Chapter 13

Lakeside View

It was the middle of April, and the spring showers were in full force. It was pouring daily, with the occasional break in the weather. But it never lasted long. However, it was Elsa's favorite weather. The dreary clouds, the smell of the rain, the chill in the air. The whole experience was amazing to her. But her favorite part was when the skies cleared up for just a short break. The wind would come alive then, and blow and whip her hair about. For some reason, it felt otherworldly to her. A real spiritual embrace by some greater power. Whatever that power was, she was thankful.

On Saturday, she was out with her friends at the mall just wandering around. They all had some money that their parents had given them, so they decided to go see what they could waste it on. None of the shops really interested them though. It was more just an excuse to get together and goof around. They didn't get to do that as much anymore. Not since Elsa started dating Jeremy.

That was becoming something of a drag to the others, but they didn't really voice their opinion about it much. It still wasn't nearly as bad as it had been with Kyle, and Elsa was doing her best to make sure that it stayed that way. There were a lot of times that Jeremy demanded Elsa spend time with him, and she had to tell him no so she could hang out with her friends. He had already come out and told her that he disliked her friends and felt they were a poor influence on her, but she basically told him to piss off. He was not pleased with that at all, and didn't speak to her for a week.

Thus she was spending the rainy afternoon with her friends. She didn't care, to be perfectly honest. Most of the time she preferred to hang out with her friends over spending time with Jeremy. Every now and then, however, he would smooth things over and she would let him pick her up and drive off to wherever. Micah didn't like it when she disappeared like that, but there was nothing he could do about it.

They had been at the mall for nearly an hour, doing little more than people watching and talking about nonsense. None of them wanted to head home, and could have easily spent the whole day there. So, instead of spending their money on clothes none of them really cared for – except for Rose buying a new Kill la Kill shirt at Hot Topic – they chose instead to hang out in the food court.

"Do you guys want to come over to my place after this? Maybe stay the night?" Elsa asked as she was sipping on a Pepsi she got from the Auntie Anne's only thirty feet away.

"Sure, why the hell not?" Kristoff said around a mouthful of pretzel.

"Do you want us to grab our laptops and stuff?" Micah asked.

"Sure. Maybe we can play some Diablo III, or Starcraft if you guys would prefer," Elsa said.

"Either one works," Rose replied. "But are you sure this will work out? What if Jeremy decides to stop by?"

"He won't. He's too pissed at me. So to hell with him."

"I still don't understand why you're dating the guy. All you two do is fight. Then he makes some lame excuse to patch things up, and you fall for it every time," Micah said. He was starting to get worked up again.

"I don't expect you guys to understand. Besides, we don't always fight. He's nice a lot of the time. Just lately it's mostly been about you guys. He doesn't like me hanging out with any of you. Especially you, Micah."

"Yeah well, he can go fu-"

As if on cue, Elsa's phone began to ring. When she pulled it out of her purse, she frowned.

"Ugh. It's Jeremy."

"So? Don't answer it," Rose told her.

"If I don't he'll keep calling. Just give me a second."

Turning around and walking a little ways away from her friends, she decided to answer the call.

"Yes, Jeremy?"

"There you are. I was beginning to think you wouldn't pick up."

"I almost didn't. What do you want?"

"Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I know the whole things with your friends pissed you off-"

"Gee, you think?"

"Yes, I do. Why don't you get ready and I'll come pick you up. I'm going to take you to dinner."

"Jeremy, I'm not even home. I'm out with my friends. Right now, I am not in the mood for this crap."

"So you're going to pick your friends over me? Is that how this is?"

"Right now, yes. I'm actually having fun, Jeremy. Something you have forgotten all about."

"That is most certainly not true."

"When was the last time we did something fun as couple?"

"Last weekend, before you got all indignant about your friends."

"No, watching you and your friends play some sports game on the TV is not 'fun' for me. That wasn't a couples thing at all."

"Sure it was. The other guys brought their girlfriends."

"And they were bored out of their minds too. They were all standing around in the kitchen gossiping. That's how bored they were."

"That's what women do, Elsa. They gossip. Guys play and watch sports, women talk amongst themselves about silly nonsense. You would know this if you actually tried."

