BEAUTIFUL DISASTER ➸ OSCAR DIAZ [2]

THREE

"I GOTTA SAY," Elijah chuckles as he shakes his head in disbelief. "I was surprised when you called me."

"Really?" I raise an eyebrow as I turn around to face him, looking away from the new shelf that he added beside the tv. "Why? We've been texting for a while."

"Yeah I know, but I just thought because of what happened..." His voice trails off awkwardly, as he rubs the back of his neck.

A soft sigh escapes my lips as I force a smile onto them. I just want to forget that night ever happened, but he keeps bringing it up. "It's not a big deal Eli. You've apologized several times. It's whatever."

"No Cami that's the thing." He groans, rising onto his feet. "It's not whatever. It shouldn't have happened and I really can't explain how much I regret it."

My eyes widen slightly as he walks towards me, "Who are you and what have you done to the old Elijah?"

His lips lift into a slight smirk. "I'm changing my ways for you. I know I've said that a million times, but I mean it this time Cami. I'm gonna get my shit together."

"Well," I sigh as I wrap my arms around his neck. "I'm glad." My lips form a small smile as I lean towards him. "I've missed you," I whisper. "I've missed us."

Elijah chuckles awkwardly as he pulls my arms away from his body and takes a step back. I raise an eyebrow at his actions, he was the one flirting with me for weeks but now that I'm doing the same it's suddenly a problem? "Cami what's going on with you? This ain't like you, at all."

I exhale a sharp breath as I shrug my shoulders. "I don't know, but is it such a crime that I miss you?"

"Actually yeah, it is. I'm tryna get my shit together so I can be a better man for you. But I can't do that if you're gonna show up at my house and try to kiss me." Elijah sighs as he sits back down on the couch. "Did somethin' happen with you and Spooky? Is that why you're here, acting like this?"

Yes. "No," I answer as I fold my arms across my chest and swivel my eyes around the room.

"Cami, you can't lie to me."

I bring my eyes back to his face; his lips form a small smile but I can see the pain in his eyes, and I want to take it away. That's what I've always done. "We broke up... I think. I don't really know, we haven't talked since I woke up."

His eyebrow shoots up. "So he's been ghosting you?" I nod my head. "That's hella weird, considering everything he said after the shooting."

My eyes narrow slightly as I step towards him. "What did he say after the shooting?" I ask hastily.

Elijah shakes his head, "The whole truce thing. It was his idea. Maybe you should drop by his house and see what's going on."

"I can't, the Santos are always hanging out there now." I sigh, walking over to the couch and sitting down beside him. "I could just stay here, and we can hang out like old times."

"You mean the time where we spent basically every single day high off our asses?" I nod my head as I lean in. He can't resist me, he's never been able to. I place a soft, open mouth kiss on his neck before working my way towards his lips. Maybe I still love Elijah. Maybe I never loved Oscar.

Now, if I could only actually believe that.

My arm goes around his neck as I attach our lips together and slowly climb onto his lap. Mario would kill me if he found out. Hell, everyone would kill me if they found out. Maybe this is what I need to get Oscar back.

"Camilla stop it, that's enough," Elijah says roughly, as he pushes me off of his lap. "You need to leave."

"But Elijah-"

"If you want to be friends then fine, okay let's be friends. But I'm not interested in being your rebound." Elijah sighs as he rubs his hands down his face. "I like you, and I know you don't like me back so you can't just show up here and do this shit again okay?"

"Well, what if I like you too?" I fire back as I run my hand through my hair. "You don't actually know how I feel."

Elijah stands up and takes a step towards me. "Let's say Spooky called you right now and told you he loved you and asked you to come over. Would you go?"

My heart beats wildly against my chest as I think over his words. I would. I would be there in a heartbeat. But I can't say that to him. "N-no," I answer shakily. "I wouldn't."

He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "You'd rather be here with me, a guy that's done nothing but hurt you, instead of him?" He pauses for a second to exhale a deep breath. "Camilla that's fucked up. Our entire relationship was fucked up."

"I know but I don't care! Oscar doesn't actually give a shit about me! I got shot Elijah, and where is he huh? He's nowhere to be found! He left me without a single word with a bunch of empty promises and false hope." I exclaim angrily as my eyes begin to sting with tears. I don't want to talk about Oscar, I can't talk about Oscar. "He won't answer my calls or my texts and he just drives right by me, as if I'm not even there. And, I heard Mario and Sam talking about how he has some new girl. He doesn't care about me, he doesn't love me." My angry yelling soon turns into soft cries as Elijah holds me in his arms.

"Hey Cami, don't cry. If he's acting like that then he ain't worth your tears. He doesn't know what he's missing but give him some time, he'll figure it out." Elijah whispers as he runs his hands through my hair. "Do you want me to talk to him? You're worth breaking the truce."

I sniffle and shake my head. "I just want to stay here with you and I want everything to go back to normal, like the way it was last year."

"Why don't I walk you home instead, and we can talk shit about his new girl?" I pull away from his embrace and laugh weakly at his offer.

"So he does have a new girl, great." I inhale a shaky breath as I wipe the tears off of my cheeks. I hate him. I'm so angry with him.

Elijah quickly shakes his head. "No, not really. It's more of a hooking up slash rebound type thing. But you have nothing to worry about, she's nowhere near as pretty as you." I force a small smile onto my face as he wraps his arm around my shoulders. "Will Mario kick my ass if I show up anywhere near your house?"

"He most definitely will."

"Fine, then I'll walk you to the edge of my territory. That's the best I can do."

UNLIKE SOMEONE, ELIJAH didn't make an empty/fake promise. He actually walked me to the edge of the Prophet$ territory and from there, I walked back to my house on my own. Something's seriously changed since the shooting happened. Oscar became a flake and Elijah's putting himself back together. And, the whole truce that happened. It's like Oscar and Elijah switched personalities.

"Hey, I like your tattoo. It's really cool." My head shoots up from the ground to see a young boy around my age smiling warmly at me.

I look down at my finger and sigh softly at the stupid tattoo. It makes me want to cut my finger off. "Thanks." I force myself to say the word.

"That's the Santos cross right? Do you know one of them or?" He asks curiously with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Uh, my..." I pause for a second, not knowing what to call Oscar. "Ex-boyfriend is in the gang and we got matching tattoos," I say hesitantly, afraid of how he'll react.

His eyes widen and he blinks several times as he processes the information that I just told him. "Wow, that's why you don't get tattoos of your significant other." He says with a breathy chuckle. "I'm Mateo by the way, I just moved here."

I shake his outstretched hand with a smile. "I'm Camilla, born and raised in Freeridge."

He looks down at his shoes for a second before looking back up at me. "Should I walk you to your house?"

"Sure, I could use some new friends," I say, accepting his offer. His lips lift into a large smile as he gestures towards the sidewalk in front of him.

"Ladies first," He says in a posh voice. "Also, I don't know where I'm going." I laugh lightly at his words and shake my head before leading the way back to my house. Maybe I don't need Elijah or Oscar after all. New year, new boy.

A/N : sO yeah Elijah's back and he's a slightly better person
-h