Chapter 18

"Ellie, Wake up! It's almost 1 p.m.!"

 I snuggled deeper into my covers. And then what Beth said registered into my mind. I jolted upright and removed the covers off of myself. Beth was standing by my bed with a spare towel that we kept for guests wrapped around her head. She'd just taken a shower.

"I was the one who was wasted last night, and you're the one who wakes up later than me," she shook her head at me.

 I glanced at the alarm clock on my nightstand, and then turned to glare at Beth. "It's only 11 a.m! You liar!"

"Only? Only? That's even more of a reason for you to get the hell up! You should be helping me when I puke my guts out, not sleeping later than me!" she put her hands on her waist.

My eyes widened. "That's....disgusting....but, are you okay? Did you puke?"

"Nope. I wasn't that drunk. Although my head hurts like hell right now," she rubbed her temples and dropped down on my bed.

"Then why did you say I should've helped you when you were puking your....never mind. Want an Advil?" I chirped happily.

"Nope, already got one," she replied.

"You know what? I'm going to brush my teeth and come back. It's just nasty talking without brushing my teeth," I muttered.

 " 'Kay"

 I came out of the bathroom five minutes later, feeling fresh. I smiled at her brightly, thinking of last night.

 "Why do you look so happy?" Beth asked suspiciously.

I let out a nervous laugh. How the heck do I tell her about Ace and me? "Umm....I don't know...how to say it."

 "Are you pregnant?"

"What! NO!" my cheeks burned a deep red. I could see myself in the mirror.

 "Did you have se-"

"NO!! Shut up!" I swear I've never been more embarrassed before. "Don't even finish that sentence!"

"Okay...did you-"

 "Ace asked me to be his girlfriend."

There was a heavy silence in the room as Beth stared at me with a gaping mouth.

I'm pretty sure Beth was silent for two full minutes before a big grin erupted on her face. She squealed like a little kid and jumped up from my bed.

"I TOLD you he liked you! I TOLD you! But you wouldn't listen to me! No, you had to be your stubborn self and ignore me like you usually do!" she jumped back on my bed, still grinning ear to ear.

"I just wasn't sure, okay? I mean, I kind of had an idea that maybe he did like me, but I didn't want to jump into conclusions," I muttered, looking down.

"Wait. Did you say yes?" Beth's eyes were wide again.

 "Of course I said yes, you dumb ass. Remember when you went inside the house, and Ace and I were still outside?" I asked her, excitement clear in my voice.

"Yeah...and I'm not a dumb ass," she frowned at me.

"Whatever....so he took me in a kind-of empty place, kissed me, and then asked me to be his girlfriend," I finished with a big smile on my face.

"So....he kissed you...before he asked you to be his girlfriend?" she raised an eye brow at me.

 "Yeah...is that bad?" I asked her with a frown. I mean, I didn't mind that he did that.

"Yes it's bad."

 Both Beth and I froze as we heard the voice of none other than Jason. We slowly turned around, and my eyes met Jason's accusing ones. I nearly flinched when I saw the slight angry and slight accusing glare he was shooting at me.

"W-when did you come home?" I stuttered.

"Two hours before you woke up. That's not the point. What is this that I'm hearing from you and Beth?" Jason entered my bed room and stood at the foot of my bed with his arms folded across his chest.

"What?" I decided to play dumb. 

 "You know exactly what I'm talking about," he ground out. I could see that he was losing his patience already.

"Noo....I don't..." I knew I was pissing him off even more, but I still didn't give up my innocent act.

"Damn it Ellie! Answer me this. Do you have a...boyfriend?" Jason spit the word 'boyfriend' out with difficulty.

"Umm...yeaahhh," I dragged the word out, stalling time. I shot Beth a panicked look. She looked back at me helplessly.

"Ellie..." Jason took a deep breath. He was trying to calm himself down, that, I could see.

 "What?"

 "Who is he?"

 "......A-Ace"

 "You mean...the kid who was with us when you got hit with a ball?"

 "Yeah...him," I didn't even look up to see his reaction.

 "Ellie, What. Are. You. Doing." I flinched as Jason put pressure on each word as he ground them out.

 I said nothing. I looked up and met Jason's furious eyes. I did nothing wrong. Yet, I couldn't even look into Jason's eyes without feeling ashamed. Ashamed? Ashamed of what, though? What exactly did I do? 

