Page 16 of The Very First Night

“It’s not like I was sitting in the corner booth analyzing every person that walked in the door!”

Elijah laughs. “I guess that’s fair. So what’s your major?”

“Photography.”

His brows nearly touch his hairline, a confused expression marring his lips.

“What?” I ask.

“Nothing,” he says, “I just didn’t realize that was a major. Do you need a degree to do that?”

“Not necessarily, but an education always helps. My minor is in business.”

“Why not be a business major and minor in photography?”

“Because the goal is to be a photographer, not a business owner who happens to take pictures.” I can feel myself growing defensive, but I try my best to bite it back.

He nods in response, but I can’t tell if he understands what I’m saying.

You can’t get much further apart than Pre-Law and Photography when it comes to majors. Actually, you can’t get much further apart than me and Elijah, either. Our lives, our goals, our parents—we couldn’t be more different.

However, I think it’s a beautiful thing when opposites attract.

Especially when it’s Elijah Hanas.

We grow quiet again and I struggle to think of what to say. I’m finding myself starting to question if, rather than providing me with a lifeline, the universe was just playing a sick, twisted joke on me by sending me back in time. I have to sit through it all again with the knowledge that nothing is as inconsequential as it seems, and with one wrong word or move, I could throw it all away. Even if I don’t know exactly what happens, I know that Elijah is important. He stays important, so I’m terrified of messing things up.

“So…” Elijah breaks the silence, pulling my attention to his eyes. “What’s the deal with your dad?”

My brows shoot up, but he continues speaking.

“I’m sorry. I know that was a bit crass, and if I’m being honest, I’m a little drunk right now. But I can’t stop thinking about how you avoided the question.”

“Because he’s not important. I barely know the guy.”

“Oh,” he responds. He doesn’t elaborate on what he is thinking.

We settle into silence again, but this time I break it. Mostly because I don’t like silence.

“He had an affair…when I was a baby. I was only like six months old when it started. Anyway, he got the other woman pregnant and ended up moving into the city to be with her instead. I haven’t seen him since I was eight, but even then, it was in passing at the mall.”

Despite the revelation, Elijah remains silent, making it almost worse.

I keep going to fill the silence. “He didn’t really want to be in my life. He didn’t really want me. He told my mom that when I was a kid. I overheard them on the phone. Said she trapped him and that he didn’t want me in the first place.”

When Elijah responds, it’s in nearly a whisper, an expression of utter disbelief on his face. “Damn.”

“Whatever. I wasn’t wanted—it’s fine.”

“You’re wanted, and you should be able to feel wanted. It sucks that he made you feel like that wasn’t true.”

“It’s fine.” What else am I supposed to say? Should I bare my soul and scare him away? That’s an awful idea.

“Where do you stay?”

The quick shift in subject nearly throws me off my axis. “What?”

Elijah seems to suppress a grin at my confusion. “Where do you live?”

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