Page 13 of All the Promises We Break

“Are you going to ignore what just happened?”

“What just happened?” he asks.

“Ummm, this. The sleeping. The holding me. Our legs. The kiss.”

Wes has always been one to have something to say in every situation. This one is no different. “The sleeping happened because we were stressed out and tired. The holding you. You’re warm and I didn’t want you to fall off. Our legs would also fall into that category.”

“But you kissed me.”

“You kissed me,” he lightly snarks back.

“I did not.”

“How did I end up wearing your lip gloss then?”

“Because you kissed me!”

My voice nearly screeches at the end. At the same moment, I hear a key threading the lock of the front door. Wes’s hands open immediately, and I roll out of his arms onto the floor. I’m on all fours as I quickly toss him the remote and the pillow I took with me.

I dash back into the kitchen, behind the privacy of the cabinet wall to check my face in the glass door of the microwave. My hair is a mess but no more than usual. I quickly toss it on top of my head as I hear Wes greet Eli and Dylan.

“Hey. I hope you don’t mind me crashing here. Your beer is better.”

Dylan calls him out quickly. “Why do you always pretend you don’t give a fuck, when you do?” I stand in the open entry to the kitchen. Eli is calm and even laughing. Dylan drops her purse next to mine. “Where’s your partner in crime?” she asks.

“What do you mean?” His voice cracks a little bit at the end. Maybe no one notices but me.

Drive this bus, Hayley. Drive it.

“I’m right here. I was getting a snack. We were worried so we waited. I hope you’re not mad.”

Dylan walks over to give me a hug. She lingers a bit and I look up at Eli. He’s still smiling. Things are okay. They must be okay. “Why would we be mad? You care. That’s why we told you. This will save us from the Monday morning recap twice.”

My brother slides his jacket off, tossing it over the back of one of the living room chairs before he flops down into it. “Hey, man,” Wes slaps the toe of Eli’s shoe, “you good?”

“Yeah. I’m good. Exhausted but good. It’s one of those times where your goal takes over and once you’ve crushed it, you crash out after the high.”

“What did your parents say? I mean, you don’t have to tell us, but I really want to know.”

Dylan pulls me along to the end of the couch opposite of Wes. I hoped she would sit between us, but she curls into Eli’s lap and swings her legs over the arm of the chair. “Well, I’m surprised I made it in the door. Once I did, I wanted to run. Eli was amazing.”

Her hand begins to massage the back of Eli’s neck. “This one really showed up big for me today. He stood up to my dad in a way that was both respectful of him but showed clearly that he was my protector now, and that’s the way it’s going to be.”

“You went all knight in shining armor. Nice, dude. Solid choice,” Wes teases.

“Shut up,” Eli laughs. “You’ve met Paul before. This was a tricky maneuver.”

“So he backed down. That’s good,” I say.

“You undersell what you did, Eli. He told them his plans, my plans, and our plans. He told them you’re with us or we’ll go it alone. In the end, my father ended up praising him for his approach, and I got a real compliment from him for the first time in a long time. This was a good start.”

Wes leans forward with his elbows on the pillow I tossed him. I didn’t realize it before. It landed strategically placed and he never moved. “See, Hayles, I told you nothing to worry about.”

Nothing to worry about. Yeah, okay. I bet if that pillow moved right now there would be questions asked. “So I brought two pints of ice cream and a bottle of booze. I figured drowning sorrows or toasting victory. I can serve some.”

Eli begins to rub his eyes back and forth. “While I’m beyond tempted, I think I need to call it a night.” I watch as Dylan kissesEli’s temple. It’s just millimeters away from his scar. She also draws a couple of circles on the back of his hand.

I don’t know if that's a coincidence or not. My thoughts turn to Wes. I glance over at him out of the corner of my eye and find he’s watching me too. “Sure thing. Rain check. I’ll just head out,” I say.

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