Beth's nervous voice broke through the tense silence in the room. "Uh...I think I should get going. You guys can talk and figure it out among yourselves." No, don't leave me Beth! "I'll be in the living room Ellie," she gave me one last sympathetic look before heading for the door.

When she reached the door, she paused. Turning around, she said, "By the way Jason, Ellie's done nothing wrong. Even I know Ace. He's not a bad guy, in fact, he's really sweet-"

"Beth, please stay out of this. Ellie is doing something wrong. It hasn't even been two years, and you're moving onto another guy, who you don't even know that well. You do remember what Luke did to you, don't you? Do you want that to happen again? Was once not enough to go through your thick skull? Not all men are nice Ellie, you have to understand that," Jason's voice rose to a yell by the end, and Beth was staring at him in utter shock.

His harsh words pierced through me like a knife. My eyes watered as I looked at him in disbelief. How could he be so harsh? He didn't just say that! Anger started boiling inside me as I replayed his words again in my mind. You do remember what Luke did to you, don't you? Do you want that to happen again? Was once not enough to go through your thick skull? How could Jason even compare Ace to Luke? How could he be so harsh as to bring back old memories that I've been trying to forget, that still haunted me up to this day?

"That's enough! Beth, stay here!" I yelled as Beth started moving back. I wiped my tears furiously, but more followed immediately. "I can't believe you said that to me Jason! What do you think I am? A little baby? No! I am not! I know what I'm doing Jason. You might be my older brother, but I'm old enough to handle my business on my own. And that's not even the point!"

By now I was breathing heavily, the tears nowhere near stopping. "You asked me if I remember what Luke did to me? Yes, Jason, I remember. I remember how he almost raped me, how you weren't there. I'm not blaming you for not being there. I'm saying that you weren't there to witness it, or even experience it. I was. So, yes, I do remember what he did to me."

I stood up now, going over to Jason, standing in front of his 6'2 frame. I wiped my tears again to no avail. "And I think I have the right to decide what to do and what not to do, whether to have a boyfriend, when to have one, or not have one. I know what I'm doing Jason. I was stupid to trust someone so easily back then. But I've experienced it firsthand how it feels to be betrayed. And I know who to trust and who not to trust."

I looked down now, my face completely wet. I never wanted to fight with Jason, but his words had triggered a lot of pain from the old memories that were still stored inside my brain. That still didn't mean that I felt good yelling at Jason. Because I didn't. And I wanted everything to be alright between us. So I continued my rant.

"And anyway, I know Ace. He's protective of me, he helped me with a lot of things, and...well, he's Sarah's son. Don't you think you could trust Sarah's son? He grew up with Sarah, he won't....he won't be like Luke."

Okay, I probably lied about him growing up with Sarah, but it's still the same.

I looked up at Jason now, my eyes pleading. Fresh tears started rolling down my cheeks as I saw his shocked expression. I never wanted to yell at him. I was his sweet little baby sister, who listened to everything he said, and now look at me, yelling at him at the top of my lungs.

I couldn't take his expression anymore. I started walking past him, my head down, when his grip on my arm stopped me.

"Ellie..." he pulled me back and crushed me into a hug. I didn't hesitate in putting my arms around his shoulders and hugging him back. His chest muffled my sobs as I clung to him tightly.

"I'm sorry," I sobbed into his chest. It came out as 'Umph showwy', but I think he understood.

 "No Ellie, I'm sorry. God, that was so horrible of me to say that to you. I-I shouldn't have said that. I was just being an asshole to you. I think you're right, I was judging him, and I shouldn't have. And anyway, I feel a teeny tiny bit better about you guys dating, now that I know he's Sarah's son," he added jokingly. Jason pulled me onto the bed, but didn't loosen his grip on me.

"It's okay now. Shh, everything's fine. Stop crying Ellie, you know I hate seeing you cry," he rubbed my back consolingly.

We sat like that for about three minutes, until I eventually calmed down. I pulled away from Jason's hug, wiping at my face. I looked over at the door, and Beth was still standing there, looking at me in awe.

I would've laughed had it not been that I was still upset over the whole yelling at Jason thing.

"Beth, you can come inside. Why are you standing there?" I asked her. I scowled at how raspy my voice came out.

