ELIZABETH.
~
When Penelope said she was gonna take me to her friends, I didn’t expect my best friend to be sitting there with the purple-haired girl from earlier by his side. He’s the first I notice and he seems immersed in whatever she’s talking to him about. Even with a bright smile on his face and the same goes for her.
So much for his attention always being on me even when he’s with other girls.
‘And why the hell would you believe those words?’ Right.
“Hey, guys. This is Beth. Beth. Meet the group. “ All attention immediately turns to Penelope and me, and I wave awkwardly at the group. There are about four guys and five girls. Including James and purple hair.
“I found her alone in the kitchen. “ She provides them with further information and it seems that caught James's attention as he turns to me.
“Lizzie! There you are. I looked for you everywhere. “ You definitely didn’t look enough.
“You know her?” A guy asks as Penelope pulls me to sit with her, just across from James.
“Yes. She’s my friend. We came together. “ He says to him.
“So he’s the friend you told me about earlier. “ Penny brings her face near my neck to whisper and I nod, almost giggling at the way her breath tickled my skin.
“A nice surprise. “ She says and I smile before I look back to see the girl almost sitting on James's lap. There’s enough space?
Stop it Elizabeth.
“Alright since we have everyone here now. We should continue with the game. You wanna join in Liz?” A boy speaks and I nod. “Yeah, sure. What are we playing?”
“Truth or dare. We play strictly so you might want to get out while you have the chance. “ I look to James and he smiles; the one that tells me to do what I truly want. Then I feel a hand on my exposed thigh. I look back to Penny and she says, “It’s going to be fun. “
She squeezes my thigh and I nod at her, give James another look then say, “Sure. Let’s play. “
I place my somehow sweaty palms on my thighs and rub my ankles a good amount of times as I watch the green bottle in the middle spin repeatedly before it finally stops and my heartbeats increase when I realize it’s on me.
I let out a tiny gasp before raising my head and their eyes are full of amusement, inquisitiveness, and excitement.
“Oh. This would be fun. Jade gets to give the question. “ A boy chuckles and I guess the girl who’s holding the other side is Jade?
Brown eyes. Dark hair. Pretty. Everyone here is pretty.
Jade? Gives me a sweet smile and she’s about to speak when she suddenly gets interrupted by Penelope. I turn to her but her attention is on Jade and they seem to have a whole conversation with their eyes before Penny sinks back into her seat.
“That’s cheating, Penelope. “ A white-haired boy scowls and she scoffs, “I didn’t say anything, loser. Suck it up. “
There’s a further exchange of insults between them and I can’t help my smile. It’s more comfortable here than I thought it’d be.
“Truth or dare Liz?”
Not having a boring night, remember? “Dare. “ I utter boldly.
A wrong decision because Jade's next words are, “A hot five-minute make out with Penny. “
Sounds of deep laughter fill the air and there are whispers amongst them.
‘I knew you had something up with your sleeve. ‘
‘Calling the shots on this one before she gets taken away?’
‘Zip it fucker or I’d be coming for your girlfriend. ‘
Oh. Penny goes that way. That explains her not-so-subtle touches.
“I— um, “ I start, bringing the room into silence again as they all wait for my next action. I turn to Penny first and the sweet smile with the expectation in her eyes crushes my soul. “I’m sorry. I can’t. “ I take the cup in front of me and empty the alcohol in it. It burns my throat and I let out a hiss as I drop the cup.
‘Cold. ‘
‘Damn. I was fucking with Penny but I didn’t expect that. ‘
‘You hit her straight in the heart with those words, Lizzie. ‘
“It’s fine. You don’t have to do anything you don't want to. “ Penny assures me, giving me a small squeeze on my arm and I nod, returning her gesture with a sweet smile before I hang my head while the game continues.
~
“Liz, did you get that?” Penny whispers beside me and I raise my eyes to see all eyes on me which means I’ve missed whatever big thing happened. I look at the bottle and it’s not on me but on James, who also happens to be staring at me with a look I can’t quite figure out. But what’s with that stupid smirk on his face? I’m still mad at him.
“What? What’s it?” I ask Penny but James beats her to respond. “My dare. It’s to kiss you. “ My head is immediately turned to James and my eyes are dilated as I wait for him to declare that was a joke but he’s dead serious.
What the… how did I miss that? How did that even happen?
“The bottle is on me. “ He explains what I already know.
