Being Bad

Chapter 39: The Guitar Keychain

Lia James

"What the hell, Eli!" I grab his arm, and pull him towards me.

"Wha—Lia? What are you doing?" He shakes my hands off, confused.

"Is he trying to play some game or something? Because it's not funny. All of this isn't funny." I know I was probably being ridiculous considering I pushed Andrew away, but running away like a coward was no way to solve this problem.

"I'm assuming we're talking about Andrew." He crosses his arms across his broad chest. The wind was blowing his dark brown curls away from his face.

"Where the hell is he? It's been two weeks." I put my hands on my hips, breathing in deeply.

"Okay, first of all, according to what Andrew said, you didn't even want to speak to him let alone make eye contact with him. So, why are you acting so concerned?"

"Oh, my bad." I said with a bit of sarcasm. "I just thought we would be able to talk this through once I thought about everything. You know, like mature adults."

"I don't think this is the time or place to be yelling at me, Lia." He gestures to the whispers and stares we were getting from our fellow students in the lunchroom.

"Okay, then stop squandering." I cross my arms, jut my hip out, and tap my foot on the ground.

"I'm not squandering." He paused. "Wait, what does that mean?"

"It means wasting time you neanderthal."

"It's not an insult if I don't know what it means." He winks at me, and I hold back from punching him in the face.

"You're still stalling."

"What could I possibly be stalling about?" He raised an eyebrow, like he had nothing to hide.

"Okay, if you're not stalling, then tell me where Andrew is." He face hardens, and he bites his lips in nervousness.

"Obviously you're hiding something from me." I pointed out his sudden hostility.

"Okay, fine! But you can't tell anyone...like ever." He pulls me toward a more secluded area. You know, one that was not filled with noisy high school students. He chose a spot by a large tree, and he leaned up against it casually.

"So, you know where Andrew is?" I assumed since he made the extra effort to pull me aside.

"Well, not exactly."

"What does 'not exactly' mean?"

"It means that I don't know specifically where he is, but I know that he's done this before."

"He's done this before? When?" I interrogated him slightly. He gave me the look that said 'chill out'. I tried retracting my claws a bit.

"I'm not obligated to say, Lia. That's all Andrew's business. I'm just his best friend, not his secret spiller."

"Okay, well can you at least elaborate so I'm not worried about where he is?"

"You shouldn't be worried, Lia. Aren't you mad at him?" He pointed towards me in a mocking manner, and I shoved his hand.

"Shut up Eli! Just explain."

"Fine." He sighs. "There was a time before Eastwood High, back at Harrison Prep, and something bad happened."

"Like...how bad?"

"Like bad, bad. Fuck, Lia, just let me explain." He says defensively and I put my hands up.

"It was a very bad situation, and he didn't know what to do with himself. I've never seen him like it before...ever. But he went away, and he said he needed to think about things. He was hurt and angry, and I thought he would be back. But he didn't turn up until about three months later."