"That is a load of bull and you know it. I am not like that, and you knew that going into this. Since we have been together you have not once considered my feelings about anything. I'm starting to think you don't give a damn about me."

"That's not true at all. You know I care. I love you."

Elsa's heart stopped for the briefest of moments, and she froze. She had no idea how to act or feel right then.

"What did you say?"

"That I love you."

"You love me?"

"Yes. Why do you think I buy you all that nice stuff."

"Well, um, I don't know. I never really considered that to be the reason."

"You think it was all just charity? Elsa, I wouldn't have bought any of it for just anyone."

"Then why do you treat me the way you do?"

"Because I care that you are throwing your life away. Every time we argue, it's because you have some silly notion about the way I do things. You can't be doing that if you want to succeed. I do all this because it's what's best for us."

"You mean losing your temper and driving off, leaving me stranded? Or telling me my friends are worthless and are going to ruin my life? Or that my house is so small that you can't believe people live there?"

"You took all of that way out of context. I left you only because you were being horribly irrational, and I wasn't in the right state of mind to handle that. But I apologized for it. I want to see you surround yourself with friends that are successful and will make you the best woman that you can be. These friends of yours aren't go-getters. You are. And it's not that your house is too small, it's that I can offer you so much more."

"People don't do that to the ones they love, Jeremy. You really hurt me."

"Look, I'm sorry. Your feelings matter to me, you know that. Now why don't you go home, get dressed up in that white dress I bought you with the jewelry I really like, and get ready to go out to dinner."

Elsa bit her bottom lip as she thought it over. Then she looked back over her shoulder to her friends and sighed.

"Fine. I'll have to cancel my plans with my friends then. They're not going to be happy about it."

"That's what I wanted to hear. And your friends will get over it. I'll be at your house by 6 pm to pick you up. Be ready when I get there. I don't want to have to wait."

Then the line went dead. Elsa felt guilty instantly, and slowly walked back over to her friends, who were watching her intently.

"Change of plans guys. Jeremy is taking me out to dinner."

"You have got to be kidding me!" Micah exclaimed angrily.

"Elsa, this is starting to become a problem," Rose added, almost as annoyed as Micah.

"I know, I feel guilty as it is. But he was being really sweet and apologized for how he acted," Elsa explained.

"How is forcing you to ditch us yet again him being 'sweet'?" Kristoff asked.

"It's hard to explain. It's complicated with him. You have to handle him a certain way, otherwise he gets angry. I try my best no to anger him."

"It seems like all that happens with you two is fighting, so I don't really see that working," Micah said.

"Micah is right. But even worse than that is he is trying to separate us like usual. Every time we get together and try to make plans, he calls you up and talks you into bailing," Rose added.'

"Look, you guys don't understand what it's like to be in a relationship. You have to make compromises. Right now, this is my compromise," Elsa said, slightly defensive.

"What, we're your compromise? That is bullshit Elsa. You promised it wouldn't be this way," Micah said, nearly shouting.

"What do you want me to do? I can't call and cancel on him now!"

"Why not? You just canceled on us."

"You guys are being horribly unfair."

"No, Elsa, you are. You're blowing us off yet again to appease Jeremy and his irrational attitude towards us. He forces you to cancel on us every opportunity he gets, and you let him," Kristoff said, pointing his finger at her.

"Sweetie, listen. We have been your friends for a long time now. Micah even longer than us. We should matter to you on some level. We have gone out of our way every time we can to spend time with you, and you have stopped giving us the same respect," Rose added. She was crossing her arms and leaning back against a partition near the table.

"Like I said, you guys don't understand. I have to do this. Plus, he said he loves me."

Silence. That's all there was. All three of them looked absolutely stupefied.

"He said what?" Micah asked incredulously.

"He said he loves me."

"Elsa, this has to be a joke."

"Does it look like I'm laughing?"

"Do you honestly believe he means it?" asked Rose.

"I-I don't know. I guess?"

"And how do you feel about him?"

"I'm not sure. I don't even know what love is. I mean, I don't really feel much of anything right now. Even when he kisses me it's not much. I don't dislike it, but there still is nothing there. No magic or anything. Maybe this is just how it's supposed to be."