He’s dared to kiss me. He’s going to kiss me? His lips will be against mine? I’ll know what it’s like to taste those annoyingly pinkish-plump lips of his. He’ll have his hands on me? His mouth on me?
My thought doesn’t help me and I clutch my heart in my hand with hopes that no one hears how fast it’s beating right now. All just because my best friend has been dared to kiss me. My best friend. The one I harbor wrong feelings for.
What happens after he kisses me? Do I just forget about it? Will anything change between us?
“Oh, he’s taking the cup. “ Those words brought my attention back to the group and James is in fact holding the red cup. Is he…
He misses my eye contact and I watch as he drowns the drink in the cup which means he turned down the dare.
‘Boring. ‘
‘Coming from you. ‘
When James drops the cup, he smiles at me but not even that pretty smile is enough to revert the way my heart has dropped to my stomach from what he’s just done. He just rejected a kiss with me. James who’d have any girl with any chance he gets, just turned down a kiss.
Damn. Are you that unlikeable Elizabeth? I bet he finds you boring.
As if the voices in my head aren’t taunting me enough, Purple-haired chooses the moment to turn James's head and kiss him, and there goes my last straw.
I find myself lifting up from my seat and I ignore Penny’s calls for me as I walk away from them and take the farthest path. I find myself in the hallway of the house and I waltz through an unlocked door into one of the rooms.
It’s dark and just the perfect place to release the scream I’ve been holding onto after that mess.
“Damn you James. “ I mutter under my breath with rapid heaves of my chest.
My emotional moment is interrupted by the sound of a small creak and then a loud bang. I turn around to see the door completely shut and a tall shadow standing before me.
I take two steps back as fear grips me. “Who… who are you?”
ELIZABETH.“Oh sorry—“ There’s a deep chuckle in the dark then movements before the lights come on, revealing the tall shadow to be a tall handsome boy with alluring green eyes and dark hair. I don’t know him yet he feels weirdly familiar. “I didn’t mean to scare you. “ He smiles, revealing his perfect set of white teeth. “I saw you leave earlier and wanted to make sure you’re alright. ““Leave?” I repeat and he nods. “The game. I was there. “Realization finally dawns on me. “Oh sorry. I didn’t recognize you. “ I take two steps forward now and he takes three, leaving little decent space between us. “That’s okay. I was silent throughout the game so you wouldn’t have. “ he tells and I give a small smile. There’s a short silence between us as he seems to be thinking about his words. “I don’t bite. “ I don’t know why I said that but this boy seems to find it funny as he lets out a short laugh. The sound is lovely to the ears. “You’re funny too. Perfect. “ He murmurs as his eyes bore
ELIZABETH. What I wake up to is the loud shouts of my name from my mom. I let out a loud groan as I throw my covers shielding me away from the light and lean against my headboard then her call comes again, “Elizabeth! Are you not up yet? It’s getting late. ““I’m up. I’ll be down in a few. “ I scream back and there’s finally silence. I cover my mouth as a yawn slips through my lips and I do a stretch of my body with a few bones cracking before I begin to move out of bed. Walking out of my room, I take the path that leads me to her and as I take the last stair, Mom appears before me with a huge smile on her face. “Hey baby, “ She greets as she wraps her hands around my waist; the fact that I’m on a stair giving her easier access to it. When she pulls back, I lift a brow, “What’s with the morning affection?”She chuckles as she pulls her hands to her sides. “I’ve always been affectionate, haven’t I?”“Yes, but it feels different. You just called me baby and you rarely do that. “Sh
ELIZABETH. I was right. I, in fact, do not like whatever is happening right now. I watch as Gabriel places his hand over my mom’s and she doesn’t flinch at all. If anything; she seems completely used to it with that small smile that appears by the corner of her mouth.My mind tells me that I already know what they want to announce but my heart refuses to believe it. “We plan to get married. “Gabriel finally drops the bomb and I can’t hear anything else in the room over the loud beats of my heart. A heart that’s beating from astonishment, betrayal, and fear? Why am I feeling betrayed? I’ve got no idea. “What? Is that a joke?” I hear James's voice, drawing me back to the situation at hand and my gaze falls on my mom. She’s staring at me, anxiousness all over her face. She speaks next, “It’s true. Gabriel and I have been seeing each other for a while and we have good feelings towards each other. We want to take it to the next level but we want you kids to know first. “ She doesn’t
