*Edited*
I sat there, frozen as a statue, just staring at the two boys who made me feel things I've never felt before.
"I-I...I can't choose!" I exclaimed.
Elijah narrowed his eyes on me. "Why not? If I'm not mistaken, you came over in my bedroom because you were going to admit you had fallen in love with me."
Uriah's eyes flashed to mine. "Is that true?"
I didn't know what to say. I felt terrible. Uriah took my silence as an answer. He raked a hand through his brown hair and sighed in resignation.
"Damn," he cursed.
I stood up on Elijah's bed, wrinkling the sheets under my feet as I jumped off.
"I'm sorry, you guys are asking me do to something that I just can't do. You need to give me time to process all of this. Uriah," I said, looking at him, "You came back for me and I don't know how I feel about that. I can say that I didn't expect to feel how I do right now."
Then I turned to Elijah. "As for you, we have a rocky past and an even bumpier relationship. Whenever I'm around you, I feel like something is going to expload," I said, holding up a hand so he wouldn't interrupt me as I continued, "But, I don't know if that's a bad thing."
More silence followed my brief speech. I decided to take that as my queue to leave. So, I hopped up on the windowsill right across from my room and leaped across the small space separating our houses, far easier than I had thought I'd be able to.
I pulled my window down, catching a glimpse of the brothers glaring at each other. This wasn't good.
And I honestly had no idea where my heart was. My mind knew the obvious, safe choice was the boy with warm, brown eyes. But, my heart had other ideas when it came to the boy with the green ones.
*********
"No way! You cannot leave us to go live with you ex boyfriend halfway across the country. You haven't even graduated high school yet!" My mom freaked out.
My dad paused with the fork halfway to his mouth. He put it down in his plate and nodded, agreeing with my mom. Hell, I knew this would be their reaction, so why had I even bothered?
"Your mother's right. You're staying right here, young lady," he said giving me "the look" that dared me to argue.
I knew better than to argue with my dad, so I hung my head as I said, "Okay. I understand."
Well, Uriah's offer was out of the question. Did that mean Uriah was out of the question as well?
He'd have to go back to his father's apartment eventually, with or without me. Yet, Elijah would still be here, living right next to me.
I shouldn't be stressing Uriah out when he should be focused on college and getting to know his biological father. I dropped my fork, suddenly not hungry for my half eaten steak.
I dabbed my mouth with a napkin before excusing myself from dinner. My mom gave me a weird look and my dad just shrugged, but neither of them questioned me as I got up and placed my plate in the sink.
I sprawled across my bed with my legs dangling off the edge. I thought about calling Mae about this, but thought otherwise when I realized she might still actually like Elijah even after what he did to her. It wouldn't be fair if I pinned this on her.
And I had no other friends left to talk to. I'd been unconsciously staring out my open window while I was thinking, so when a handsome, shirtless guy entered the room across from mine, I couldn't stop staring.
Elijah's abs rippled as he walked across the room to his dresser. He picked up a comb, looked in the mirror, and was about to brush his hair when he squinted at the mirror. I realized why he'd been so focused on the mirror too late.
He swiftly turned around after seeing my reflection checking him out in the mirror. His eyes had a fire lit behind them as his gaze traveled down the length of my body and back up to my eyes, leaving a scorching trail the entire way.
I immediately threw my covers over myself, completely forgetting the fact that I was only wearing a pair of skimpy pajamas. My cheeks reddened as I scrambled to cover every inch of my body. Elijah smirked.
"Guess we both can't help the sexual tension between us...so why don't we just act on it?" He asked, hitching his eyebrow suggestively.
I grabbed a pillow from beneath my head and chucked it at my open window where it sailed true to my target, effortlessly bouncing off of Elijah's chest.
"You're so-"
"Save it," he said, bending down to pick up the fallen pillow. He tucked it under his arm and said, "Uriah is going back home tomorrow, by the way. You better make your decision soon."
