The Things We Hide

Thirteen

"I can't believe her!" I exclaimed, pacing around the open space in Eli's tree house. We came here after school to study and complete homework. Though after asking about my day, that was quickly put on hold. "I mean that whole stunt in the hallway?" Eli sat in his oversized bean bag chair, watching me pace. "I know, but why does it matter?" He asked, genuinely confused. Of course he didn't think it was a big deal, why would he? Lisa wasn't terrorizing him for the better part of the school year.

Her suspension was up, and she was walking through the hallways, untouchable. Liam and the new girl by her side.

"Oh hey Kourt," She smiled mischievously at me. I rolled my eyes, that nickname was only reserved for close friends and family. Lisa was neither. "Have you met my cousin Janelle?" She looked over at the new girl, who was giving me that same smirk she'd given me every time she saw me. "Eli knows me, has he not mentioned it?" She smiled. What exactly did she mean by that?

I looked over at Eli then. When I asked him if he knew anything about her, he only said that she attended his old school. It wasn't a lie, I knew that, but it definitely wasn't the entire truth. I remembered how she looked at me knowingly, and Eli's reaction to her when he first laid eyes on her. He was definitely hiding something....

Right?

"Come here..." He tells me, opening his arms for an embrace.

I went to him, loving the immediate warmth his presence brought.

"It's fine anyways." I shrugged, digging my head into his chest.

"What do you mean?" He asked, rubbing his hands up and down my sides. It took a few moments before I answered. I was so busy taking in his scent, his touch. It all just felt so...

My phone buzzed with multiple incoming text messages. Without looking at the notifications, I knew it was from the cheer group chat. They were probably ironing out the details for tomorrow's practice. "We're voting Lisa off the team." I told him, thinking about the last two Lisa free weeks. The topic was first introduced to us by Toni, the acting cheer captain. After we won the competition, we realized that we didn't need Lisa, and had been putting up with her negative behavior for far too long. "I mean how did she even get on the team?" Sasha asked, thinking about the cheer tryouts that were held at the beginning of each year. I sifted through my own memories, and I remember each of the girls trying out for cheer each year. Even if we were on the team the previous year, we still had to try out as a formality. Neither of us could recall how Lisa made the cut, or how she was even voted cheer captain. It was supposed to happen tomorrow, during cheer practice. And it was going to be unanimous.

"That's a bit harsh don't you think?" Eli asked.

I pulled away from him, allowing our eyes to met, "But she could torture me and make my life a living hell and you'd be okay with that?"

He shook his head, "No, that's not what I mean. I-"

"It's fine." I interrupted him, "let's finish our homework okay?"

I turned away from him, and reached for my homework. Before I could pick it up, he took my face in his and turned my head towards him. Our eyes met, and I felt myself be pulled into his deep brown eyes.

"I didn't mean to offend you. I want you to do whatever is best for you and the team."

His eyes could only do so much to improve my mood. "Yea." I gave him a faint smile and went back to my homework.

That night, I dreamed of the tree house. Both Eli and I were in there, slow dancing to music I couldn't hear. He wore a black tux, as if he were going to a wedding or some special event. He spun me around, bringing me closer to his chest after my full rotation. The second my head hit his chest, that low growl came from him. It was soft, trance inducing, animalistic, and primal.