ELIZABETH.~WEDDING DAY~“You look really beautiful today. “ I tell Mom as I stand behind her and meet her eyes in the mirror. She’s truly looking so elegant in her blue wedding gown. Mom didn’t want it white for a reason she refused to let me know but she doesn’t look any less beautiful in this. She smiles. “Thanks, my love. You’re looking sweet yourself. “ She comments and I look down at the short flowy white gown I have on. It’s sleeveless which leaves my torso and shoulders on display. I smile and gently place my hands on her shoulders. I give the skin a soft squeeze as I ask her in a gentle tone, “Are you happy mother?”She drops her hand over mine and rubs it. “I am. Very happy, Elizabeth. “ And I know she means that. “And it makes me, even more, happier to know that. “ I say and she nods gently. She lets go of my hand and I remove my hands from her shoulders. “You’re comfortable yeah? No negative feelings?” She raises a brow and I’m quick to nod. “None. ““Good. I made sure
ELIZABETH. “Wow. This is looking huger than when I came. “ Mom says immediately we walk through the front door of our new home, each with our luggage in hand. “I helped pick this out. “ James whispers to me with a smile, obviously proud of what he’s done. “You won’t tell me what good job I’ve done?” He frowns when I don’t answer and I shake my head as I drag my luggage forward. The house is quite big. Bigger than our previous home and I can tell a considerable amount of money must have gone into this. “I’m sure you kids must be tired. You should retire to bed. “ Mom announces. She’s still in her after-party white feathery gown and she hasn’t stopped glowing; I guess that’s what being genuinely happy does to you. “Goodnight. “ I mutter before I start to drag my luggage up the stairs. “I’ll take this one. “ James appears out of nowhere, calling dibs on the right room and I look to my left before I return my gaze to him. “I got here first. “ “I said it first. “ “You can be so
ELIZABETH. “Hey. “ It’s James happy voice and I turn to him with a fake smile. “Hey. You have someone over?”He nods and walks into the kitchen with his hands behind him. “Yeah. I hope you have no problem with that?”I shouldn’t right? That doesn’t stop me from teasing him though. “I thought you’d want to get used to the house before you start bringing your flings in. “ I can’t tell if I really meant it as a tease.“Is that jealousy I hear?” He taunts me and I glare at him, earning a laugh. Then he says, “It’s just us for the day, and thought I could use myself a bit of fun. “ You don’t find staying around me for long fun then?“Right. “ I smile. “Her again. You must be having quite the fun with her. “ I nod my head towards the direction of the living room where I’m sure the girl is waiting for him and he turns in the same direction before meeting my eyes, “Better than I thought. ““You must really like her. “ I don’t know why I’m still talking. “You brought her to the wedding. Now
ELIZABETH. I scurry off the floor and make my way to the bathroom. Shame and guilt fill me as I lean against the tiled wall with my eyes shut. I can’t believe I just did that. Masturbate while eavesdropping on their private moment. “That was so low of you. “ I mutter under my breath as I get rid of the clothes I have on, my panties going first; feeling too disgusted in them. I turn on the shower and step under the cold water, rubbing and scrubbing my body in hopes of stopping the shame that crawls my skin. After spending minutes intensely washing my skin, I finally take a proper bath and drop my clothes in the sink just next to the exit before I walk back into my room with a towel wrapped around my body. “I feel like I can finally breathe again. “ I mutter as I walk to my closet to get fresh clothes. After getting dressed, I grab my phone and plug in my headphones to drown out any conversations I could potentially hear. As I lay there, gently rocking my head to the soft beats of
ELIZABETH.It’s been a long, tortuous week.A week filled with torment, awkwardness, and only a bit of awesomeness.We’re starting to open up to each other in the house. I can now stay in the room with Gabriel for more than ten minutes before having to feel like my seat is on fire and we communicate better. No one is happier about this improvement other than my mother. She seems to think I dislike Gabriel–if only she knows the truth about why I behave the way I do.And James. James tortured me on nights when there’ll be those familiar noises coming from his room and I start to wonder why they had to get a place with those thin walls. He’s being however quite sneaky about it. I remain clueless about what he does until I hear those sounds, and I wonder why he’s being so sly about it. James is never the type to sneak a girl in, and I’m pretty sure his dad knows all about his adventures.“Hey. “Louis’s voice takes me out of my thoughts and back into reality, and I smile as I greet him. “H