Jason looked up too, and guilt flashed through his eyes. He got up, and as I watched him, walked over to Beth and pulled her into a hug as well. Jason's back was to me, but Beth's face was still in my view. Her eyes widened considerably and she awkwardly hugged him back.

I laughed silently. Beth was also like a little sister to Jason, even though they were both in the same year. Jason had been harsh a few minutes ago, not only to me, but also to Beth, and I realized that that's why Jason felt guilty.

He pulled back from the hug, and said to Beth, "I'm sorry Beth. I was mean to you too, and like I said before, I was an asshole. I'm sorry?" he repeated again, giving her a puppy-dog look.

"It's okay Jason. I don't mind. But yeah, you are an asshole," Beth smiled at him sweetly and then walked past him to me and sat next to me.

I laughed at Jason's baffled expression. He composed himself, and then said to both of us, "So guys, I'll be staying over at my friend's again. That is if you don't mind," he looked pointedly at me.

"Nope, not at all. You can go," I gave him a small smile.

"Okay...so...yeah. I'll leave before it gets more awkward," he scratched the back of his neck, then turned around to leave. Beth laughed beside me.

"Okay, bye Jason!" I waved at him.

"Bye Ellie, Beth. Be safe, both of you," with that he walked out. What, did he think we were going to do something dangerous? 

 As soon as he walked out, Beth tackled me into a hug. "Wha--"

 "Are you okay Ellie? God, Jason's such a bastard, how could he talk to you like that?! But he was sweet in the end, so that's fine. But, damn girl, I wasn't expecting that from you!" she pulled away, looking at me with excitement in her eyes.

"Oooh, I got so scared when you started screaming at him. No kidding. I like, froze, when I heard you scream at him. Scariest moment of my life," she shuddered at the end, making me smack her on the arm.

"Ow! You're violent today!" she whined. I just laughed at her.

 Just then, my phone started vibrating. I took the phone out from under my pillow and checked the caller I.D. 

I frowned in confusion. "It's Zach," I stated to Beth.

 "Which one? The pervert?" she asked in puzzlement.

"No, the sweet one," I laughed.

"Then pick up the phone, idiot."

"Right." I clicked the receive button and held the phone to my ear.

"Hello? Zach?"

"Hey Ellie, it's me Zach.....oh right, you just said my name. Never mind that," his sheepish voice reached me.

I let out a chuckle. "What's up? Why did you call?"

"What, I can't even call you now? Why does your voice sound so raspy?" he asked.

I cleared my throat. "Just woke up," I lied. Wasn't exactly a lie.

"Holy crap, you just woke up? Anyways, I just called to see if you're busy today."

 I put a hand over the speaker and turned to Beth. "Am I busy today?" I whispered to her.

She thought for a minute, then shook her head no. "Nope, I'm free. Why?"

 "Oh. Wanna hang out with us?" Zach's question took me by surprise. He wanted me to hang out with them? I wasn't really expecting that.

"Hmmm...where, exactly?" I asked.

 "By the gym," he replied.

"Gym? What gym?"

"Don't worry about it, Angelino's gonna pick you up. If you want to come, that is," he quickly added.

I looked over at Beth. "Can Beth come with me?" I asked him hopefully. Beth waved her hands in front of me wildly. I shot her a questioning glance.

"I have to go home for now! My mom called me in the morning! She asked me to come home!" she whisper-yelled at me hurriedly.

"Sure, she can come-"

 I cut Zach off. "Never mind, she can't come," I said dejectedly.

"Oh. Well, can you still come?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll be ready when Angelino gets here," I informed him.

"That'll be fifteen minutes," I could hear the smirk in his voice. Damn, that's not a lot of time!

"But I just woke up!" I whined into the phone.

"Not my problem. See you later El!" the click of the call ending resounded in my ear.

 I shook my head in exasperation. "He gave me only fifteen minutes! I need to take a shower!" now I whined to Beth.

 She just laughed at me and said, "Well, you might as well hurry up. Time's ticking," she laughed again.

 "You're such a great friend," I mumbled, getting up nevertheless.

"I'll get a shirt and pants out for you, okay? Then I have to leave," she looked at me apologetically.

 "It's okay Beth. Thank you. For everything," I smiled at her and hugged her.

