Dominions

Chapter 33: Elle

"It was amazing," Selena fell onto the bed and grabbed a pillow. She wrapped it tightly to her chest and then turned to Elle. "I was nervous that it was going to be awkward, or he was going to be like a bad kisser or something, but he was perfect. A complete gentleman!" 

Elle felt a twinge of jealousy being built inside of her. Not only was she having to hear about the boy she sort of had feelings for being kissed by her friend. She had to hear about the boy she sort of had feelings for being kissed by her friend inside her house. 

"I'm glad that you're happy, Selena," said Elle truthfully. 

She did like Selena. She was funny and charismatic, and she had qualities that made you feel like you knew her your whole life when she starts talking to you. Out of all the girls Elle could have gotten stuck in this situation with, Selena wasn't the worst option. The only real problem that Elle could see with Selena was the fact that Judah was interested in her. 

And Elle still wasn't sure where Rosemary ended and where Elle began. 

Elle walked over to her bed and sat down next to Selena. "Jayden's been staying here, right?" asked Selena. 

"Yeah," Elle said. "Although my parents are coming back tomorrow night so this little setup has to end tonight." 

"How have his parents taken it?" 

"They've tried to stop by a few times but I just pretended like he wasn't here," Elle said. "I told him telling them where he was is counterproductive to what he wanted to happen, but he didn't want them to worry too bad." 

Selena picked her head up from the bed and turned on her side. She gave Elle a conspicuous look and bit her lower lip. "Speaking of hookups in your house..."

"Oh my god," Elle laughed. "No. It isn't like that. Jayden isn't that kind of guy. Not to mention, I wouldn't risk complicating anything more than they already are." 

The minute those words escaped Elle's mouth she regretted it. She wished that she'd suddenly get Dominion over time so she could rewind this moment, but Selena sat up and faced the wall. "I didn't mean you and Judah," said Elle. "I know that you two had a thing previously going on back then as well. It only makes sense-"

"Elle, it's fine," assured Selena. "I get it." 

An awkward tension filled the room and Elle was left speechless. She didn't know how to fix this situation. Is she supposed to carry on with a new talking point? Should she just ignore it and hope that Selena makes the first move in the conversation? 

"I'm sorry," Selena said. "Look, I'm being sensitive. You weren't being nasty. I'm just nervous. There's been a lot going on between this, school, and a potential new relationship. I...my life was already complicated before the Dominions," Selena looked back at Elle and gave a sad look. "My dad lost everything at the beginning of the summer. All of our money, our house, and my basic way of life was completely uprooted. I went from having a huge room all to myself to suddenly sharing a small room with my baby sister." 

Elle had always wondered why Selena suddenly appeared at their school. They don't get many new kids at J.P Adams High. Saffron wasn't exactly the cream of the crop when it came to education. Elle had seen Selena when she was in class. She was bright and knew all of the answers to the questions the teacher asked. 

"I'm sorry that happened," Elle said. 

"It is what it is," said Selena."We can't change the past, but what we can do is have a kick-ass time at the bonfire," Selena looked at her watch and her eyes widened. "Speaking of, we're running late!" 

She grabbed Elle by the hand and drug her out of the room. Selena then ran over to the room Jayden stayed in and banged on the door. "Let's go track star!"  Elle almost tripped as she attempted to keep pace with Selena as they went down the stairs and to the front door of the lavish mansion. Elle barely had enough time to grab her keys off the key ring holder next to the door before Selena drug her out of the house.