Page 46 of How We Fooled

“The exclamation point in your text kind of gave away that you had something exciting to tell me. So, I took a chance. Then, your aunt here confirmed it for me.”

I look her way to see the glisten in her eyes as she watches us standing here.

“Sorry, I knew you wanted to tell him, but this was just too sweet,” Aunt Heidi says.

She couldn’t be more correct, and the cheesy grin on my face hopefully tells her exactly so.

“Okay, tell me, where did you get the job? Which school will you be at?” he asks.

I stand tall, proud to announce, “You’re looking at the new Econ teacher at Leighton River High School.”

His expression drops, and his eyes open ever so slightly, but he tries to hide whatever just went through his brain before he recovers, saying, “That’s awesome. Really, I’m so happy for you.”

I tilt my head in question, wondering if I really just saw what I saw when my aunt places her hand on my shoulder.

“We are so proud of her. She’ll really do a great job. We just know it.” She kisses my head. “I’ll leave you two now.” She turns to Eli. “Glad you made it home safely. Congrats on winning the tournament too.”

“Thank you.” He smiles, but it’s not with the same sincerity he had just twenty seconds ago.

I step up to him, knowing something is off. I know we haven’t been together long, but I’ve always been able to read people really well. My mom says it’s a blessing, but sometimes it feels more like a curse. Sometimes, you really don’t want to know what’s going on in people’s heads, but right now, I’m dying to know what could possibly be going on in Eli’s.

“What’s wrong?” I ask, placing my hand on his arm, hopefully letting him know that I’m here for whatever is bugging him.

This is the first time in our relationship that a worried feeling races through me. The one thing I like the most between us is our openness. He brings a level of comfort to me that I didn’t even know was possible.

He won’t meet my eyes, and suddenly, my chest starts to ache with this unknown sensation that’s making it hard to breathe.

I place my hand on his cheek, bringing his face to mine. “Eli …”

He finally looks at me, and I instantly see the tears he blinks away.

“Eli, what is it? What’s wrong?”

He closes his eyes, swallows hard, then takes a deep inhale. When he opens them, all I see is pain. Pain I’ve never seen from him reflected back at me. The pit in my stomach drops, and my palms start to shake.

“Eli, talk to me.”

He lets out a breath, holding his hand out to me, then guiding me back to my bedroom. “We need to talk.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Liza

My body is shaking in fear as I follow Eli back to my room, having absolutely no clue why there is this sudden shift between us. It was like one minute, he was happy, giving me flowers, and the next, it seemed like I’d told him the worst news ever.

It makes no sense, but I’m terrified to hear why he’s acting like this.

He takes a seat and keeps my hand in his as he stares at it like it might disappear if he takes his eyes off of it for a split second.

“Eli, you’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”

“I love you,” he blurts out. “Fuck,” he says under his breath more to himself than me. “That is not how I wanted to say that for the first time, but it’s true.” He sits up taller, inching closer to me. “I love you so much that it scares the shit out of me. For years, every single person I met would ask me about my future—what sport I’d choose or which college I’d attend.” He sighs as he looks up at the ceiling. “Sports have been my entire life. And when I say entire, I mean, my entire life.” He emphasizes his words. “It wasn’t until I met you that I even thought about what my life should be.”

He rubs his fingers on mine, and I place my other hand over his.

“Eli, what’s going on?”

“Coaches warned me about girls. They always said girls would be the only thing to derail my career. I didn’t see how it would be possible until I met you. But I get it now. I totally get it.”

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