She hugged me back. "No problem. Bye!" I walked into the bathroom.

 "Get a towel out for me too, will ya?" I yelled at her while stripping off my clothes and jumping into the shower.

" 'Kay!" I heard her short reply right before I turned the water on.

*******************

"Where are we going?"

 "I swear Ellie, if you ask me one more time, I'll drop you off on the sidewalk," Angelino said to me in annoyance.

I'd been bugging him for ten minutes straight about where we were going. Even though I knew where we were going, since Zach had already told me. It was fun watching Angelino get frustrated.

I decided to let him cool off. "When will we reach the gym?" I asked him, grinning.

 "Ask me one more time.......What?" he chanced a quick glance at me then turned back to the front.

 "You knew where we were going?" he asked me incredulously.

 "Yep. Zach told me when he called me," I laughed at his bewildered expression.

"Then why the hell did you keep asking me where we were going for ten minutes straight?!" his eye brows were scrunched together in annoyance.

 "It was fun annoying you," I shrugged, watching his reaction.

 He grit his teeth in frustration. I giggled. "You're very easily annoyed, huh?"

"Just like you're easily embarrassed?" he retorted.

"Where did that come from?" I asked him cautiously.

"Okay, so tell me..." he trailed off, ignoring my question completely. "Do you like Ace?"

My face started burning immediately. Even though Ace and I were dating, it still wasn't comfortable admitting my feelings for him. "W-what?" I sputtered.

 This time he laughed at me expression. "Do you like him?"

"Uh..umm...how do I tell you this...okay. He's my.....um...b-boyfriend," I stuttered like an idiot. It shouldn't be that hard to say one sentence!

Angelino pressed on his brakes hard. My heart literally flew to my throat. The car jerked to a stop. Honks resounded throughout the street, and I knew it was because of us.

"You're kidding! Tell me you're kidding...this is not possible!" Angelino looked at me in shock.

"I'm not! Keep going Angelino! You could've caused an accident! Start the car...go!" I practically yelled at the moron.

He started driving again, but not before a few drivers drove past him, each giving him the finger. "So...you're dating."

It wasn't a question. "Yeah. Since yesterday," I answered anyway.

"Makes sense. He was acting all jittery this morning," he stated.

"He was? Doesn't sound like Ace to me," I frowned at him. Ace? Jittery? Impossible.

"As close to jittery as he could get," he snorted.

"Can I ask you another thing?" he asked.

"Already did," I replied.

"Do you love him?"

 I literally choked on nothing, and my heart rate accelerated, although I don't know why. I started coughing, trying to calm down. 

What kind of a question is that? I don't l-love him. It's only been two weeks, for God's sake!

But you have strong feelings for him, my conscience argued.

They're just strong feelings. I'm not in...love with him. This is stupid. No one can love someone in two weeks. That's just absurd.

How do you know? Love is not a disease. It has nothing to do with time, and nothing can determine whether it's going to happen in two weeks or two years.

I-I have no reason to l-love him like that.

Of course you do. He understands you, he helps you. He's over protective of you. He protects you from your worst nightmare; Luke. No one has understood you like he does before. What other reason do you need to love him?

 "Ellie? You okay?" Angelino's voice broke me from my thoughts.

 "I...I-I don't l-love him..." I sounded unsure of myself. Two weeks is not long enough for someone to fall in love with someone else.

 I noticed that the car wasn't moving. Glancing up, I saw the words "PLATINUM GYM" flashing at me. 

 "Don't you?" Angelino asked me quietly.

 I whipped my head around to look at him. My heart was hammering loudly in my chest.

"N-no, I don't...." My palms were clammy and I swear I felt a bead of sweat roll down my back. And my face was burning as if I just put my head in the oven.

Angelino's eyes widened and a grin made it's way onto his face. "Holy crap Ellie. You do, don't you?"

 Instead of replying, I quickly unlocked the passenger door and stepped out, slamming it behind me. I heard another slam and knew Angelino had gotten out as well.

 "Ellie-"

 "Can we not talk about it? Please?" I pleaded with him, my expression panicked as I suddenly noticed Zach walking out of the gym and towards us.

 "Okay, okay, calm down. I won't!" he grinned at me.

 "Pinky promise?"

"What the hell is that?" he asked me, backing away as I approached him with my pinky out.