Page 202 of Ominous: Part 1
I take another drink of melted ice, just for something to do with my hands, and a way to mask my silence.
“It’s not really my business,” she continues, but in a way that makes it seem as if she doesn’t really care if it isn’t her business or not because she’s going to make it her business, “but… I’ve seen you two in the halls.”
The room seems to spin a little, a pleasant buzzing in my ears.I guess we kind of have been all over each other.I haven’t had much time to hang out with him because of his practice, and my work, and I’ve been reading and writing a lot. I’ve almost finished a rough draft of a story I’ll probably never let anyone read. I’ve been working out every morning, too.
I tip my cup back and suck in an ice cube so I can crunch it between my teeth as I lower my cup down, my other hand balled into a fist on my thigh as I finally look at Janelle.
She’s watching me with the softest smile on her face.
I relish in the burn of alcohol down my throat, into my belly as I swallow the remnants of the ice cube. “Something might’ve happened.” My face grows hotter, and Janelle’s smile widens before she laughs a little. Quickly, I ask, “How long have you two been friends?”
Janelle cocks her head, thinking. After a while, she just shrugs. “A long time,” she says. “Since I was a kid.” She shifts her focus back to me. “He was friends with my little sister too. Jean.” There’s a heavy sadness in her tone when she says her sister’s name.
I think of Winslet, then Sebastian.
The look in Janelle’s eyes is faraway. It’s clear something bad happened to Jean, and before I have to wonder what it was, she keeps talking.
“Jean and Eli were a lot alike.”
There’s that word.Were.
Janelle breathes the smallest laugh. “My parents were so confused about Jean.” She meets my gaze a second, remembering I’m still here. “We’re adopted. They didn’t really know what to do with her. Then one day, Eli and his dad came over, they were introduced, and Jean cracked a toy car on top of Eli’s head. He was probably… eleven?” She guesses, still smiling. “Eli didn’t cry or scream, my parents and Mr. Addison watching in the living room, their mouths were hanging open while I hid in the kitchen, waiting for him to react. He just calmly snatched the car from Jean’s little hands and broke every single wheel off it, set it down on the hardwood floor, and crushed it beneath his shoe with one vicious little stomp.”
I’m not sure if I should laugh or not, but I do, and Janelle, thankfully, joins in.
“After that,” she says, “they were friendly with one another.” She takes another drink and turns her gaze back to Eli. He’s leaned back in the chair at the patio, one arm resting on the armrest, joint still dangling between his fingers, his other hand curled around a beer bottle while Jasper keeps talking.
There’s the slightest smile on Eli’s face, and I take in his sharp jawline, those pouty lips, his black hair flopped over his eyes, and the choker around his neck.
My stomach flips as I imagine him befriending a mean little girl.
Seems like a very Eli thing to do.
“How old is your brother?” Janelle asks, but she doesn’t take her eyes off Eli.
I shift on the stool, glancing at the back of my phone and flexing my fingers around my cup, warping the plastic. “Twenty-one.”
She nods once and takes another sip of her drink. “Has he met Eli?”
I roll my eyes, unseen by her. They have met, but I missed the introduction, and clearly Sebastian doesn’t like Eli. “Yeah. Sebastian is kind of difficult to get along with though.”
Janelle laughs at this. “Even with Eli? He’s entirely too charming, don’t you think?” Janelle shakes her head, tearing her eyes away from the boy who has his fist wrapped too tight around my entire soul.
“Yeah,” I say. “He is.” And I’m not sure why it is of all the people he could charm, he chose me to focus his magic on.
Janelle doesn’t seem to share my confusion. She sighs, then walks to the sink, dumping her ice out and pouring water in her cup from the fridge. She glances over her shoulder at me. “I’m headed out there, do you want to come?”
I appreciate the offer. But I don’t feel like sweating out there with all those people just yet, nearly a dozen total. I’ll probably make another drink after I take my medicine, then see if I have the liquid courage to socialize.
“I’m good for now, thanks,” I tell Janelle and she nods, taking her cup to the back door and heading outside with a small smile over her shoulder, directed toward me.
I watch her after she closes the door behind her, and see Eli look up, brows pulled together in silent question. He glances past his friend, and I’m not sure if he can see me or not, but his gaze lingers, and Janelle just offers him a wave, like she’s dismissing him, before she walks to the pool house and lets herself in, where I see a few people huddled around the same table I did coke with Dom at. Jasper is staring after her.
I smile at that, then slide down from the stool, a little dizzy as I do. My fingers feel jittery, inexplicable anxiety in my veins. I leave my cup and phone, and hurry down the foyer in bare feet, grabbing the railing for the stairs and heading up, the single drink already infecting my bloodstream. It hadn’t tasted strong, but the burn is still in my stomach.
I head down the hallway toward Eli’s room, where I left my bag, and push my way inside. It’s nice and neat, as it probably always is. I unzip the side compartment on my bag, tossed onto his made bed. I grab my medication, twist off the cap, swallow back a pill dry, and put the lid back on the bottle, then zip up my bag.
I glance in the mirror beside Eli’s desk, smiling at my reflection. There’s sun on my cheeks. I tuck my bangs behind my ears, running my finger over my piercings as I do. Then I turn, checking out my ass, making sure the pad I’m wearing isn’t too visible. My shorts are black, so I’m good. I think about changing the pad or taking it off entirely to get in the pool, but decide I’ll wait until I have one more drink. I can’t shake this feeling of nerves orsomethingunder my skin. I think, maybe, I need sleep. But now isn’t the time.
