To My Future Cheating Husband

XXIX. Couendship

Ava's POV:

I watched as the tea spilled onto Eli's hands, but his eyes didn't waver. Instead, he stood up. "Tell Trevon I don't feel well, so I went home. He'll understand."

I can't deny the fact that I have been dragging Eli along in my emotional rollercoaster.

But can you blame me?

I got out of a twenty years marriage half a year ago, got sent back in time, recoiled with my family, and found out that I had feelings for my brother's best friend.

And that isn't all the obstacles.

I'm surprised I haven't faced a mental breakdown.

So, what's wrong with taking my time?

I'll tell you what's wrong.

The conflicted feeling of the young man in front of me is what's wrong.

Everything I'm going through.

He doesn't know it.

Maybe, there's a little awareness, but not enough to understand.

Instinctively, I grabbed his sweater. Eli stops walking, "Ava. Please-" he stops talking. "Wait. Wait. W-Why are you crying?"

Am I crying?

Eli went on his knees, "Oh. No. No. I'm sorry. I was wrong. I take everything back. I'm not pushing. No pushing at all. I'll hold onto the short end of the stick and-"

I shook my head, "Don't say that. You're right. I'm the wrong one. I should've done this properly instead of beating around."

Eli wipes away the tears, "Ava."

I tuck my lips over my teeth, "I-I-I...I like you."

His hands stop moving.

"But I can't do it. I can't move on...not yet." I'm grateful that it's empty inside the cafe. "And I don't want you to spend your youth waiting for me."

"Then, what do you want me to do?" He asks. "Do you want me to be with Mary?"

I look at him.

He noticed that too.

If I can, I would applaud Eli for his observation skills. But, this doesn't seem like the right time to be clapping.

I puffed my cheeks and forced myself not to bring up the winter ball.

"I asked Mary to take pictures with me during the winter ball because...well, you look so beautiful that day. If we took pictures together, I was afraid I might throw up."

He shouldn't be like this.

It makes things harder.

"I'm sorry for my outburst earlier," he chuckles. "I-" he swallows, "I allowed my insecurities to get the best of me."

"What?" This isn't where I expected the conversation to flow.

Eli scratches his cheek, "I-" his sight jumps elsewhere before it reverts toward me, "I did a lot of thinking over winter break and-" his hand tightens, "and when I came back from break. I keep hearing things about you. Not bad things," he reassured. "But, things that I prefer not to hear."

He must be talking about the guys who have been asking me out on dates. When I returned from winter break, there had been a sudden spike in guys who asked me out. It wasn't unusual. I had gone out with quite a handful of guys before.

But that was before.

"So, I got mad at one of them," he said slowly. "And then, they said some pretty hurtful things." He's trying to keep the story vague. "And then, I'm stupid enough to transfer the feelings toward you."