"Do you honestly believe that, Elsa?" Kristoff asked.

"I don't know what to believe," Elsa said as she wrapped her arms around herself. "All I know is he spends a lot of money and time on me, so I need to show him what it means to me. Even if it's not much."

After that, she called her mother and walked out towards the front of the mall, alone. It was still raining outside, but she didn't care. She didn't even bother putting up her hoodie. The skies were cold and gray, which matched perfectly with her mood. What she really wanted to do was spend the evening with her friends killing the Zerg, but she was instead forced to go to a dinner she didn't really want. She felt obligated, of course, but it wasn't what she wanted at all.

00000

That night, he picked her up right at 6 pm, and she made sure to be ready. She didn't want to upset him by being late. He had made reservations at some upscale Italian restaurant named Pista Bellezza. Elsa had no idea what it meant, but it sounded pretty.

The place was enormous on the inside, and it was relatively crowded. Everyone was dressed fancy, and even though her dress was relatively expensive, she still felt underdressed for the occasion. There were a bunch of tables off to one side that were clearly for larger parties, but for the most part they were smaller, intimate tables for couples and small families. It didn't seem like anything special, but since you could only get in by reservation, she assumed that it had to be somewhat special.

As soon as they were greeted by the maître de, they were shown to a small table off to the side by a window looking out over the street outside. It wasn't the best view in the world, but it was better than staring at a blank wall. The restaurant sat on a corner, so customers got to look out onto the main road and watch the people passing by. Elsa didn't mind that. She liked to watch the traffic drive by.

Once they were seated and had their menus, Elsa was looking it over trying to decide what actually sounded appetizing. Most of the dishes she didn't know, so she stuck to the ones she did. She ended up with one of the alfredo dishes, which was perfectly fine to her.

The waiter arrived a few minutes later and took Jeremy's order, then turned to Elsa who was still browsing the menu.

"Have you decided yet, babe?" Jeremy eventually asked, sounding a little impatient as usual.

"Yeah, I think so. I'll just have the chicken alfredo, please," she said meekly.

The waiter wrote down her order and bowed before leaving, which Elsa thought they only did in the movies. Jeremy had this sly grin on his face but it seemed more amused than anything.

"Are you having a good time?" he asked her.

"Um, I guess so. I mean, I've never been to this fancy of a restaurant before."

"Well, perhaps I should bring you here more often. The lights give you this kind of glow, and I like it."

Elsa blushed a little, and looked out the window to keep from staring at him. "Thanks. What made you decide to come here?"

"Well, we've been together for about six months, so I figured should do something special. I mean, I do love you after all."

"Yeah, you said that. I still don't see how. I'm nothing special. Besides, like you said, we've only been together for six months. That's hardly long enough."

"I disagree. I've had feelings for you for a little while now. I just didn't know how or when to tell you."

"Oh. Um, I don't know what to say."

"Just tell me you love me."

"But I-"

"Just three little words. That's all you have to say."

"I don't know, Jeremy... I mean, it hasn't really been all that long," Elsa said, flustered.

"Say it." He was getting impatient again.

Letting out a sigh, Elsa looked him in the eyes. "I love you, too."

"Excellent. Tonight, you can come back to my place and we can have some of my father's champagne to celebrate."

"No, I'm going home after this. I have a bunch of homework that I have to do."

"It can wait until tomorrow."

"No, it really can't, Jeremy. I am not about to fall behind in my classes. If my grades start to slip, then my GPA dips down. I can't have that."

Jeremy's demeanor changed slightly, and he shifted himself in his seat. He had that look on his face that he expected her to obey him.

"No, you are going to come with me after we eat. I didn't bring you out to dinner so you can bail on me after."

"Jeremy, I can't-"

"Do not start that crap with me! We are going out and that's it," he said angrily.

"...Fine," she replied, clearly getting annoyed with him.

Dinner was spent mostly in silence, and Elsa barely touched her food. She kept getting stares from Jeremy, but she didn't really care. The food was probably great, but it tasted like ash in her mouth. There was anger growing in the center of her belly, and she ignored him as much as she could. At one point, she pulled out her phone to check for messages, and that was enough to anger him further.

