Chapter Twenty-Five – Jeff
Ellie walked into the kitchen, and I smiled the second I saw her.
“Hey there, honey! Did you sleep well?”
She frowned and yawned. “You must have had a good night last night to be so happy first thing this morning.”
I chuckled. “You never were a morning person, Ells. And no, my night sucked. I couldn’t wait to get home. Any more nightmares?”
“No. I slept like a baby.” Her head tilted, and she gave me a curious look. “So what’s with this date last night? How come it sucked?”
I handed Ellie a plate of scrambled eggs and a glass of juice. I wasn’t in the mood to talk about crazy Rebecca, but I knew she wouldn’t let it go if I avoided it.
Going back to whipping up more eggs, I replied, “It sucked because the girl who I went out with is a cheerleader who cannot take no for an answer. I got tired of giving her excuses, so I thought it would be easier to get it over with and go out with her. Break it to her that I didn’t see her and I going anywhere.”
Ellie fought a smile. “Hmm, so there’s no special girl in your heart?” she asked before putting eggs into her mouth.
Yes. Her name is Ari.
I scoffed. “Ells, the only special girl I have in my heart is you, honey. Always has been, always will be.”
She smiled softly up at me before getting lost in a thought. When she finally spoke, she asked where Gunner was. “Is he still sleeping?”
“Hell no. That cowboy is not still sleeping. Even if he’s out partying until three in the morning, he is up early and headed to the gym for a workout. I don’t think he misses a day at the gym for anything. Puts my workouts to shame.”
“Oh wow. No wonder he looks . . .” She trailed off, her cheeks in a slight blush. When her leg started bouncing and she looked nervous, like maybe she might miss Gunner, I knew my sweet little sister was bitten by the love bug.
“Do you have to work today? I mean, if you do, it’s okay. I can give Ari a call to come and pick me up. I have to go clean out my locker since I didn’t do it yesterday. I guess I probably need to go home as well. Not that Mom would even notice I didn’t come home last night.”
“I’m sorry; I do have to work. Gunner’s last day was last week, and today is mine. This internship has been a great experience. I’m sort of bummed out it’s over. Gunner is excited, though; all he wants to do is head out to his grandparents’ ranch.”
She lifted her shoulders in a half shrug. “It’s okay. I’ll just call Ari and see if she can come and pick me up. I know she was planning on working on her speech for tomorrow.”
I tensed at Ari’s name, and I know Ellie caught me.
The front door opened, and I glanced over to see Gunner walking in. I turned to see Ellie’s jaw nearly on the floor. Her eyes traveled over my poor best friend’s body like she hadn’t ever seen a man’s body before and she was ready to explore this one. With a magnifying glass and a notepad.
Walking up to her, I took my finger and shut her mouth while I leaned down and whispered, “Breathe, sweet girl. Breathe.”
A few minutes later, Gunner and Ellie were going back and forth about him taking her to her locker and Ellie insisting Ari could pick her up. When I threw it back out there that she had said Ari was working on her speech, I was pretty sure Ellie was ready to smack me. With it finally settled that Gunner would be taking Ellie, I walked up to her and pulled her into a hug.
“You have a good day today, sis, okay? I’ll talk to you tonight, and hey, invite whoever you want to the party tomorrow night. Talk to you later.” I kissed her cheek, and she gave me a warm grin.
I finished up my last project before lunch. Once I got back, I would be finished with this internship for the summer. I was going to miss it. I’d learned a lot, and the thought of not having something to look forward to this summer wasn’t sitting well with me.
My mind was racing with both Gunner’s questioning and Ellie’s about Ari. If they could see something, could Ari? If she had, she didn’t act like it.
The vibration in my back pocket had me jerking out my phone as I tried to toss the box I had already packed up when I cleaned up my work area into the back seat.
Gunner: I need you to get to your mom’s place ASAP! Your mom and Ellie are both okay, but I need you here. Now.
A sickness rolled over my body, and I stood there for a few seconds, too stunned to even move.
Once I was finally able to break the spell I was under, I ran to the driver’s side of my truck and raced home. The fact that I didn’t get a ticket was surprising.
I pulled behind Gunner’s truck and jumped out. I’d never been so scared in my entire life, and I wasn’t even sure what was going on.
The second I walked in, my mother started. “That whore showed up with that friend of yours.”