Page 106 of Chasing Infinity

“Come on, Parks, throw me a line here,” I plead with her.

Her shoulders droop, and she shakes her head. “I can’t. We’ve already got plans. Maybe if you go, we can still hang out together.” Her eyes spark with hope.

And as if he was summoned straight out of hell, Eli rounds the corner and finds Parks and me talking. He takes a few steps towards us and then crosses his arms, a thunderous expression setting in on his stupid face.

“Addie? Is everything okay?” he asks in his irritating voice. I roll my eyes and then look down at Parks. Her eyes are screwed shut, and she’s frowning.

“Your boyfriend’s calling you.”

“Noah,” she protests, opening those hazel eyes and looking at me imploringly. She knows I’m speaking out of frustration just as much as I do, but even when I’m upset, I can’t say no to those eyes. I sigh and lean my head closer to hers until our foreheads are touching. She closes her eyes and lets out a breath.

“Just go Parks. We’ll talk later,” I tell her in a low tone.

“Are you sure—?”

“It’s fine, Parks. I’ll see you around, yeah?”

I walk away from her, wondering how this situation got so fucked up. I want to be upset at her for saying yes to someone else, but I’m not. If only I had been open to the idea of going with her from the first time she asked me. But I hadn’t been, so this is my own damn fault.

It’s something I kick myself over for the rest of the day. As I walk around the little park in the town square later that afternoon, I find myself slipping into a pit of frustration. Why can’t I ever seem to do the right thing when it comes to her? Even when I make the right decision, it always seems to fall apart because of whatever stupid thing I did before.

Maybe this is penance for all the years I gave her so much trouble. It makes sense, karma and all that shit. Perhaps I’m destined to be chasing after Addison Parks for the rest of my life, unable to fully repent for all my wrongdoings. Though, even if that’s the case, Parks is worth it.

“Hey!” a voice calls to me, and I look up, jolted out of my thoughts. I scowl right away as soon as I recognize Eli Montgomery stalking toward me. He must have seen me walking here from his father’s market.

“What do you want, Monty?” I ask as soon as he’s close enough.

Eli stands a few feet from me, arms crossed over his chest, attempting to appear menacing. I wager I could take him down quickly, though, if it came to it. “I want you to stay away from Addison.”

I shake my head, laughing under my breath. This is classic. “Why would I do that?”

“Because I will beat you into a pulp if you don’t. She’s too good for you, and she deserves to have someone who actually cares about her.”

“And you think I don’t?” I counter back.

“All you care about is yourself, McCoy. You’re just like your dad in that aspect,” Eli snarls at me, and I grit my teeth. If he wanted to land a good blow, he succeeded.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“No?” he questions snidely. “I’ve only known you my whole life. That’s where Addison’s getting confused. You’ve got her believing that you’ve changed or whatever, but I know the truth. I can see through your little game.”

Now I cross my arms over my chest, not responding but hopefully conveying with my expression that I’m not impressed with his little tirade.

“Addison ismybest friend, so it’smyresponsibility to protect her from jerks like you. You might have been able to trick her into being friends with you, but soon enough, she’ll see you for what you really are,” Eli continues, still trying to egg me on. “And I’ll be the one right there to pick up the pieces.”

I stay silent for another moment, staring at him blankly. “Are you finished?”

Eli falters but then regains whatever mojo he thinks he has. “For now.”

“Great. You can leave now.” On that note, I turn from him and start walking towards my bridge. Eli can run his mouth all he wants, but I won’t let him get to me. I’m pleased to see that he doesn’t follow me but instead turns around and stalks back towards his family’s market.

I lean my elbows on the edge of the bridge and watch him walk away. He might think he knows me, but he’s wrong. I’m nothing like my father, and I never will be. I might have an upward battle trying to convince everyone that even though we’re related, I am not destined to turn out like him. I’m going to choose my own destiny, and Declan McCoy doesn’t get to have a say.

Eli irritates the hell out of me on a good day. And today especially that he thinks that I would ever do anything to hurt Parks. He’s the one running to her and asking her to the dance as abackupplan. But that’s none of my business. All that matters now is how I’m going to move forward.

She was just telling me that she got accepted to her two top colleges. Even though they’re still in the Northeast, she’ll probably be leaving Willow Heights to live in the dorms. If I want to be with her, I can’t risk her going without knowing how I actually feel.

Sure, there’s been a few kinks in the road, but I’m confident I’ll be able to set things straight. I make the decision then and now that I’m not going to let this ruin one of my last chances with Addison. We’ve wasted enough time skirting around each other. Slowly, a plan starts to piece itself together in my mind.

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