Page 33 of Beneath the Stands (Sugarlake 2)

Eli sighs. “No shit, right? They wouldn’t come out even if I asked.” He hangs his head, peering into the liquid swirling in his glass.

“Have you?... asked, that is.”

“Naw, why set myself up for the letdown, you know?”

My heart pinches at his words, but I’m not sure why he thinks that way. There’s nothing that Lee would want more than to see him.

“Eli, Lee wants to see you. You know that, right? She misses you. She loves you. She needs you.”

He scoffs, setting his glass on the wicker table and facing me, his elbows on his knees. “Please, spare me the theatrics, Becca. Lee doesn’t miss me. Lee doesn’t even know me. All she wants is someone there to help carry the weight of her life.”

I sit forward, anger piercing my chest for my best friend. How dare he act like she doesn’t care. “And that’s a bad thing because…?”

“Because nobody was there to help me carry mine!” he explodes, his hands flying out to his sides.

“You wouldn’t let them be!” I yell back. “Lee tells me how she tries with you. How she begs every time y’all talk for you to come home, and you just ignore her pleas. They fall on deaf ears… just like they always have.”

His spine stiffens, his eyes narrowing. “This comin’ from the girl who says she ‘gets it.’ You’re runnin’ so fast from your family, you can’t even catch your breath. You have no clue what you’re talkin’ about.”

That accent again. It’s his biggest tell. He can try to hide it all he wants, but his emotions show the truth of his roots, no matter how many layers of dirt he tries to bury them under.

He’s not wrong, though. His words cut into my skin, showing the hypocrisy underneath, but I won’t let him know I feel it. “The only clue I need is that you’re sittin’ pretty in a multi-million dollar mansion while your family can barely make ends meet. Now why is that?”

“You think I don’t try to help them?” he hisses through clenched teeth.

“Obviously not enough.”

He chuckles, but it’s an empty sound. “Must be nice on that pedestal, Rebecca. Does it ever get lonely up there?”

Irritation flares, making my cheeks hot. “Probably as lonely as is it is down there with the people who abandon their family.”

“Well, make sure you ask Lee all about it when you talk to her next,” he bites back.

I suck in a breath, the twang in his voice and the glassy sheen in his eyes twisting my stomach. Is he insinuating that Lee abandoned him?

“What are you talkin’ about?”

He shakes his head, dusting off his pant legs as he stands. “It doesn’t matter. You’re right. I’m an asshole. Lee can do no wrong… and you should go.”

I move to sit on the edge of my lounger, reaching out and grasping his wrist. “Hold on. I’m… I’m sorry, alright? I spent a lotta years wipin’ Lee’s tears that came attached to your name. It’s hard for me to see past that to hear you.”

He nods sharply. “It’s late.”

I don’t move from my spot. My mind is telling me to pull myself away, to stand strong in my loyalty to Lee. But I swear I can see anguish swirling in Eli’s eyes, and it calls to the part of me that aches for understanding. The part that wishes someone in that godforsaken town would open their eyes and just see me for me. Accept me the way I am.

“You’re right,” I whisper. “I don’t know what I’m talkin’ about.”

His eyes lock on to mine and my stomach jumps so high I swear it’s trying to leave my body. It must know I’m a traitor for feeling about him the way I do.

I swallow, making the choice before my logical side can catch up to my mouth. “I don’t wanna go.”

His nostrils flare. “Pretty sure I didn’t give you the option.”

I blow out a breath, regret from my outburst inching through my body and squeezing my throat. Didn’t I just tell him the other day I understood?

I’m no better than my folks.

Nodding, I set down my wine glass and stand up. I try to ignore the way his smell makes my heart ache as I brush by him.

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