Somewhere in Between (7 page)

The tone of Leighanna's voice scared Gemma a little. There was a fierceness to it she'd never heard before. But since it wasn't directed at her, she let it go. "I can't do it alone."

"You aren't alone, sweetie. I'm here, your sister is here. And from the sounds of it, Elliot is here for you too. Never think you're alone," Caroline grabbed both her girls hugging them hard. "Tonight, when your father gets home, we'll sit down and we'll get through this. Together."

*LtB*

He slept for five hours before there was a loud knock at his door. With bleary eyes, he searched out the alarm clock in his room. It was just after noon. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he noticed they were swollen. He'd been crying in his sleep, he determined, though he couldn't remember any dreams. He was grateful for that. The waking images were bad enough.

Pulling himself from his bed, he noticed his clothes were terribly wrinkled since he hadn't bothered to change out of them before crashing. Having no time to change, as the knocking increased, he moved across the room and yanked open his door. Christie stood on the other side. With one hand on her hip, she looked at him with scrutinizing eyes.

"You were out all night. And those are your clothes from last night" she said simply.

"And?"

"Where'd you go?"

He thought about how to answer. He could easily make something up, knowing how wrapped up in Josh she had been the night before, but Elliot decided to go with as much truth as he could without giving everything away. "I went to Fairview to get Gemma."

"You didn't get in until this morning. What reason do you have to have been out all night? And with Gemma?" Christie grilled worse than their parents. And there was an underlying tone of something he had never heard before coming from her. It almost sounded mean.

He was becoming increasingly annoyed. "What does it matter to you?"

"Josh told me what he told you. About Gemma liking you and how Trisha doesn't even know you exist. He told me he managed to get it through that thick head of yours how pathetic you've been," Christie crossed her arms over her chest. "I'm just wondering what kind of shape you left Gemma in after finding her."

The implication nearly knocked the life out of him. She couldn't possibly know something horrific had happened, but her words, directed at him as though he was the one to bring the tragedy down upon her, made him want to throw up again. He could feel his skin prickle as though a cold sweat broke out across his forehead. He inhaled heavily, weary of Christie watching his panic attack. "She was fine when I left her," he nearly choked out. While she was okay physically, at least according to North Suburban Hospital, the lie tasted acidic on his tongue because Elliot knew Gemma was about as far from okay as a person could get.

"I've been trying to call her the last couple hours and her phone goes right to voicemail." Christie's eyes were dark and focused on him, looking to catch him in a lie, their normally light blue nearly non-existent. "And Leigh isn't answering either. Something is fishy here. And I'm willing to bet everything I own that you are the reason." Christie's voice had turned cold. "Why are you such an asshole? Gemma liked you and you throw Trisha in her face! Now, what did you say to her to make her not want to talk to me? What did you do to make Leighanna ignore me? I know you did something, now tell me!"

"What the fuck is your problem? You rag on me all the goddamn time about Trisha, and guess what? I'm not falling all over myself for her. She hasn't been a thought in my mind since I figured out what a fool I was last night. I know full well that Trisha is not the girl for me, and there are no delusions running through my head to suggest otherwise right now. But none of that matters, do you know why?" he asked, his voice cracking.

Christie seemed to stumble against the tone of her brother, but the ice didn't leave her voice. "Why?"

"Because Gemma was
fine
when I left her. Which was at her house." Images began to flash across his eyes of Gemma crying softly at his leaving. He'd promised he'd talk to her later, and that he'd see her again. But even with those promises, he still felt like he was hurting her because he didn't want to leave her, not like this, but he had to. She needed time with her family, and he knew she wouldn't be able to hide her horror forever, not with how close she was to her stepmom. But still, he wanted to scream. And with Christie beating at him, unaware and completely content with her life, he was prepared to snap.

"And maybe she's not answering because her phone is dead or she's busy. And maybe Leigh isn't answering because of a number of reasons. I'm not her keeper, talk to Trent about her if you're so concerned about her." He could see Christie was ready to come back at him with something, but he wouldn't let her have this moment, even if this was the first time they'd ever spoken so hostile to one another. "The whole world does not revolve around you, you know. Not all of us are like Josh, willing to do whatever it is your highness wants."

"You son of a bitch. I'm telling mom how much of an asshole you've been," Christie screamed before running off, shrieking for their mother.

He just slammed the door and fell against it. He knew he shouldn't have yelled at his sister like he had, but after so long of her attacking him, even if it was partly justifiable, and after having to watch his best friend suffer so horribly, he just didn't care about Christie's feelings in that moment. With a grunt, Elliot pushed against his door and stumbled toward his bathroom. He'd shower first, and then he'd call Gemma because in that moment, his heart ached and he desperately needed to hear her voice. He desperately needed to know she was okay. At least physically.

Stripping off his button-up shirt and pulling his undershirt off, Elliot quickly undid his pants, pulling away his boxers and socks too. He turned the dial to nearly scalding and stepped inside the stall. With the water pouring over his tired limbs, he closed his eyes and dropped his head. As he spied his softened shaft through slit eyes, an errant thought flitted through his mind, which nearly made him laugh. For all the time he spent drooling over Trisha, he'd never once fantasized about really being with her. Sure, just like every other teenaged male he imagined the perfect woman, his fantasy having large breasts with a round bottom attached to a curvy waist designed for gripping, and golden skin and long flowing hair he’d like to tug on. He even masturbated to those images. But not once did he try to picture what Trisha looked like. Not once was she the star of his lustful dreams. And from how she looked every day at school, with her…proportions on the smaller side, and her pale skin complimenting her platinum blond hair, his fantasy woman Trisha was not. That should have been a clue to him, but like his aunt had said, he was a stupid boy.