I sat up, making sure to clutch the sheets up to my chin as I said, "Eli..."
"No, you know what? It's pretty obvious who you chose," he said, leaning his hands on the windowsill, "I saw how you looked at him when he came back. You still have feelings for him, don't you? Don't drag this shit on, pretending to make a decision when it's so blatantly obvious I'm not the guy you're in love with."
A sharp breath of air filled my lungs as I gasped at his harsh words. I didn't even care what I was wearing anymore because all I could think about was how angry he just made me. I got off my bed, walked over to my window, and mimicked his stance by leaning my own hands on the windowsill. Our faces were just inches apart as I gave him a death glare.
"How dare you say that! You know why I had came over-"
"In my bedroom."
I rolled my eyes at his immaturity. "Whatever. Elijah," I began, finally realizing who I was actually in love with. I'd been a bit shocked when Uriah had came back, spouting his love for me. Perhaps that was why I had thought that I might still have feelings for him. I'd been wrong about my feelings for him resurfacing.
But I couldn't say I felt the same way for Uriah when his brother was standing right here. Shirtless, nonetheless.
My heart started pounding in my chest, preparing myself for what I was about to say. I took a deep breath and admitted, "Elijah, I choose you. And I chose you before Uriah even came back."
No sooner than the words had left my mouth, Elijah closed the distance between us. His strong hands pressed against the back of my head as he crushed his lips to mine. I closed my eyes and kissed him back. I didn't know how long we kissed for until someone cleared their throat and we shoved away from each other.
I bumped my head on the window as I tried to get away from him. Rubbing my head, I looked to see what had interrupted us. Or rather, who.
Standing in the open doorway of Elijah's bedroom was Uriah.
"I heard you talking to someone so I came to see who it was," he said with a hurt look on his face. His brown eyes weren't as bright as they usually were when he looked at me.
He came over to the window, gently laying his hand on Elijah's arm to move him out of the way.
"Can you give us a minute?" He asked Elijah who hesitated for a second before nodding and heading out of the room.
I swallowed before talking. "Did you just see all of that?" I asked, not wanting to know the answer.
Uriah forced a sad smile as he nodded. "Yeah, I did. And I'm happy for you, Veronica. Elijah's a great guy and I could see you changed something in him. He really does love you, you know."
I blushed. "I'm sorry, Uriah. I can't take you up on your offer."
"I know. I had already figured that," he said, giving me a genuine smile.
He reached his arms out to me and I did the same. We hugged in the space between our houses. I hadn't noticed how much I had missed him being around. When we untangled ourselves, I stood back and said, "Go have fun in college. Work hard, but have fun. I'll miss you."
Right as I finished that sentence, Elijah barged back into the room and said, "Time's up."
Uriah chuckled and stood up straight. "Goodbye, Veronica," he said as he walked out the door for the last time.
Elijah replaced his brother, taking the now vacant spot Uriah had left behind in front of the window. He raised both of his eyebrows at me.
"What?" I demanded, crossing my arms.
"So, you love me?" He asked, grinning.
I rolled my eyes. "Go to bed," I said.
"Okay," he said, sweeping his arm out, moving me out of the way as he crawled into my room against my protests. I yanked on his arm as he made his way over to my bed.
"What are you doing?" I hissed. I didn't want my parents to hear us.
He collapsed on my bed, pulling me down with him. I landed on his bare chest and tried to squirm out of his embrace. His arm tightened around my waist and I was all too aware of where our skin was pressed together. I couldn't concentrate when he whispered in my ear, giving me goosebumps.
"We've got some unfinished business, Ronnie."
"What?" I asked, breathlessly.
"Remember my bed? Me and you? When we were rudely interrupted?"
I finally understood what he was saying and bit my lip, drawing his gaze to my mouth. "Oh, right..."
*************
Did Veronica make the right decision? Or is she going to regret it?