Micha
"She's already got you all hot and bothered." Ethan sips on his soda. "Look at you. Drunk after eight months of sobriety and I don't believe it's a coincidence it happened on the same night she showed up."
I slam another shot back and wipe my lips with the back of my hand. "I'm fine man. And I can't blame what I do on anyone else but myself. This isn't Ella's fault. "
Ethan laughs, tipping his head back, bumping it on the edge of the cupboard. "Who the hell are you trying to convince? You know just as well as every single person in the room knows that you two are each other's problem and it's never going to be fixed until you fuck and get it over with."
I punch him in the arm, harder than I planned. "Watch it. You're walking on thin ice tonight."
He holds up his hands, surrendering. "Sorry, I forgot how you get when you're like this."
I grab a fist full of his shirt and jerk him toward me. "Like what?"
Again, he forfeits up his hands. "Micha man, calm down and go drink some coffee or something. You're trashed out of your mind."
I release him and rake my fingers through my hair, frustrated with something I can't grasp. "Coffee's a myth... And I need something else." My eyes travel to the back door window, and suddenly I understand what I need. I pat Ethan's shoulder. "Clear everyone out before my mom gets home, okay?"
"Alright, man will do," he replies confoundedly. "But where are you going?"
"On a walk." I knock people out of my way, and stumble out the back door. Regaining my balance, I trip across the grass and climb over the fence. Ella's dad's Firebird is parked in the driveway, so he must be home from the bar. Doesn't matter, though. He won't notice or care if I sneak in. I've been doing it since we were kids.
Although, my intentions did get a bit dirtier the older we got.
I stare up at her bedroom window until I reach the tree. After a drunken struggle, I make it to the top and I inch along the branch to the window. Cupping me hands around my eyes, I peek inside. The lights are off, but the glow of the moon lights a trail to her bed. She's fast asleep. I inch open the window, slicing my finger on a rusty nail. "Mother..." I suck on my finger tip, the taste of blood and vodka bitter against my tongue as I head dive through the window and hit the floor with a soft thud.
Her friend shoots upright from the bed on the floor, her eyes wide. "Oh my God."
I put my finger to my lips as I get to my feet. "Shh..." She still looks worried so I dazzle her with my most charming smile.
That seems to win her over and she settles back in her bed. As carefully as I can, I step over her bed and crawl in with Ella. She's always been a heavy sleeper and doesn't stir. I press my chest against her back, drape my arm over her waist, and feel the rhythm of her breathing. God, I've missed this way too much. It's not healthy. I burrow my face in her neck, smelling the scent of her hair, vanilla mixed with something that's only her.
I shut my eyes and for the first time in eight months, I fall into a peaceful sleep.
Ella
I sleep horribly for half the night, tossing and turning, like the princess sleeping on a pea. Only I am far from a princess and the pea is my guilty conscience. I don't know why I feel guilty about blowing off Micha. I've done it breezily for the past eight months. Although, he wasn't living right next door with his sad puppy dog eyes and charming sexiness.
My sleep deprivation only got worse when my dad stumbled into the house in the middle of the night, bumping over cups and bottles, drunk off his ass. Later, I heard him crying in the bathroom my mom died in. It still hurts to hear because his tears are my fault.
Once I fall asleep, I am out and it ends up being the best night's rest I've had in ages. When I wake up in the late afternoon, I feel refreshed and calm. Until I realize why.
Micha is in my bed and has me in his long, lean arms. His body is curved into mine, so every single part of him is touching me. I know it's him by the smell of his cologne mixed with mint and something else that only belongs to Micha. I pretend to be asleep, engulfed in a wonderful dream, refusing to wake up until he leaves.
"I know you're awake," he whispers in my ear. His voice is hoarse and his breath is stale with booze. "So open your eyes and quit avoiding me."
"You know it's illegal to walk into someone's house without permission," I say with my eyes shut. "And sneaking into someone's bed - that's the move of a pervert."
"I didn't walk in. I fell in," he says, amused. I pinch his firm chest and he laughs. "Now there's my feisty girl." He brushes his soft lips across my forehead. "I've missed you, Ella May."
Opening my eyes, I wiggle in his arms. "Please don't start. It's too early."
His eyes are guarded and his hair is a mess. He chuckles lowly, a sound that ripples deep inside my core. "Pretend all you want, pretty girl. You and I know that deep down you're secretly glad to be pressed up to my body." He urges our chests together as he snakes his legs around mine.
My eyelids flutter against his warmth. God, I've missed this so much. Way too much and so has my body, evidently.
"So where did you go?" he asks, crushing my moment of bliss. "To school in Vegas? Because it kind of surprises me. You never really liked school."
My mind snaps back to reality. "I don't want to get into this right now. I just want to have a relaxing summer and then I'm headed back to campus."
He blinks, his eyelashes fluttering against my forehead. The feel of him sends a warm tingle up my thighs and I seal my lips to keep from moaning.
His eyebrows knit. "It's like you've been kidnapped by a bunch of nuns or something."
"Maybe I was," I say submissively. "It wouldn't hurt anyone if I was."
He considers this and an artful smirk curves at his lip. "That's not true. Nuns can't have sex and I still haven't fulfilled my lifelong dream of having sex with you."
I open my mouth, my tongue locked and loaded with an equally perverted comeback, but I bite down, remembering I'm not that kind of a girl anymore. "I need to wake Lila up. She's got a long drive ahead of her."
