Meredith was home by three and set her mom's book on the kitchen table and
took her bags up to her room. She changed and fixed her hair, letting it
hang with a barrette holding back the smaller strands of hair that might've
been mistaken for bangs. She sighed softly and it wasn't until nearly five
when her mother walked in the door, a bundle of books in her arms.
Meredith helped her set them down on the kitchen counter.
"I'm so sorry, honey. They got a new shipment in at work and Marisa was being fickle about putting it all away."
Meredith smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "It's not five yet. Did you wanna wait?"
"No, I'm starved!" Anna didn't even stay in the house more than five minutes before the girls went to dinner.
They spent the better part of two hours at the restaurant, talking and laughing. Doing the mother-daughter/best friends thing. Anna told her all about the trip to San Diego and how she was going to be heading to Mexico in another two months. Meredith loved her mom and sometimes envied her trips, but it was never something Meredith could see herself doing. Meredith told her about Eli and how great she felt around him and how wonderful he was.
The night sped by and when Meredith and Anna finally got home it was a little after seven. Anna kissed her daughter's head and said goodnight. She was still lagged from her flight and needed sleep. Meredith promised not to stay out too late. She waited until her mother was upstairs before pulling out the ticket stub and dialing the first number.
No answer.
Meredith frowned and left a message with her cell phone number. Then she dialed the second number. A woman picked up.
"Hello?"
"Is Eli there?"
"No, I think he went out with Coop. Can I take a message?"
"Could you just tell him that Meredith called? And could you take my number?"
She recited the phone number and thanked the woman before hanging up. She tried to fight the horrible feeling in her stomach or the overwhelming sadness that had come over her. She sighed softly, grabbing her purse and making sure her phone was on as she left the house, heading towards the park.
- - - -
It was twenty after eight when Coop parked in Karen's driveway.
"I'll be right back," Eli confirmed as he jumped out of the car and practically ran towards the house. He knew Karen was working late, but Jessie was staying over.
"Jessie! Jessie!" He yelled as he ran up the stairs.
"What?" She asked appeared at the top of the stairs. He stopped in the middle.
"Did anyone call for me?"
"Yeah, a girl," she said non-chalantly as she slid passed him down the stairs. "Want the number?"
Eli sprung down the stairs and followed her into Karen's office where she had written the number from the machine. "Do you have a new girlfriend," she asked with a smirk as she handed him the paper.
"Go play blocks or something," he smirked back at her and picked up the cordless phone, dialing the number.
It rang three times before Eli started to think she wasn't going to answer. He wanted to see her, but if she didn't answer he'd just go back to Shakey's for the night. Maybe she fell asleep waiting for him.
He moved over to the glass door and looked out to where Coop was waiting. Eli pressed his face against the glass door and Coop laughed, causing him to roll up his window and press his face against it. Eli was laughing when the other line picked up. "Hello?" Eli stepped away from the door, trying to catch his composure again at the sound of her voice.
"Hey, Mer. It's me."
"Hi."
"What's up?"
"Nothing."
"Where are you?"
"The park, listen, Eli, if you're busy you really don't have to hang out with me tonight."
"No, stay there. I'll be there in five minutes." He yelled up the stairs to where Jessie had gone. "Tell Mom I'm staying at Dad's tonight!" He didn't hear her reply as the screen door slammed shut and he jumped into Coop's car. "She's at the park."
- - - -
Meredith loved the park. She always went for walks there when the tracks were closed or it was too late to go up and race or run. It took too long to drive to the other places and sometimes just walking around the park or sitting on the swings helped. Especially when she wanted to write.
But she figured that if Eli called, he could just meet her somewhere close, easy to get too.
She was walking along the path for the third time when her phone rang. She slipped it out of the pocket of her hoodie and looked at the caller ID. It was Eli. She debated not answering it, but on the fourth ring she gave in and clicked the button. She barely had time to tell him not to bother that he should just stay out, but it was too late and he hung up.
She sighed softly and slid the phone back into her pouch before she moved over to the play-set and took a seat on one of the swings. Her hands, half covered by her sweatshirt sleeves, wrapped around the rusted chains as her feet pushed the swing back and forth slowly. Her head leaned against one of the chains and she sighed softly.
Any normal person would just leave. But she wasn't any normal person. And she liked him entirely too much to just leave. And besides, she reasoned, there's probably a good reason for why he's not here. Whoever answered said he was out with friends, I'm not going to stop him from hanging out with his friends. But she still couldn't help the horrible sinking feeling she felt in the pit of her stomach.
- - - -
Eli took a long drag from the joint that Coop had rolled while waiting for Eli to come back out. It wasn't the smartest thing to be doing, especially when he wasn't sure how Meredith felt about it, but he needed something to calm him inside. He needed to mellow out and this was the only way that would do it.
