt I found in my car. So we drove Catherine home. And then Ellie and I talked." And kissed. "And she said..." I trailed off at this point. "She said she liked me."
James laughed. "That's so cute!"
You have no idea.
"I was going to drive her home but she said she didn't want to go yet." I grinned at the memory of her blushing as she'd murmured the words. "After that, I took her to this restaurant uptown."
"Ooh," James inputted.
"I bought her food, but she wanted to pay." I remembered her protesting, eyes wide. "She was eating and--"
"Wait a second, does she like chocolate?"
"Yes," I replied.
He nodded. "Good. I have made the decision that Ellie is the perfect girlfriend."
You have no idea how much of an understatement that is.
He waved at me to continue.
For the next few hours, I gave him a detailed breakdown of every expression that passed Ellie's face, of what she ate exactly, and what she'd said. He nodded along, inputting oohs and Awesomes! every few seconds.
As the time went on, I noticed him yawning. Here, it was six o clock. It was probably early morning there, in Spain, and he hadn't slept yet.
I perused his eyebags.
"You should go to bed, kiddo," I said softly.
He shook his head but his eyes were already flickering shut. "I don't want to," he mumbled drowsily. "I'll have nightmares."
I flinched.
"You'll call me again, right Will? It's so lonely here." He yawned.
"Of course," I replied, "every day."
He attempted a drowsy grin. "Cool." He yawned again. "Can you tell me something about Ellie? Like that story about her dance competition two years ago?"
I smiled as I launched into the story of how a twelve-year-old Ellie single-handedly saved her baseball team.
In a few minutes, he was asleep.
I waited for a while, checking to see if he would wake up, before I ended the video call.
I leaned back.
From the way he'd spoken, Jed hadn't been in contact with him. That was a relief. I didn't know if Jed's presence would trigger something in James. I knew James was having panic attacks. I even knew about the nightmares, but it still shocked me when he mentioned it. For the past seven years, James had been seeing a therapist. Yet, it didn't seem to be helping at all.
I sighed as my eyes touched the time: 6:25.
Almost dinner.
I shut my computer and stood. I'd rather Jed didn't come to get me.
The scent of food drifted up from the kitchen as I made my way down the stairs.
My mother was already sitting at the table. She was dressed more casually than I'd seen her in the last seven years. She wore jeans and a crisp button-up shirt. She didn't look up as I entered the room.
Jed was at the stove, stirring something I couldn't see. "Will," he said, acknowledging me.
Three plates were spread out on the table.
Reluctantly, I sat down.
After a few minutes, Jed went around, placing steaks on each plate. He went around a second time, this time with fries.
"Thank you," my mom said, smiling up at him.
He grinned down at her. "No problem ma."
I looked away.
Jed sat down.
For a few moments, there was nothing but the sound of cutlery against porcelain. I didn't touch my food.
"So, how was Oregon?" my mother asked.
Jed shot her one of his charming grins, as if they weren't discussing Oregon's New Beginnings Rehabilitation center, where he'd been exiled to for a year.
"It was definitely not Colorado," he chuckled. "Too much heat for me." He glanced over at me. "You remember Colorado, Will?"
I didn't respond.
My mother ignored my reaction. "I can imagine the difference."
I blocked out the sound of their voices. My gaze focused on the wall behind them, running across the marble tiles.
One, two, three, four...
My mother dropped her cutlery carefully on her plate. She cleared her throat. "William, I'd like to discuss your progress in school."
I glanced at her. She wasn't looking at me, her gaze focused on her plate.
"Considering you've completed your high school degree and have completed your maths degree, I don't see a point in you attending that high school when you could apply to start university full-time at the end of this year."
I stiffened.
Was she saying I had to leave?
"No," I stated.
She sighed, exasperated. "William, do not be immature. You have the opportunity to move on to higher education, possibly study for a PhD in mathematics at Harvard. The least you can do is consider it."
I don't want a PhD in mathematics. I want to go into medical research.
"I disagree," I replied. "I intend to formally graduate with the rest of my year." With Ellie.
She pursed her lips, her eyes narrowing. "I am assuming that this idea is coming from a responsible vantage point rather than idiotic teenage feelings?"
I stood. "If that is all, I have to study."
"Consider it," she repeated.
I left the room.
As I walked up the stairs, her words repeated in my head.
The way she'd narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips... It was the exact same expression she'd gotten when she'd seen Ellie.
The idea that nudged at my mind drove worry through my chest.
It almost felt as if she was trying to split us apart.
No, that couldn't be it. It couldn't be.
*
Hi wonderfuls, I've missed you! I've been revising for my exams (coming up in less than 2 months now) and so had to give up writing for a while. I'm on Easter holiday now, so I have a little time for writing. And today I got baptised (Yay :)) so I thought I'd take a break and update :)
This chapter is dedicated to a person who left a wonderful and understanding comment on the last chapter :) She's been super nice and amazing! Just an overall wonderful person. Thank you and God bless :)
Thank you to everyone who has been so  supportive about my schoolwork. And thank you all so much for reading. I truly appreciate you :)
God bless
xxx
Yemi Everest