"Don't you dare do that here," he said quietly and menacingly. "If you get on that phone, I will backhand you. You can talk to your friends once I drop you off."

"Then take me home. Now. I don't want to go out with you after this. I'm pissed off and you're being an ass."

There was a flash of rage across his face, but he managed to calm himself.

"I have a better idea. I'll take you somewhere special. Just the two of us, away from all of this. We can sit and talk."

"I don't want to."

"Yes, you really do. Trust me on this."

"Where is it?"

"It's a surprise."

After a few more minutes of coaxing her, Jeremy called over the waiter for their check so he could pay. Once that was taken care of, he took Elsa by the hand and led her back out to the parking lot. As she got into the car, Elsa got a text message on her phone. Before she could check it, Jeremy took her purse from her and threw it in the back seat.

"Get in," he instructed her.

Soon they were on the road and were headed to the outskirts of town. Elsa had only been this way during the daytime, mostly when her mother had some errands to run. At night it looked completely different. Almost eerie. Then they turned off onto a dirt road that ran behind an old warehouse. When they eventually came to a stop, Elsa's jaw dropped.

The view was incredible. They had wound their way up to a hill that looked out over the lake just on the outskirts of town. Though it had been drizzling all day long, the illumination from the city on the opposite side reflected off the rippling water, creating the illusion of dancing lights. The rain had let up while they were at dinner, and the moon had managed to poke through tiny breaks in the clouds.

"Impressive view, isn't it?" Jeremy asked her with a smirk.

"Jeremy, how did you find this spot?" Elsa asked in return.

"My dad told me about it. Said it's really romantic. What do you think?"

"It's a gorgeous view. And the city lights reflecting off of it is amazing."

"So I take it you like it."

"Yes, I do."

"Excellent."

Without warning, Jeremy lifted Elsa's head by the chin, leaned in and kissed her full on the lips. She was taken by surprise, but she had grown used to his kisses. She still didn't feel much when he did it, but it was sort of a nice gesture. So, she decided to lean into it and kiss back. Just then, Elsa's phone began to ring.

Breaking the intimacy of the kiss, Elsa looked at the backseat towards her purse. "It's probably my mom. I should answer it."

"How about no," Jeremy said sternly.

"No? Why?"

"Because I'm not done with you," he said with a chuckle, leaning back down to connect their lips once more.

Elsa decided to let the phone go to voicemail, and continued to kiss Jeremy. She really didn't know why, it's not like it did anything for her. She just knew it was something you were supposed to do in a relationship. Suddenly, his tongue slid across her lips, begging for permission to slip inside. For no real reason, she obliged and their tongues met. But then she felt a hand slide up her arm, then move slowly over to her breast, and she panicked.

"Jeremy, what the hell!?" she yelled in surprise.

"What?"

"What do you think you're doing? That is totally not okay!"

"Oh really."

"Yes, really. Now take me home."

For whatever reason, this pissed him off more than anything else she had said that evening. Gripping the steering wheel as tightly as possible, he clenched his jaw and stared at her.

"Why are you acting like such a bitch tonight?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"I'm not! You're acting like an asshole, and I'm sick of it! Now take me home!"

Suddenly, he reached towards her and slapped her across the face as hard as he could. She let out a yelp of pain, and he started screaming at her.

"You do not talk to me that way! Ever! After everything I have done for you, you ungrateful little bitch! You do not ever, ever talk to me like that ever again!"

Elsa was crying and holding her cheek, staring at him wide-eyed and full of terror. When she opened her mouth to plead with him, he slapped her again. And again. And again. He slapped her several more times until she was in so much pain she couldn't see straight. She was crying and sobbing loudly, and she was curled up in a ball in the passenger seat of the car. Her arms were up defensively in case he tried hitting her again. But luckily, he stopped.

Then the car roared to life, and Jeremy hit the gas as hard as he could as he turned the car around. Then they were back on the main road, and he was driving like a maniac. He zipped in and out of traffic, going as fast as he could possibly manage with the Saturday night congestion. When they came to a stop at a red light, he looked over at her and saw she was still cowering.

"Elsa, I hate it when you do this. You see how angry you make me? I can't control myself when I get that way. You need to be more careful in the future so this doesn't happen again. Alright? I don't like hurting the woman I love."