He passed the joint to Coop who had turned up Prodigy in the CD player. Eli tapped his hands on his knees along with the beat and at the appropriate times mouthed "Smack my bitch up." When Coop passed the joint back to him, he took a few more hits before finally letting Coop finish it before pulling into the parking lot. Eli saw Meredith's car sitting under a streetlight and sighed softly.
He climbed out of the car, pulling his hoodie with him. "I'll see you later man," he said to Coop as he shut the door and pulled his hoodie on. Shoving his hands into the pouch, he made his way along the mulch trail to the playground where he saw Meredith sitting on a swing, moving back and forth slightly, looking at her feet.
He dropped his gaze to his own shoes as he walked until he came up to her. "Hey," he said softly.
She looked up when she heard his voice, lost in her own thoughts she didn't hear him coming. A smile crossed over her lips when she saw him. "Hey," she said, equally as softly.
He sat down in the swing next to hers, his hands still in the pouch as he looked over to her. She could smell it when he got closer. The faint smell of weed that surrounded him. She frowned slightly, looking back down to her feet as she rocked back and forth slightly. "You didn't have to come. You could've stayed with your friends." Her heart still fluttered and the butterflies still swam around in her stomach. She was glad he came, she wanted to see him. He made her feel.indescribable when he was around her. And she loved being near him. She bit down on her lip nervously, letting the prior activities go unsaid or why he was "late," not that they had set a time. "It would've been okay, if you didn't come tonight."
"I wanted to come tonight. I'm sorry I'm late, I didn't drive and Coop picked me up. He fell asleep at Shake's and then I kinda...well, dozed off too." He smiled before pouting playfully at her, sticking his bottom lip out just a little so that his dimples showed at the corners of his mouth. "I wanted to come," he repeated, "that's why I'm here."
He looked over to her and she smiled. She was glad he had come. She nodded slowly, letting her gaze fall down to her feet. "I guess it worked out, I needed some time alone. But I'm glad you're here now. With me."
He smiled as he looked up to her, swinging back and forth slowly. "Y'know, I haven't been on a swing in like forever. When I was a kid, I used to see how high I could get. It was my goal to swing over the bar. I never made it, but the swing always did."
She looked up to him, laughing softly. "When I was a kid, I was addicted to Nickelodeon. And they had this.cartoon or something called Inside Out Boy. And he became Inside Out Boy by swinging all the way over the swing. Ever since then I've been freaked to swing too high. I didn't want to become Inside Out Girl." She shook her head, her cheeks turning pink slightly from telling him such an embarrassing story from her childhood. Normally, she'd be careful to keep such embarrassing facts locked away. But with him, she didn't need too, or didn't try. They just came out. And he always seemed to listen. To understand.
He smiled when she relayed the story of Inside Out Boy. He remembered it quite well. He wanted to ask her what else she liked as a child. Shows that he watched like Thundercats, PeeWee's Playhouse, He-Man, but he didn't. He didn't want to ruin the moment, just looking at her.
She smiled at him before sliding off of the swing and moving to stand in front of him. She took his hands and pulled him off of the swing so that he was standing in front of her. "I'm really glad you came. And I'm really glad that you got a chance to nap. You looked exhausted at the bookstore today." Her arms removed from his hands carefully before they wrapped around his neck and she leaned closer to him. She kissed him softly. "Still tired?"
He was pulled up from the swing easily, his arms wrapping around her waist and linking as they came to rest at the small of her back. In her arms he felt good. She was so different from anyone he'd ever known before. A very good kind of different. At that moment he realized once again why he was so glad that he had come to spend time with her. And he was even more glad that she had waited for him, despite his being nearly an hour and a half late.
Kissing her back, he tightened his arms around her back, pulling her closer to him. "No, I'm not tired anymore." He smiled as he looked down into her eyes. He loved her eyes. "So, what do you want to do now? It's your pick since you came with me last night."
She leaned upward, her arms tightening around her neck as she smiled, tilting her head to the side slightly as she seemed to be in serious concentration on making the decision. She really had no preference. "Hmm, it's my pick, huh?" She grinned as she looked back to him. "I'm not really sure. We could get something to eat, maybe rent a movie. Just stay in."
A smile broke across Eli's lips as he brought one hand to her face to brush away a lose strand of hair there. "You have an intoxicating smile." He leaned down, kissing her cheek gently before letting his hands slide down her arms, his fingers wrapping around hers as he held her hand and started to lead her back to the parking lot. "I was hoping you didn't hear my stomach growling." He looked down, sheepish before stealing a glance at her. "Tacos? Oh wait, you ate already didn't you? We could just get dessert or something."
They reached the parking lot and reluctantly her hand fell from his as he walked around the car and she unlocked the doors. "How about tacos, ice cream and a movie? The beauty of take-out."
