|WATTYS 2021 Shortlisted| ❝Teach me.❞ ❝Teach you what?❞ ❝Teach me how to be a bad boy.❞
Elias Rodriguez has a crush on a certain cheerleader (since forever), but she has a thing for bad boys, not chemistry nerds. Lucky for him, the cheerleader's bes...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Chapter thirty-four | More Than Mommy Issues
Eli was in a daze. Unresponsive to the world around him, he kept his eyes focused on his wringing hands.
With a sigh, I leaned over to his side and unbuckled his seat belt.
"Eli, we are home," I softly whispered, shaking his shoulder lightly.
His icy eyes met mine, and the message in them was clear. He didn't want to be alone right now.
I got out of the car, hauling my backpack over my shoulders.
Opening his side of the door, I carefully tugged him out of the seat.
Eli's eye held a faraway look as he relived today's mess again and again. It was heartbreaking to see him like this, but this was the result of his own doing.
And maybe mine.
I had to drag him up the stairs as his mind refused to register anything.
Making him sit on my bed, I moved to close my door. Over the small slip of space, my eyes met my sister's as she peeked inside curiously.
An impish smile curled on her face, but she didn't say anything. Resuming her way, she walked down the steps.
I shook my head at the possibilities Lea must be brewing in her head and locked the door.
Taking a seat next to him, I got his hand in mine. Lightly tugging on his arm, I tried to gain his attention. "Eli, talk to me."
He didn't respond and kept staring at the floor.
The silence between us was heavy and suffocating, making me gulp at the awkwardness.
I couldn't handle the thick coil of stress around our necks and spoke up.
My attempt at dissipating silence shocked me too.
"I know how it feels, Eli. The anger, disappointment, and frustration of being the cause of ending something beautiful."
Slowly, his eyes met mine as I let my pain show. He didn't say anything, just waited for me to continue.
Taking a shuddering breath, I calmed my nerves. Tears threatened to pour out of my eyes, but I held them back.
"My mom and dad met in college. Actually, my mom was the one in college and Dad was in his pilot training."
My mind went back to the story Dad had recited me way too many times on my requests, even if the words brought nothing but pain for him.
Eli was giving me a confused look, not getting where this was flowing, but thankfully, he kept his silence.
"A few months into dating, Mom ended up pregnant," I paused heaving a heavy sigh. "It put a full stop on her aspiring modeling career, but she didn't mind. She just loved Dad and Azalea too much."
