This is the Result of One Question?

20. Saving Lives

“Let’s go walking.”

“You’re joking right?” I looked at Eli with a straight face. Mom had left, accepting our “drinking Gatorade” excuse easily. She left me and Eli in the kitchen alone, and before he could say anything about what had happened, I grabbed my cup and pressed it to my lips. Eli laughed, and then motioned for me to pass his cup to him. “Do I look like I’m in the walking… Life? I don’t really do walking.”

“Oh, come on!” Eli whines, as if he’s a baby. I rolled my eyes, drinking some more Gatorade. Eli just pouted at me, expecting me to fall for it easily. Too bad; he didn’t know how stubborn I actually was. I looked at him with a bored look. “Please! It would be boring staying here all day.” I laughed at that.

“Compared to being outside? At least we have Netflix at home. What’s outside? Air – which we have in here also – bugs – thank god we don’t have that in here – and what else?” I ask sarcastically, as if I was actually thinking about it. “Oh, and no.”

“But, Cass,” Eli starts as I start walking to my room. “Cass. Cass.” I don’t reply, trying my hardest to get out of walking. I’m not going to lie: I was a bit out of shape. It’s not that walking was hard for me! Oh, that would just be pathetic; it’s just that I literally don’t like to walk. If I’m going to be getting some form of exercise, it will not be walking. Or running. Maybe something like dancing, or a sport. Except for soccer; I cringe at the thought of me running that much.

“Cassia?” he said lightly. I closed my eyes. Don’t you grab my wrist, Eli Anderson, don’t you do it. “Cass, please,” he said softly, and I could practically hear my own heart breaking at the sound of his voice. He grabs my wrist while I was in mid step. God, Eli, really?!

“Why do you want to go walking so bad?” I asked after he turned me around. I was so mad at myself, because I said the worst thing I could when I was trying to win this argument. I looked up at Eli, mad because I couldn’t help but marvel at his chocolate brown eyes. And his stupidly long eyelashes that I wished I could have. They were making me forget that I was trying to be stubborn; which usually came easily to me, naturally even. But then again, because of that fist question, I knew I had already lost. Eli knew it too, as I saw the corner of his mouth twitch upwards a bit.

“Why don’t you want to go walking?” he asked me, not even bothering to answer me with another question. The way he chose to go was obviously avoiding my question! I squinted me eyes at him. “Why won’t you keep me company? It’s no fun walking by yourself.” I glared internally, getting annoyed that he was the first person who was able to break down one of my many walls I liked to call stubbornness.

I sighed, a long and annoyed one to make sure Elil knew I wasn’t happy about this. He just smiles. “Let me change, you butt nugget,” I mutter the last part under my breath, but he still heard it.

“What was that, Cass?” Eli asks me laughing.

“Shut up!”

“Tell me about your family,” I order while we were walking on the sidewalk. I put my hands in my jean shorts pockets, and looked at the ground. Our steps were in sync. “Do you have any siblings?”

“Yeah, only one; an older sister, and she’s twenty-one.” I nod my head.

“And what about your parents? Do you like them more than a normal teenager like their parents? Because I have reasons to believe that you're not a normal teenager,” I say, smirking up at him. Eli laughs easily.

“And what would those reasons be?” I shrug my shoulders, not telling him at all. “My mom’s great, always helping me when help is needed. She’s really sweet too, just like your mom.” He nudges me with his shoulder. “I think you two would get along real well.” I smile at that; I always wanted to make sure I had a good relationship with the mother of my possible boyfriend.