To My Future Cheating Husband

XLVIII. You Don't Own Her

Ava's POV:

Getting off of the Ferris wheel, I can feel Eli's jacket brushing against mine.

I'm grateful that it's dark.

"Want to go play another game?" Eli asked, rubbing the ugly fish on my cheek. "Come on. I'll win you another ugly being."

I laughed when he grabbed my hands and pulled me towards another booth. Eli hands the man another five-dollar bill. "You sure got a lot of money to spare," I said, peeking inside the wallet.

The edge of Eli's lip curls upward, "Yeah. My parents really spoil me," he said, tucking away the wallet.

The man hands Eli the ball, and I cheer loudly when it crashes against the bottle, knocking all of them down. Eli did a dab. "Never again," I stated, and he nodded in obedience before grabbing the next ball.

All pins were knocked down.

Eli grabs the third ball, and more people surround us. He smirks, tilting the ball back before going for another dramatic throw.

He drops the ball.

I bend down to reach for it. "Hey, what's wrong?" I asked, handing the ball back to him.

Eli began fidgeting, his eyes seemingly navigating the surrounding in an utter restless state. I took a step closer, "Eli-"

"I need to go to the restroom." His flinching eyes refused to meet mine. He ran on the spot, stamping his feet for a few seconds. He crashes onto other people and quickly apologizes before jogging away.

"Last throw?" the man asked me.

I threw the ball towards the small boy leaning against the booth. "Win this for us," I said, making my escape towards Eli.

"Eli?" I screamed, but he refused to turn around. I continued rushing after him until he stumbled inside the restroom. "Eli?" I shouted, seeing a few guys walking out, granting me a curious look. I know them, I think I do. They're from school.

I grabbed one of the stranger's arms. "Hey, um, my friend went inside, and he didn't look well. Is it okay if you guys check if he is okay?"

They gave each a brief look before going back inside the restroom. "Hey, man. You okay?" I heard one of them say,

I stood there, bouncing back and forth in my shoes. It was getting colder by night. I shoved one hand into my pocket with the other, holding the ugly beings. After a few more minutes, two out of three of the guys came out. "Your friend said he's okay. He was just feeling light-headed. Said, it's probably because he ate something bad earlier."

I nodded, seeing the third guy walking out. "He said he needed some alone time. He'll be out."

"Thank you." I noticed how there were fewer people at the fair.

"Do you want us to stay here with you until he comes one?" one of the guys offered.

I smiled and shook my head. "No, it's okay. I'll just wait for him. Thank you."

They look at each other before nodding. "Have a good night," one of them said, and they began walking away.

"Um-" my sound caused them to turn around, "Do you guys go to Oak Ridge?" It bothered me how they seemed so familiar, but I couldn't put a finger on it.

One of the guys elbow the other, "Told you, that's Ava Makee, and my face isn't that forgettable," one of them whispered. It gets quite scary, having to accept the thought that people at school know you, but you don't know them.

"Yeah. We go to Oak Ridge," the tallest guy said, placing out a hand. "Ellerey Flint," he introduced himself. "The guys behind me are Galven Petruzello and Larry Turnbull."