Interesting. I don’t recall him limping, but I was doing my level-best to avoid looking at him that night.
“No. I don’t want to talk to Dad.” He blows out a gust of air. “Dad…” He stops. “Listen to me…” He stops again. He looks over at me and mouths, “He’s pissed.”
I nod and grimace. It’s not a surprise.
“Dad. Listen to me. You know I did something to it at practice…” His father must be talking nonstop because all he’s doing now is listening and making faces. Angry and irritated faces. That is until a nurse enters the room. “Dad. The doctor’s here. I gotta go.” He presses on his screen and ends the call.
Standing, I decide to wait out with Carley.
“No.” Eli’s arm juts out and his hand grasps my arm. “Stay, Em.”
I look at the nurse, who’s just about to take his vitals then back at Eli. “I’m…” I don’t know what to say. “We’re….”
“We’re what?” Eli looks a bit panicked. “We’re okay, Em. We need to talk. That’s all.”
That’s all? Is he nuts? “Eli, you didn’t talk—”
I’m interrupted by the nurse, who starts to ask Eli about his ankle. While she does that, I slip out of the room, pausing to take a deep breath before I head out to the waiting area. Everything is confusing. I know I need to take a moment and think about Eli. Not just about the stuff between us but about him. His life. I’m just so muddled. I care about him so much, but I’m not sure I’ve got what it takes to be Eli’s. I’m never going to be one of those women who just goes with the flow.
I make that heinous snorting noise again because I just made a water reference. While I love hydropower, I’m just not built that way. I need to know what’s going on in his mind. Not only that, I want him to be happy, and if that means he’s no longer with me, well, so be it.
And what about his ankle? How long will that take to heal? Will he be able to go back to New York?
And how romantic was he? I mean, he raced to the airport, bought a plane ticket… all for me. “Gah!” So many questions, and the only way I’m going to get answers is to ask him.
Eli’s right. We need to talk.
I’m just not sure I’m quite ready for that because, truthfully, I’m hurt and still a bit angry.