He looked over at her before climbing in, she winked and he just smiled, shaking his head. She was amazing. He still couldn't get over it.
"I'm so sorry, honey. They got a new shipment in at work and Marisa was being fickle about putting it all away."
Meredith smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "It's not five yet. Did you wanna wait?"
"No, I'm starved!" Anna didn't even stay in the house more than five minutes before the girls went to dinner.
They spent the better part of two hours at the restaurant, talking and laughing. Doing the mother-daughter/best friends thing. Anna told her all about the trip to San Diego and how she was going to be heading to Mexico in another two months. Meredith loved her mom and sometimes envied her trips, but it was never something Meredith could see herself doing. Meredith told her about Eli and how great she felt around him and how wonderful he was.
The night sped by and when Meredith and Anna finally got home it was a little after seven. Anna kissed her daughter's head and said goodnight. She was still lagged from her flight and needed sleep. Meredith promised not to stay out too late. She waited until her mother was upstairs before pulling out the ticket stub and dialing the first number.
No answer.
Meredith frowned and left a message with her cell phone number. Then she dialed the second number. A woman picked up.
"Hello?"
"Is Eli there?"
"No, I think he went out with Coop. Can I take a message?"
"Could you just tell him that Meredith called? And could you take my number?"
She recited the phone number and thanked the woman before hanging up. She tried to fight the horrible feeling in her stomach or the overwhelming sadness that had come over her. She sighed softly, grabbing her purse and making sure her phone was on as she left the house, heading towards the park.
- - - -
It was twenty after eight when Coop parked in Karen's driveway.
"I'll be right back," Eli confirmed as he jumped out of the car and practically ran towards the house. He knew Karen was working late, but Jessie was staying over.
"Jessie! Jessie!" He yelled as he ran up the stairs.
"What?" She asked appeared at the top of the stairs. He stopped in the middle.
"Did anyone call for me?"
"Yeah, a girl," she said non-chalantly as she slid passed him down the stairs. "Want the number?"
Eli sprung down the stairs and followed her into Karen's office where she had written the number from the machine. "Do you have a new girlfriend," she asked with a smirk as she handed him the paper.
"Go play blocks or something," he smirked back at her and picked up the cordless phone, dialing the number.
It rang three times before Eli started to think she wasn't going to answer. He wanted to see her, but if she didn't answer he'd just go back to Shakey's for the night. Maybe she fell asleep waiting for him.
He moved over to the glass door and looked out to where Coop was waiting. Eli pressed his face against the glass door and Coop laughed, causing him to roll up his window and press his face against it. Eli was laughing when the other line picked up. "Hello?" Eli stepped away from the door, trying to catch his composure again at the sound of her voice.
"Hey, Mer. It's me."
"Hi."
"What's up?"
"Nothing."
"Where are you?"
"The park, listen, Eli, if you're busy you really don't have to hang out with me tonight."
"No, stay there. I'll be there in five minutes." He yelled up the stairs to where Jessie had gone. "Tell Mom I'm staying at Dad's tonight!" He didn't hear her reply as the screen door slammed shut and he jumped into Coop's car. "She's at the park."
- - - -
Meredith loved the park. She always went for walks there when the tracks were closed or it was too late to go up and race or run. It took too long to drive to the other places and sometimes just walking around the park or sitting on the swings helped. Especially when she wanted to write.
But she figured that if Eli called, he could just meet her somewhere close, easy to get too.
She was walking along the path for the third time when her phone rang. She slipped it out of the pocket of her hoodie and looked at the caller ID. It was Eli. She debated not answering it, but on the fourth ring she gave in and clicked the button. She barely had time to tell him not to bother that he should just stay out, but it was too late and he hung up.
She sighed softly and slid the phone back into her pouch before she moved over to the play-set and took a seat on one of the swings. Her hands, half covered by her sweatshirt sleeves, wrapped around the rusted chains as her feet pushed the swing back and forth slowly. Her head leaned against one of the chains and she sighed softly.
Any normal person would just leave. But she wasn't any normal person. And she liked him entirely too much to just leave. And besides, she reasoned, there's probably a good reason for why he's not here. Whoever answered said he was out with friends, I'm not going to stop him from hanging out with his friends. But she still couldn't help the horrible sinking feeling she felt in the pit of her stomach.
- - - -
Eli took a long drag from the joint that Coop had rolled while waiting for Eli to come back out. It wasn't the smartest thing to be doing, especially when he wasn't sure how Meredith felt about it, but he needed something to calm him inside. He needed to mellow out and this was the only way that would do it.
