"Eli-" Grace breathed in a soft whisper, and as she spoke, Eli felt his entire body sting.
"-Eli, what are you doing here?" Grace asked softy.
It was too dark, and Eli couldn't quite make out the defined lines on Grace's face. He couldn't tell if she was happy to see him- or if she was about to scream at him for ruining her life.
Eli opened his mouth, but wasn't sure if he could control the pitch of his voice- he was so nervous, he couldn't even control the uneven beat of his heart.
He reached his hand out, and grabbed Grace's arm gently, coaxing her to follow him.
GRACE with one touch—I was gone.
Grace sucked in all the air she could as Eli's hand clasped her skin- feel his rigid, masculine hands on her soft skin- Grace gave herself up to him- and allowed him to lead her wherever he wanted—
GRACE even if it was to the edge of the universe- I think I would have followed him.
They walked quietly and quickly around to the front garden- and Eli couldn't believe that they hadn't been caught!
He led her down the driveway, and they walked across the street until they were standing by his car.
Grace didn't even notice that she wasn't wearing socks or shoes- she didn't realize that her feet were frozen and stinging from the cold.
"Hop in" Eli whispered, and Grace did as she was told, without a second thought she got into the passenger seat beside Eli, who started the engine.
But as she heard the motor purr, it was only then that she thought to ask; "Where are we going?"
Eli glanced over at her, but as he turned the wheel and started cruising down the dead street, he kept his eye on the house Grace had just snuck out of- waiting any moment for the lights to snap on, and Rick and Lily to come running out in their pyjama's declaring kidnap!
"Eli?" Grace said, still whispering.
Eli glanced over at her, only for a second, and then snapped his head back to look straight out in front of him.
Grace sunk into the seat; she wasn't panicked, or frightened- infact, being in Eli's presence that night was the safest she'd felt in a long time.
They drove for 15 minutes in complete silence; Grace waiting for Eli to say something, and Eli waiting for words to emerge in his throat so he could say something.
"We're here," Eli finally murmured, as they pulled up outside of a seven eleven- the bright-fluoresced sign of the store draping a bit of light into the car.
Grace let out a short laugh, and then looked over at Eli as he pulled the key out of the ignition, but still gripped the steering wheel, and still refused to look at her.
"Eli" Grace turned her body to face him "what-" she let out an exasperated sigh, unable to find the words, "Eli? Why did you come over? And what are we doing here?" Grace glanced in font of her, looking into the giant windows of the store.
It was empty, with only an eighteen year old, pimple faced boy working the counter.
Eli took a deep breath, and then turned to face Grace, but he only looked into her eyes for a moment, and then he averted his gaze to look down at his hands instead.
Grace waited patiently for Eli to speak, and wished he would look at her.
ELI I couldn't look at her. One glance and I knew I'd be gone---
"Jessie called me," Eli said bluntly; but Grace didn't reply.
"She told me" Eli added, and waited a moment more for Grace to say something, but she didn't.
"About-" Eli paused, unable to say the words.
Grace covered his sudden gap of hesitant silence with a sigh "She told you-" Grace said, her voice trembling slightly.
Eli looked up.
ELI I fall in love with that girl every time I see her--- I was gone, just like I knew I would be, the moment I laid my eyes on her.
This time Grace averted her eyes, and began studying her hands, while Eli continued to gaze at her.
He forgot how soft her skin looked- her creamy, supple skin.
Red, robust lips that evoked memories of sweet, passionate, flavoured kisses.
And her eyes, though they were turned away from him, he knew her soulful, deep eyes- the moment they looked at him- would stop his heart from beating.
Grace let out a soft sigh, and looked up to meet Eli's gaze- and he was taken aback to see her eyes weren't soulful and deep, they were red and swollen- from too many tears- probably wasted over me, he thought to himself.
Eli tried to smile, to let her know he was here now- and she could talk to him if she needed to- but her eyes, they stared right through him, too hurt and swollen to see that he cared.
"I feel so stupid" Grace said, after a sea of silence, and Eli snapped back to reality.
"Why-" Eli took a short breath "why did you do it?" he asked.
Grace could tell Eli felt guilty- he was so edgy and agile around her- as though the slightest thing he said or did could cause her to go into a maddening fit!
Grace tried a faint smile "I don't know" she said meekly, looking away from him.
"Yes you do!" Eli said bluntly, and Grace brought her eyes to meet his again- he knew her too well.
"Your right, I do know" she said calmly, her voice stern and sure, no longer trembling.
"So tell me," Eli said, not averting his gaze.
Grace took a deep breath. "Well it was a lot of things really" Grace replied, and felt uncomfortable as he stared at her, willing her to go on.
"I had been keeping a lot of things bottled up. And at the exact wrong time, they all just surfaced. And I had to confront them- something I really didn't want to do" Grace glanced up and saw Eli was listening intently-
GRACE since it happened, I hadn't really talked about it. Out loud, I mean.
"You don't understand- do you?" Grace glared at him, and Eli stared back.
"Well, Grace, explain it to me" he said, softly and calmly.
Grace turned away, feeling tears prick at her eyes.
Please god; don't let me cry in front of him, please!
"Grace, I'm sorry" Eli said suddenly, and Grace fought the tears back for a moment.
"I'm sorry, I dragged you out here- and now I'm forcing you to talk to me about something which is clearly very personal- we can go back if you want" Eli began.
Grace raised a hand, and he stopped talking for a moment.
"Eli, you didn't kidnap me or anything!" Grace tried to smile, but the tears were about to come falling down any moment.
"And, I need to talk about this! Because, I don't have anyone else I can talk to. Jessie has been great, but I really scared her and I think she'd like to forget about it. And Rick and mum don't have a clue anything's wrong—" Grace trailed off, as the tears began to cascade down her cheeks, her words became a little incoherent.
Eli watched a Grace's eyes filled, and tears began to roll down her cheeks.
"I was hurting so much-" Grace managed to croak out, and she cursed herself for turning into a blubbering idiot yet again!
Eli's heart shattered into a thousand pieces as he watched Grace sob into her hands, and without a second thought, he lunged forward and gathered her small, fragile body in his arms.
"I'm here now," he said soothingly, as he rubbed her back in a circular motion "Ssshhh, it's ok" he whispered.
Grace was crying too hard now to realize Eli had gathered her in his strong, familiar arms.
Had she been composed enough, she surely would have stopped breathing and felt her entire body melt into him- enjoying his embrace.
But as Grace cried, she only felt comfort as her body warmed to his touch without knowing it, and yet again, like she had done so often lately that the routine began to bore her- she lunged into a sobbing, crying, tearful mess.
"I'm here now" Eli repeated, and he forgot about keeping a distance and awkwardness between them, like they were supposed to; and instead he held her, for as long as she needed to cry and hurt, he was there to be the shoulder she leaned on, and cried on.
………to be continued………
AUTHORS NOTE
Please, please, please review! Does ANYONE like where this story is going at the moment?
The whole 'to be continued' thing that I've got going, is to let you know this story is still going- that's if, you want it to!
This is the 26th chapter, is it completely boring the hell out of you now? Let me know…..REVIEW!
