Page 45 of Puck Drop
“What’s the struggle about?” he asks when I don’t say anything else.
I let out a long puff of air and look away. I stare out the window for a while. We are up in the air by now, and all I can see are the dim lights from the ground, which seems really far away at this point.
“I really love her,” I tell him.
Sebastian doesn’t say anything for the longest time, but when he does talk, he doesn’t disappoint. “That’s your big struggle? That you love her and she obviously loves you?”
I chuckle at the tone of this voice. “It’s not that simple, shithead.”
“Well,” he lets out a sarcastic laugh. “It can be as complicated as you make it. And may I just say…” He leans forward a bit to make sure that I am paying attention. “That we’ve been talking in circles about this girl from the time she revealed herself to you. You’re not getting anywhere with it, so maybe you need a break from her. To clear your head, ya know?”
“You want me to break up with her?” The words make my stomach drop.
“Me?” he looks shocked. “I don’t care what you do one way or another. You’re the one who keeps on bringing her up, and then you don’t know what to do with her. Take a step back and reassess. That’s all I’m saying.”
I go back to looking out the window. I am oddly offended by his suggestion, like he is trying to separate us on purpose. Logically, I know he doesn’t mean anything bad by it, but I still can’t stand him right now for the mere suggestion that maybe I need to take a break from Elizabeth.
“Anyway,” Sebastian interrupts my thoughts. “I think you should come with me to New York for Jared’s bachelor’s party. It’ll be cool to visit with everyone there. And, if you’re good,” he adds with humor lacing his tone, “I’ll take you to meet my aunt, Kathy. She is the best.”
“Thanks, dad,” I deadpan.
Suddenly, Bell’s head pops up from behind us, his head fitting in between the seats.
“What the fuck daddy games are you two playing over here?”
“Get the fuck out of here.” Sebastian pushes at Bell’s arm like he’s trying to push him back, but it’s obviously in jest.
“Ooohhh, I see how you like it, Bass,” Bell teases. “I can call you daddy, too, if you want. In fact, we’d make a really cute couple as far as I’m concerned. Bass and Bell, sitting in a tree,” he starts singing.
The look on Sebastian’s face is priceless. I bust out laughing and focus on these two as I try to buy myself some time before I have to worry about my own problems.
Life is just too damn hard sometimes, I decide. I do need a break.
FOURTEEN
Elizabeth
My fingers are crampedup around the small pencil I am holding. Once Mona put the idea in my head, that’s all I could think about. Drawing. I rushed to the kitchen and started digging through the junk drawer until I was able to find a small pencil. That was at least four hours ago, and I’m still going strong. On the flip side, I can’t feel my fingers anymore.
I am so much into my own head that I don’t even realize that someone is knocking at the door. At first, I think it just a dream, or maybe I’m hallucinating. God knows, I’m tired enough for that.
“Elizabeth,” someone calls out. “Are you home? It’s Logan.”
My head snaps back at hearing his name. Logan is here. The pencil drops from my fingers and rolls down to the floor. I watch it as it hits the tile with a soft clinking noise. That’s when I realize that my back is sore and my neck feels stiff. I stand up from the chair to make my way to the door, where Logan is apparently waiting.
Oh my God, I think to myself. I’m moving like I’m a hundred and two. The closer I get to the door, the worse it hurts. My hips are as numb as my fingers. And my hands are shaking when I attempt to undo the lock.
“Jesus, are you okay?” Logan asks when I finally manage to open the door and he sees me. I feel self-conscious about it as I bring a hand to my hair to touch it, shocked to find that it feels like a knotted mess.
“I’m fine,” I assure him, but even my voice sounds off. The back of my throat feels dry to the point where I can barely make out words. “I was drawing,” I explain.
Logan’s eyebrows go up in surprise. “You’re drawing?” he asks. “You look like you’ve been through war.”
I bring my other hand to my head in an awkward attempt to cover my hair with both arms.
“I was in the zone,” I chuckle nervously. “I didn’t even hear that you were at the door.”
He nods at me in concern. “That explains why it took a while for you to open for me. I was getting worried out there. I could tell you were home, but when you didn’t answer, I thought you were hurt or something.”
