Page 43 of Make You Mine

“When did it get out of hand?” Eli asks, thumb rubbing across my knuckles. His grip on that hand hasn’t eased. “Where was your friend?”

“About thirty minutes into the impromptu visit, they pulled out a joint and lit up. They tried topuff puff pass, but I said no while Rose went for it. You can imagine it didn’t turn out so great for her when she coughed up a lung on her first hit, but hey, Anthony was rubbing her back, so she was on cloud nine.”

“Then what? No one smelled the weed?”

“Not when it’s a semi-windy night, and all windows are closed. To everyone, it’s justboys being boysand listening to music at home while staying out of trouble.”

“Trusting parents.”

“Exactly,” I say lowly, a little bit bitter at how different males are treated compared to women. “Then, after they tossed away the end, Anthony asked Rose if she wanted something to drink.” I lick my dry lips and pull my hand from his as I grab my bottle to take another sip, trying to distract myself from the slight shaking of my limbs. “Of course, she jumped at the chance to walk next door. No matter how much I begged her with my eyes, she had blinders on and left me without thinking twice.” My heart races, and my palms sweat. My breathing gets a tiny bit choppy. “It happened so fast. One second, I’m watching Rose walk past my gate, and the next, I’m on the paved ground with Lyle on top of me. I went to scream, and his hand covered my mouth, body pressing against mine.”My pretty little, Ava. We’re perfect together.“Beneath his hand, I yelled for him to get off, and just when I thought he would, the asshole brought his face closer, and I froze. His lips stopped just a hair’s breadth from mine as his hand traveled lower, stopping a few inches from mychest. I remember my eyes watering and the feel of his breath on my skin. How the stench of cheap beer and weed made me nauseous. I was so scared and?—”

“You don’t have to continue, Ava. I can put it together, sweetheart,” Elijah murmurs against my neck, and that’s when I realize that I’m no longer on the bench but sitting astride his lap. I’m in his arms, held tight while he rocks us a little side to side, and I don’t want to move. It hit me at that moment how much I needed this hug. For someone to believe me. “Just breathe in and out for me. That’s it. Slowly.”

“I’m okay.” My voice sounds off to my own ears. A tiny bit panicky, and yet, the more my body follows the rise and fall of his chest against my arm, the tension drains. Breathing gets easier. “He didn’t get to finish, Eli. Lyle moved to touch me, and I reacted, driving my knee as hard as I could into his balls. In agony, he rolled off, and I took the opportunity to run inside and lock the door.”

“That’s my girl.” He goes rigid beneath me. I know he didn’t mean to say that, and I’m not going to make a big deal out of it. Not now. Not when I shared something with him that’s worn me down for years. Elijah clears his throat and mutters a lowChrist.“And Rose?”

“Came back a few minutes later swooning over her first kiss.” Elijah lets out a small groan as I shift in his lap, covering it with a cough. It’s a horrible sound, and I almost laugh. I would even find it mortifyingly hilarious if I didn’t feel so drained after my confession.

“She wasn’t a good friend,” he says, and the tinge of anger in his tone warms my heart. It shouldn’t, but it does.

I lay my head on his shoulder, a heavy sigh leaving me. “Trust me, I know.”

“How did you figure out who Jason is? Was it before today, and you were embarrassed or?—”

“This is where I ask that you don’t get mad at me…” His silence causes me to lift my head from the comfortable position. From where his scent is the strongest. Eli’s giving me a pointed look, silently asking me to carry on, and I give a small shrug. Grimace a bit. “After you left the apartment, I walked into the living room and the files Captain Perez left behind were a bit messy, but what caught my attention was a note with bold black writing on it that had blood. I’ve seen that before.”

“That note or?”

“Before the incident, Lyle invited me to a Valentine’s dance that I declined. His flowers, a bunch of daisies, came with an oversized card attached and the same handwriting style. Bold, blocky, and with a possessive and pushy undercurrent that made me uncomfortable.”

“I’m going to kill that motherfucker.” Eli’s voice is gravelly, almost a growl. The vehemence—his anger is palpable, but it doesn’t scare me. Instead, I feel understood and vindicated as we sit in silence once again. Not that it lasts long. After a few minutes, Elijah nudges my shoulder. “Want to get out of here? Do something fun?”

That’s one way to change the topic.“Is that your way of saying enough with the heavy?” It’s my attempt at a joke, but neither of us laughs.

“It’s my way of saying I need to see you smile again. That’s all I want.” Cupping my face in his warm hand, he pulls me a little closer and lays his forehead on mine. “How can I make you happy, Ava? How can I make it better?”

You already are.I almost say it. It’s on the tip of my tongue, but I chicken out.

My face heats up, and my emotions are all over the place. From scared to angry to happy to starting to fall?—

“Baking,” I blurt out before completing that thought. A truth there’s no coming back from. “I miss cooking and baking.”

The hot waterpelts down my back inside his shower. I’m sitting down on the floor, knees to my chest as I process the day. The tears have stopped, yet my emotions feel out of whack.

Everything we shared continues to replay in my head:

What he told me. What I confessed. What I stillhaven’t.

How Lyle’s attention always lingered: heated looks, trying to hold my hand, and punching my first boyfriend in the face for kissing my cheek after a school dance that same sophomore year. My parents and friends all thought that it was him seeing me as a little sister—being protective— because that’s the bullshit line he fed them.

No one paid attention when I said I barely knew the guy.

That just because he was a close friend of my neighbor didn’t mean he and I were close.

I didn’t hang out much less talk to them. That was Rose, not me.

My solace came the day he moved away, but the cost for that reprieve has been too high.

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