Free Falling *Discontinued*

4|One of the Guys

As promised, I was teaching Eli how to ride a skateboard, specifically a longboard. Because he was a beginner, I suggested that we started with a longboard that was just a skateboard with more length and width to it, which would making staying on the board much easier. But somehow he still struggled with balancing himself as he wobbled back and forth, flailing his arms in the air.

"You're feet are too close together. That's why you keep falling off," I said, pushing Eli off so I could demonstrate. "Place your dominant foot in front of you and the other behind, like this."

Eli watched with calculated eyes and nodded. I hopped off and he took my place, copying my position. I grinned.

"Is that it?" he asked, craning his neck to look at me for confirmation.

"Great! Now we can start riding."

His eyes widened, and I had to keep myself from laughing at his scared expression. "I think that's enough for today."

"What? We haven't even gotten to the best part."

Eli shook his head and stepped off the board. "No thanks. I couldn't even stand on it without falling off, and now you want me to actually ride that thing?"

"Wasn't that the point of this whole thing? To get you to ride a skateboard?"

"No," he objected, pointing at the longboard. That's not a skateboard. That is a mini surfboard."

"Riding a skateboard takes much more balance and stamina than it does with a longboard. This should be easy for you."

"It's not," he deadpanned. "And honestly, I only said I wanted you to teach me to make myself seem less of a loner."

A snort escaped my mouth and I picked up the longboard, tucking it underneath my wing. We began walking aimlessly down the sidewalk. "That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard."

"It's true." He looked at me and smiled, and I rolled my eyes, averting my gaze to the cracks in the sidewalk.

Suddenly, a questioned popped in my head. "Where are you guys from?"

Eli looked at me with furrowed eyebrows. "That was random."

I laughed. "I know, but I've been wondering ever since you guys started at the school. It was a bit mysterious when all of you showed up at the same time, and you're all pretty close..."

"We did not come from prison," he concluded with an eye roll.

I held my hands up defensively. "I was not assuming that you did."

Eli scratched the back of his head, and for a few seconds it seemed as if he was battling with the decision on if he should tell me or not. It didn't matter much to me if he didn't.

"We grew up in foster care," he said finally.

My eyes widened, not expecting that revelation. "I've never met someone who's been in it."

"It's pretty shitty actually."

"Wow," I breathed, the shocking news still processing. "Were you all in one foster home?"

Eli sighed and ran a hand through his dark, disheveled hair, and I could tell I brought up unwanted memories. I was about to tell him that he didn't have to answer, inwardly scolding myself for being so goddamned nosey, but he spoke before I could.

"All of us were placed in the foster system the day we were born. The first twelve years that we were together weren't that bad because we had each other. But after that, we kept getting placed in different homes, some miles away and others across the state. Bad things happened even when we were together, but it was like at least we had each other. But when they tore us apart..." he trailed off. "Eventually, we found each other again. The four of us, inseparable." He smiled when he said that, and I felt a sense of gratitude he had for his friends. It seemed as if they'd saved one another, and that was the bittersweet revelation of it all.