She didn't say a word. She was leaning into the door, holding onto the handle as if her life depended on it. Her hand was deathly white from her grip, and she was doing the best she could to remain calm. Unfortunately, the way he was talking was only making her feel guilty.

Soon they were outside her house, and as she went to grab her purse from the back seat, Jeremy caught her face with his hand and kissed her. This time, she pulled away and whimpered, then was out of the car as fast as humanly possible.

Rolling down the window of the passenger side door, Jeremy leaned down to look out of it and called at her. "I'll see you Monday at school, babe." Then, he sped off.

Elsa was standing at the door fumbling with her keys when the door swung open. On the other side was Anna, who looked a little worried the moment she saw her sister's face.

"Elsa, is everything okay?" Anna asked quietly.

Elsa only shook her head, then tried to walk past her.

"Elsa, look at me, please. What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it, Anna. Please, just let me go to my room."

With a sigh, Anna let her past, but followed her up to her room. As soon as they were inside, Anna closed the door and turned on her sister.

"Okay, talk. I'm not buying this crap. You're talking about it. Now."

"Anna, I really don't-"

"Elsa, do you want me to go get mom? Because right now, I can see the extra large hand prints on your face. Now, tell me how that got there or I'm getting mom."

Flopping down on her bed, Elsa shrugged and sort of waved her hands a little, gesturing that she didn't know what to say. "Jeremy and I had a fight. Dinner sucked, he was acting like an ass, and then instead of bringing me home like I wanted he drove us out to an overlook above the lake. It was beautiful, and at first I thought he was sorry for how he acted. But then he started kissing me, and then grabbed me," she demonstrated with her hand where he had groped her. "I didn't like it, freaked out at him, and then he, um..."

"Then he hit you. And pretty hard too from the looks of it."

"...Yeah."

"Elsa, why are you putting up with this guy?" Anna asked. "All you two do is fight, he treats you like crap, and now he's hitting you. You are so lucky I am not running to tell mom right this second. The cops could easily get involved."

"I know, but what can I do? I owe him so much for everything he's done."

"What has he done besides buy you a bunch of crap you don't even like?"

"Well, he can be very sweet when he wants to be. He takes me places and does nice things for me."

"But then he does this. Is this really worth it?"

"I... Don't know."

"I'm not going to tell you what to do, but if I were you I would seriously reconsider this relationship. It's clearly toxic, and all it's doing is making you miserable and pushing your friends further away. Oh, and yes, I know about you canceling your plans with them. That was pretty low, Elsa. You ditched them for a guy that hits you. Think about that."

Before Elsa could reply, Anna walked out of the room, closing the door behind her. She had no idea what to say or do. Her sister was absolutely right on all of it. But she had no idea how to handle it. She didn't want to just break up with him, because that didn't seem like the answer. So, she did the one thing she knew she had to do.

Picking up the phone, Elsa called the one person that would have the answer. She decided to call Rose. As soon as the phone rang it was picked up, and she could hear her friend answer on the other end.

"Elsa, what's up?"

"I need help."

"What's wrong, sweetie? Why do you sound so sad? You sound like you've been crying."

"It's Jeremy. He, um, he has anger issues and I don't know how to deal with them."

"Anger issues? Like what? What did he do?"

"Can you keep a secret?" Elsa asked as quietly as she could.

"Yes, you know I can. What did Jeremy do?"

"Jeremy, he, um, he..."

"Elsa, out with it."

"He hit me."

"... He what."

"He hit me. A bunch."

"What the hell, Elsa!? Why the hell did he do that!?"

"We were arguing, and he got really angry because I told him to bring me home. We were sort of making out in his car, and he started groping me, and when I told him to stop he..."

"Oh my god, Elsa. Are you okay?"

"Not really."

"Okay, what do you want me to do? It's only 8:30 pm. I can get my stuff and come over, no problem. Wait, have you told Micah yet?"

"No! And he can never know, Rose! Ever!"

"Elsa, this is the biggest mistake you have ever made. Not telling him is going to eat you alive, and you already have that problem with your feelings for him. Adding this to that is going to be the death of you."

