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“I’m sorry you had such a rough night, baby. Can I make you something to eat?” he offered, making me unreasonably angry.
“Eli, why are you being nice to me?”
He smiled. “Am I ever mean to you?”
“No. But I’m a horrible fucking bitch and I don’t deserve it.” I flicked a piece of a napkin across the table in his direction.
“You’re not as bad as you seem to think you are,” he said softly.
I huffed. “You’re an addict and I’m sitting here in front of you, wasted.”
“Just reminds me why I don’t do that shit anymore. You’ll wake up with a killer hangover and I’ll be fine.”
“I fuck everything up, E.” I became teary-eyed, the alcohol getting the best of my emotions. “You shouldn’t be so nice to me.”
“You’re my best friend. I’d do anything for you, and you know it.” He stared at me, daring me to refute the claim.
“Would you if you knew I fucked Mason Davis?”
He chuckled. “I think you’re more drunk than I realized. Come on, let’s get you to bed.” He pulled me into his arms to take me to my room.
“No. Eli. I’m serious. Mason is Wyatt’s dad.” I shook out from his hold.
Eli stopped and stared into my eyes. “Holy shit. You’re serious.”
“You hate me, don’t you?” I cried. “You should hate me. I do horrible things. Please, just leave before I hurt you even more.”
Instead of getting angry, Eli brought me to my room, where he helped me into bed. I screamed at him, desperate for him to be mad at me and leave, but he never did. Instead, he crawled in beside me and attempted to hold me as I punched his chest.
“Catherine,” he said calmly, but with enough force to get my attention, “Do you really think I give a fuck about who Wyatt’s father is? If I did, I would’ve said so a long time ago.”
“But I told you he was random.” I hiccupped. “I lied to you. And my sister. To everyone.”
He hesitated. “Mason knows?”
I wiped my face. “Of course, Mason knows. Who do you think helps pay my bills?”
He shrugged. “I assumed it was Elle. It doesn’t matter. I told you then, and I meant it. It doesn’t matter.”
“You can’t tell anyone, Eli.” Suddenly aware of the fact that to get him to hate me, I told a secret I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone.
“I’m slightly offended that you think I would, but I’m going to chalk it up to you being very drunk right now.”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. God, I wish it wasn’t him. Fuck, I wish it was anyone but him.”
“Or me,” he whispered. There was a sadness in his voice.
“What? That’s not true. Why would you say that?”
“Let’s just get some sleep, okay? We can talk about this tomorrow.” He kissed the top of my head and rubbed a hand in circles on my back.
My friends had been telling me for years that Eli was in love with me, and I didn’t not believe them, but I thought that it was better for him to stay my friend.
But something about that comment made me realize he wasn’t going anywhere, and that he’d long since given up on us being something more. He was staying around because he loved me, even if that hurt him.
And I felt like the world’s biggest asshole.
Now:
