Brady smirks. “I wouldn’t rule that out. It has more to do with my sister though.”
I tip my head to the side, curious. Brady watches me descend the stairs.
“What about your sister?” I ask. Brady opens his mouth to answer, but the ringing doorbell interrupts us.
I go to the door and pull it open.Elliot?Her gaze darts nervously over my face, her feet shuffle on the tan welcome mat. She’s wearing a new hat this time, a ball cap embroidered with the words Crowns of Courage.
“Elliot? Can I help you? Is Wilma okay?”
She nods vigorously. “I just, um... I don’t know. I got in a really big fight with my mom, and things have been crazy, and I didn’t know where to go. I knew you were staying at your mom’s house, so I just…” She ends the sentence with a shrug.
Stepping back from the door, I welcome her in.
Elliot steps inside but stops short when she sees Brady. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt anything.”
I flash a quick smile at Brady. “You didn’t, Elliot. Brady was just leaving.”
Brady takes the hint. He brushes a quick kiss on my cheek as he goes by.
“Be over at six, okay?”
I nod, fear instantly filling me. An evening with Mr. and Mrs. Sterling? This should be interesting. I wonder what Finn thinks of the offer?
The door closes behind Brady. Elliot stands there in the foyer, her hands clasped in front of her.
“You go sit down.” I gesture to the couch in the living room. “I’ll grab us some iced tea.”
When I get back, Elliot’s sitting on one side of the couch, her shoes kicked off and her feet tucked underneath her.
I set down our teas and take a seat opposite her.
“What’s up, Elliot?”
She shrugs, her eyes on hands that are folded in her lap.
“Elliot?” I say her name gently.
She looks at me, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. Her lower lip trembles for a moment, then her expression changes to one of indignation. “It’s just so unfair!” she half-shouts, bringing a fisted hand down hard onto the open palm of her opposite hand.
I twist my lips, utterly bewildered. The last time I knew Elliot she was a kindergartner bouncing from one place to the next. Now she’s an emotional teenager.
“What’s unfair?” I ask.
“My mom. My grandma. Everyone and everything I know.” In one second she tosses her arms dramatically into the air, then in the next, she drops them and they fall down with a soft thud.
“I really want to go on this church trip with everyone else. But my mom says no, and my grandma agrees with my mom. They’re justso worriedabout me.” She saysso worriedin an exaggerated tone that is probably mocking her mom or grandma. “Asher is going, and so is Bianca, and if I don’t go…” She takes a short, sharp breath, and then the tears spill over. “If I don’t go, they’ll probably start dating, but I liked him first, and... and…” She covers her eyes with her hands, her shoulders trembling.
I move to sit next to Elliot on the couch. Reaching out, I lightly rub circles on her back. “It’s okay, Elliot. It’ll be okay.”
“Nothing is okay.” Her teary voice is muffled.
“Does Asher like you?”
She nods, pulling her hands away from her face. “I think so.” Her gaze finds mine, then drops. “At least, he did.”
“If Asher likes you, it won’t matter if Bianca is there and you’re not.”
“You don’t know Bianca. She’s gorgeous. And her hair is so long and pretty.” Elliot’s eyes glance my way again. “Like yours. And she has boobs already!” she wails.