"Please, don't tell him. I'm begging you!"

"I don't know if I can keep this one from him. I've sworn to never tell him about your feelings, but this is something else entirely. He is going to find out somehow, you know that right? He always does."

"Not right now then. Okay? Please?"

"Fine. But you are telling him, and soon. I will not be letting you do this to yourself. Now then, I'll be over in fifteen minutes. I've already got my things together."

00000

"Okay, this is way worse than I thought, Els," Rose said as she was examining her friend's face. The mark on Elsa's face was massive, and it was already starting to bruise. Rose clicked her tongue in disgust.

"How bad is it?" Elsa asked. She was wincing at Rose's touch on her cheek.

"Bad. There's going to be a massive bruise on your face. I have no idea how you're going to hide this thing. Even with all the concealer in the world it's going to be difficult. This is exactly why I told you to tell Micah."

"I can't. Not yet. Besides, Jeremy apologized to me on the way here. He seemed really sincere about it."

"Oh really. And what did he say to justify this exactly?" Rose asked snidely.

"He said that he didn't mean to get so angry, and that I can't go and piss him off like that because he can't control himself. So really, this is my fault," Elsa said. It sounded like she actually believed it, and deep down, she actually did.

"Girl, are you stupid? There is no excuse for this. He's trying to pass the blame off on you. I promise you that you are most certainly not at fault here."

"Are you sure?" Elsa asked skeptically.

"Elsa, there is no reason that it is okay for him to do this. None. Do you hear me?"

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts. What he did was horribly wrong. Why the hell are you still with him?" Rose asked angrily.

"I.. Don't know. But, I was really stupid."

"You mean more so than letting him do this to you?"

"I told him I loved him," Elsa admittedly nervously.

With that, Rose smacked Elsa upside the back of the head. Elsa yelped out loud, mostly due to the unexpected action by her friend than any real pain.

"What the hell was that for?" Elsa asked as she rubbed the back of her head.

"For telling that son of a bitch that you love him! I know full well that you don't."

"I don't know what I feel. I mean, he is nice to me a lot of the time..."

"No. Do not try and justify this shit. Elsa, I am telling you right now. You need to break up with him. Then you need to suck it up and tell Micah how you feel before it's too late."

"What do you mean, 'before it's too late'?" Elsa asked with her eyebrows scrunched together.

"Ugh, you are so stupid that you frustrate me sometimes."

"That doesn't explain what you meant."

"It means you are letting Micah slip through your fingers and you don't even realize it. To hell with your inhibitions and tell the boy how you feel!" Rose yelled.

"I can't, Rose! If I do-"

"Yeah, you'll lose him as a friend, blah, blah, blah. Have you ever stopped to think that maybe, just maybe, he might have feelings for you too?"

"No. If he did he would have told me so."

"You mean like how you've told him?"

"Shut up."

"No, Elsa. I'm one hundred percent right on this one and you know it. There is a possibility that Micah may very well be doing the same thing you are. He could be hiding his feelings just like you because he is scared that you'll push him away. Did you ever stop to consider that that might be a possibility?"

"Not really, no," Elsa admitted meekly.

"Do you want me to smack you again?"

"Um, no."

"Then I want you to get on that phone, right now, and call him. Tell him you have to talk to him. I don't care where you talk or how, but you're doing it tonight. So pick that phone up and call his pasty white ass!"

"Rose-" Elsa began to whine.

"Do it. Now."

Rose picked up Elsa's phone, dialed Micah's number, and thrust the phone into her hand. The phone began to ring, and after several seconds it was answered.

"Hey Els. How did everything go?"

"Rose, I can't do this!" Elsa hissed.

"Too bad. Get on that phone and tell him. Now."

Elsa stared down at her phone, and began to sweat. Her heart was racing so fast that she thought it would beat itself out of her chest and splatter against the wall. There was a strange knot in the pit of her stomach, and her mouth was dry like a desert.

"Hello? I can hear you talking to someone."

Placing the phone up to her ear, Elsa looked at her friend who had crossed her arms and had a look on her face telling Elsa that there were no more excuses. She was absolutely petrified.

"Um, Micah?" she said shakily.

"Yeah?"

"We, uh, we need to talk."