It was at the realization that he was actually losing that stupidity that he began to cry, his tears mixing with the water. Beautiful Gemma, his best friend, so broken and scared, one night had destroyed not only her innocence, but his as well. He would never see the world the same. He would never feel the same. He wanted so badly to help her, to fix her, but he didn't know how. He would never be able to un-see her fear. He would never been able to un-feel her terror. He wished more than anything that he could get a time machine and change the night before.

Turning the water off, he grabbed a towel and dried his body quickly. He pulled sweats on, not wanting to work any harder for clothes. Stepping into his bedroom, he moved to his phone and dialed Gemma's number. It rang once and then her voicemail clicked on. He waited for her sweet voice to tell him she'd return the call and the following beep before he spoke, "Hey Gemma. It's me. Just calling to check on you. Please call me back when you can. Okay, talk to you soon." He wished he'd been able to speak to her. He needed to hear her voice, to know she was safe because he felt so helpless.

A knock and the stern voice at his bedroom door told him there was nothing he could do for the time being. "I'll be right out," he replied to his father's angry tone. He knew Gemma didn't want anyone to know, but he needed help just as much as she did right now.

Leaving the safety of his room, Elliot walked to his father's study. He entered without knocking, but closed the door behind him and took a seat in front of the large mahogany desk his father was sitting at. Without looking up from the papers before him, Dalton Wade spoke, "You mind explaining to me what was going on between you and your sister this morning? Why there was a shouting match in my house loud enough to rouse neighbors miles away?"

Elliot inhaled deeply, letting his lungs sit there full before he blew the breath out harshly. "It's been a rough day."

"Care to elaborate on that?" his father asked, his pen dropping as his bright blue eyes, eyes that matched Christie’s, found Elliot's. Those blue eyes told him it was no time for joking, but Elliot didn't feel like laughing.

"Something… something happened, and Christie just doesn't get it." It was the easy thing to say. Gave him a reason to start or stop.

"Something happened? Does this something have to do with a certain girl you liked but apparently no longer do?"

"No," his answer was quick. "No, this has nothing to do with Trisha. I was an idiot; I see that very clearly and don't plan on being that kind of idiot ever again. She's a nice girl, but that's it." He was defensive, his body reacting to Josh's words last night and Christie this morning, while waiting for his father to demean him too.

"Okay… so if it's not about her, and I'll tell you, for someone who realized the woman they've been pining over isn't interested, you are taking it very well, this leads me to believe she really isn't the one." Dalton had a smirk on his face because he knew his son and he never once believed Elliot could be led so easily by just a smile and a pretty face. "I am willing to bet my salary that this has something to do with one Gemma Grady. Though it does help that your sister said you did something to Gemma that upset her. Is that what this is about?"

He was tempted to grab his hair and pull very hard because Christie wasn't in the room to maim. "Okay, I will fully admit that my moment of insanity did upset Gemma. Apparently she likes me as more than just a best friend. Or at least she did," Elliot thought bitterly, but those thoughts halted at his father's snort. It seemed everyone knew how Gemma felt but him. "But it's more than that." He felt his lungs constrict suddenly. Looking at his father, he wanted so desperately to talk, and the need to unleash the pain he felt at what happened was staggering. He knew if he didn't let it go, it would suffocate him. "It's so much more than that."

A frown formed on his father's face as he moved around the desk to sit by Elliot. "What happened, son?"

"Oh God, dad. It’s so much more," Elliot began, tears already pouring from his eyes.

*LtB*

She was unable to eat anything, her stomach revolting at even the smell of the beautiful breakfast before her. She did drink some orange juice though, just to appease her mother. By the time she was finished, it was after noon, and all she wanted to do was talk to Elliot. And sleep. She admitted to the last part and bid farewell until later. Once she reached her bedroom, Gemma noticed the notification light on her phone was blinking. Picking it up, she saw that she had six missed calls and four texts from Christie. She also saw she'd missed a call and message from Elliot.

Christie had left only texts, no voicemails with her calls, so Gemma quickly scanned through those, noticing the tone becoming increasingly angry. But it wasn't at her. Christie was acting as though Elliot had done something to her, something to hurt her or make her angry and that was why she was avoiding talking to anyone, especially her, since Elliot was her brother. She also said Leighanna wasn't talking either.

Shaking her head, and not wanting to deal with drama, Gemma ignored Christie and listened to Elliot's message.
"Hey, Gemma. It's me. Just calling to check on you. Please call me back when you can. Okay, talk to you later."
A small smile took to her face at the sound of his voice. It was the first moment of calm she'd felt since he'd left this morning.

Hitting ‘CALL’ on her phone, she waited for him to pick up. After a couple rings, he finally answered, "Hi, Gemma."

"Hi. Are you okay?" she asked, noticing the sound of tears in his voice.

"I'm okay. How are you?" He wouldn't tell her that he'd told his father yet, especially since he didn't know how she'd feel about that. Relaying his night was one of the hardest things he'd ever done because no matter how much time had passed, how many hours had gone by, everything was still fresh in his mind.

"I'm okay," she said meekly. "I um, I told my mom and Leigh."

"You did?" This was good, he knew. For as much as he wanted to help her, he knew she needed her family and thankfully, Caroline was an amazing mother. "How did that go?"

"Um, there was a lot of crying. And I think Leighanna may be more volatile than usual. She didn't check her cell during breakfast like she usually does, instead letting it continue to buzz unattended," she attempted to joke. It felt good to Gemma that her sister wanted to stick up for her so passionately. A beat passed before she spoke again. "My mom wants me to tell my dad tonight. He got called into the office for some contract discrepancy thing or something so he wasn’t here to, well, you know."