Invisible String [T.S-E.S BOOK ONE]

27

October 4th, 2013

"Taylor!" Eleanor whipped around, tears filling her eyes. "You did this for me? When?"

It was the sweetest gesture that anyone had ever done for her. And Taylor didn't even know that El would be in Nashville. She must've bent over backwards to make the party happen.

"I put it together last night." Taylor grinned, pressing a kiss to her girlfriend's cheek. "You deserve it."

Eleanor was on overdrive as she entered the house. She could feel her skin itching, begging to use again. But as she looked at all of the people who loved her enough to drop everything and go to Nashville for her birthday, she found it easier to shove that itch down.

Alex and Kelley had flown in from Portland, Porter and Izzy had come in from Baton Rouge and was no doubt missing school, Pat was in from Chicago, and all of Taylor's friends had come. Even their friends in California. She felt completely overwhelmed with love.

She didn't deserve it.

But she shoved that feeling down. She was determined to enjoy her birthday. Taylor had done so much for her.

Eleanor wrapped her arms around Taylor's waist, pulling her close to displace some of her anxious energy. "Thank you baby."

Taylor, happy with her reaction, threw her arms around Eleanor's neck, drawing her in for a proper kiss. "Anything for you." She mumbled against her lips.

"Okay! We get it! You love each other!" Hawk yelled out, appearing beside the couple. "Where's my hello?"

Eleanor rolled her eyes as she untangled herself from her girlfriend. "I hate you." She told him, a smile situated across her face.

He pulled her to his chest as the party began around them. He didn't seem much different than before, so Taylor must have stayed true to her word and not told him, much to her relief.

"Okay, my turn!" Izzy ripped her brother off of her sister.

She leaned in as if she was going for a hug before rearing back and smacking El's shoulder as hard as she could.

Eleanor immediately flinched. Her sister packed an intense punch. "Ow!" She cried out, rubbing her shoulder. A couple people turned to the sibling trio, but at that point their antics were typical enough that no one batted an eye.

Izzy narrowed her eyes. "That's for scaring the shit out of us!" She was obviously still upset about the incident.

"Okay, damn." Eleanor groaned, still holding her shoulder. "Hello to you too."

Izzy rolled her eyes, but quickly broke her resolve and hugged her sister. "If you ever do anything like that again, I'll kill you myself."

Eleanor squeezed her even tighter. There were no guarantees with her entering the period of withdrawals, but she figured she better hold onto her family as tight as possible. She was going to get through it for them.

"Thanks for coming, Iz. I know I fucked up." The sisters pulled away from each other. "I didn't mean to pull a Vanessa."

"Oh god!" Izzy suddenly laughed, being caught off guard. "We have a term for it now."

The two sisters laughed at their shared trauma, careful not to think about it too hard. If they did, all the emotions and the fear of abandonment would creep up again. It was better to just push it down and never think too hard.

As she talked and caught up with her little sister, Eleanor's eyes scanned the party to get the full picture. Everyone seemed happy. They were enjoying themselves, and even though Eleanor could feel the twitch of withdrawal settling in, she wanted to enjoy herself too. For Taylor.