He passed the joint to Coop who had turned up Prodigy in the CD player. Eli tapped his hands on his knees along with the beat and at the appropriate times mouthed "Smack my bitch up." When Coop passed the joint back to him, he took a few more hits before finally letting Coop finish it before pulling into the parking lot. Eli saw Meredith's car sitting under a streetlight and sighed softly.
He climbed out of the car, pulling his hoodie with him. "I'll see you later man," he said to Coop as he shut the door and pulled his hoodie on. Shoving his hands into the pouch, he made his way along the mulch trail to the playground where he saw Meredith sitting on a swing, moving back and forth slightly, looking at her feet.
He dropped his gaze to his own shoes as he walked until he came up to her. "Hey," he said softly.
She looked up when she heard his voice, lost in her own thoughts she didn't hear him coming. A smile crossed over her lips when she saw him. "Hey," she said, equally as softly.
He sat down in the swing next to hers, his hands still in the pouch as he looked over to her. She could smell it when he got closer. The faint smell of weed that surrounded him. She frowned slightly, looking back down to her feet as she rocked back and forth slightly. "You didn't have to come. You could've stayed with your friends." Her heart still fluttered and the butterflies still swam around in her stomach. She was glad he came, she wanted to see him. He made her feel.indescribable when he was around her. And she loved being near him. She bit down on her lip nervously, letting the prior activities go unsaid or why he was "late," not that they had set a time. "It would've been okay, if you didn't come tonight."
"I wanted to come tonight. I'm sorry I'm late, I didn't drive and Coop picked me up. He fell asleep at Shake's and then I kinda...well, dozed off too." He smiled before pouting playfully at her, sticking his bottom lip out just a little so that his dimples showed at the corners of his mouth. "I wanted to come," he repeated, "that's why I'm here."
He looked over to her and she smiled. She was glad he had come. She nodded slowly, letting her gaze fall down to her feet. "I guess it worked out, I needed some time alone. But I'm glad you're here now. With me."
He smiled as he looked up to her, swinging back and forth slowly. "Y'know, I haven't been on a swing in like forever. When I was a kid, I used to see how high I could get. It was my goal to swing over the bar. I never made it, but the swing always did."
She looked up to him, laughing softly. "When I was a kid, I was addicted to Nickelodeon. And they had this.cartoon or something called Inside Out Boy. And he became Inside Out Boy by swinging all the way over the swing. Ever since then I've been freaked to swing too high. I didn't want to become Inside Out Girl." She shook her head, her cheeks turning pink slightly from telling him such an embarrassing story from her childhood. Normally, she'd be careful to keep such embarrassing facts locked away. But with him, she didn't need too, or didn't try. They just came out. And he always seemed to listen. To understand.
He smiled when she relayed the story of Inside Out Boy. He remembered it quite well. He wanted to ask her what else she liked as a child. Shows that he watched like Thundercats, PeeWee's Playhouse, He-Man, but he didn't. He didn't want to ruin the moment, just looking at her.
She smiled at him before sliding off of the swing and moving to stand in front of him. She took his hands and pulled him off of the swing so that he was standing in front of her. "I'm really glad you came. And I'm really glad that you got a chance to nap. You looked exhausted at the bookstore today." Her arms removed from his hands carefully before they wrapped around his neck and she leaned closer to him. She kissed him softly. "Still tired?"
He was pulled up from the swing easily, his arms wrapping around her waist and linking as they came to rest at the small of her back. In her arms he felt good. She was so different from anyone he'd ever known before. A very good kind of different. At that moment he realized once again why he was so glad that he had come to spend time with her. And he was even more glad that she had waited for him, despite his being nearly an hour and a half late.
Kissing her back, he tightened his arms around her back, pulling her closer to him. "No, I'm not tired anymore." He smiled as he looked down into her eyes. He loved her eyes. "So, what do you want to do now? It's your pick since you came with me last night."
She leaned upward, her arms tightening around her neck as she smiled, tilting her head to the side slightly as she seemed to be in serious concentration on making the decision. She really had no preference. "Hmm, it's my pick, huh?" She grinned as she looked back to him. "I'm not really sure. We could get something to eat, maybe rent a movie. Just stay in."
A smile broke across Eli's lips as he brought one hand to her face to brush away a lose strand of hair there. "You have an intoxicating smile." He leaned down, kissing her cheek gently before letting his hands slide down her arms, his fingers wrapping around hers as he held her hand and started to lead her back to the parking lot. "I was hoping you didn't hear my stomach growling." He looked down, sheepish before stealing a glance at her. "Tacos? Oh wait, you ate already didn't you? We could just get dessert or something."
They reached the parking lot and reluctantly her hand fell from his as he walked around the car and she unlocked the doors. "How about tacos, ice cream and a movie? The beauty of take-out."
He looked over at her before climbing in, she winked and he just smiled, shaking his head. She was amazing. He still couldn't get over it.