With one swift roll, he has me pinned down beneath his body and my arms trapped above my head. His aqua eyes search mine and it's like staring at the endless ocean. He sucks on his lip ring, lost in thought. "You're going to tell me, pretty girl," he asserts, tilting his head so his lips are next to my cheek. "You always tell me everything."
"Micha, please...." I despise how breathless I sound. "You know why I left. You were there that night... you saw me... I can't do it again." Anxiety claws up my throat and my muscles tense beneath the weight of his body. "Please let me up. I can't breathe."
He props up on his arms. "You could have talked to me, instead of running away. You know that."
I shake my head. "No, I couldn't. Not that time. That time it was different. You were part of the reason I had to leave."
"Because you kissed me?" he asks, dipping his voice to a husky growl. "Or because I found you that way... that night."
I swallow the giant lump in my throat. The kiss was part of it. It was an earthshattering kiss, one that stole breaths, stopped hearts, and scared the shit out of me because it surfaced feelings I'd never felt before, ones that rendered me helpless.
"I don't want to talk about it. Now get off of me." I wiggle my arms between us and push on his chest.
He sighs and rolls off me. "Fine, don't talk about it, but it doesn't mean you can run away from me again. I'll chase you down this time," he threatens with a wink as he climbs off the bed, and the chain hooked to his studded belt jingles. "Get dressed and meet me out in the driveway. You have to go visit Grady today."
"No, thanks," I decline and tug the blanket over my head. "And I told you last night I have stuff to do today. Besides aren't you hung over from last night? You were pretty wasted."
"Don't do that," he says, aggravated. "Don't pretend like you have some deep insight into me anymore. You've been gone for eight months and a lot has changed."
I'm speechless. "Micha, I... "
"Come on, get out of bed. You're going to see Grady, whether you like it or not." He yanks the blanket off me and tosses it on the floor, so I'm lying there in my plaid shorts and skin-tight tank top with no bra on underneath. He gives me a prolonged once over, with a dark, lustful glint in his eyes and goosebumps sprout all over my skin.
I cover myself with my arms. "I'm not going to Grady's. I just got home and I have things to do."
"He's got cancer, Ella." He backs for the door, tucking his hands into the pockets of his faded jeans. "So get your bratty, split-personality ass out of bed and go see him before you can't."
My arms fall to my sides as I sit up. "Why didn't anyone tell me?"
"If you would have told someone where you were, we would have," he says. "Although, I'm pretty sure your father knew where you were, he just wouldn't tell anyone."
I don't deny it.
"Besides, I told you in the voicemail I left yesterday," he says, glancing at my phone on the desk. "But I'm guessing you haven't listened to that?"
I shake my head. "No, I was too surprised to see your number on the screen."
He bites on his lip ring, something he does when he's nervous. "Yeah, you should probably just delete that. I don't think you're ready for it yet."
My gaze moves to my phone. What the hell is on it? I climb out of bed, arching my back and stretching like a cat. "How bad is Grady?"
He swallows hard. "He's dying, so you need to get dressed and let me take you to see him."
I begin to object, but rethink my initial stupidity. Grady is the one part of my past that I could never run from. At one point, he was like a father to Micha and me. I even called him from Vegas once, although I didn't tell him where I was.
I nod. "Let me get dressed and I'll be out in a second."
"See you in a few." He winks at me and vanishes into the hall, leaving the door wide open behind him.
Lila quickly springs up from the trundle bed, clutching the sheet. "Oh. My. Hell. What was that about? I mean, he crawled in here through the window in the middle of the night, and just climbed into bed with you."
"That's what he does." I open the window letting in the gentle breeze. Loose pieces of my hair dance around the frame of my face. "Oh, no."
Lila stretches her arms above her head. "What's wrong?"
I reluctantly look at her. "I think someone might have confused your car for a canvas."
She jumps out of bed and elbows me out of the way to get a look at the damage done to her beautiful, nearly brand new Mercedes. "My poor baby!"
I pull a skirt and a pink tank top out of my duffel bag. "Get dressed and we'll go check out the damage."
She pouts, looking like she might cry. "I can't drive it home like that. My parents will kill me."
"I know plenty of people who can fix it for you," I say, opening the door. "Or I use to, but I'm sure it's all the same."
She nods and I go to the downstairs bathroom to change, avoiding the upstairs one. I turn on the shower so the mirror will fog up and hide my reflection. I comb my hair until it flips up at the ends naturally. Then I apply a light shade of lip gloss and head out the door, but run into my dad on the stairway.
"When did you get here?" His breath smells like gin and his eyes are red. His cheeks have sunken in over the last eight months and his skin is wrinkled like leather with sores. He's in his late forties, but looks like he's pushing sixty.
"Last night," I tell him, taking his arm and helping him up the stairs. "I was in bed before you got home."
He offers me a pat on the back. "Well, I'm glad to have you home."
"I'm glad to be home," I lie with a smile as we reach the top of the stairs.
He moves his arm away from my hand and rubs the back of his neck. "Do you need anything? Like help carrying in your boxes?"
"I think I can handle it on my own, but thanks." I decline, sticking my arm out as he teeters toward the stairs.
He nods and his eyes drift to the bathroom down the hall. He's probably thinking about how much I look like her. It hurts his eyes, at least that's what he told me the night I went to the bridge.