“Ellie, open the fucking door.”
Stomping to the door in frustration, I yanked it open and glared at him. “What?”
He opened his mouth, his brows furrowing as he took in my disastrous state. “I just…”
“What? You want to come here and poke fun at me? What were the names you called me as a kid?” I asked, pretending to think about it. “Fat Belly Ellie was one of them, if I recall. And then there was Smelly Ellie, a personal favorite. You know, I didn’t even smell.”
“I was a jerk! A stupid kid!” he yelled. “And I didn’t think you were fat!”
I barked out a laugh at that. “Yeah, I know a lot of boys who call girls mean names, but don’t really mean it.”
“Yeah, they do. It’s because they like them,” he snapped, taking me by surprise.
My jaw dropped open at his words, but nothing came out but a squeak.
“Ellie, it’s like every other typical stupid kid thing. Boys are mean to girls they like. They push them in the mud and call them names because…because they’re too stupid to figure out how to talk to a girl. And by the time I finally figured it out, you well and truly hated me. So, yeah, I never did get around to telling you that I liked you.”
Again, nothing but a squeak left my lips.
“So, tell me why the fuck you ran out of there, and why the hell you’re crying.”
He walked inside and shut the door, staring at me, waiting for the words to leave my lips. But I was still stuck on the wholehe liked me so he was mean to mething.
“You liked me?”
He rolled his eyes and dragged me over to the couch, pushing me down in the fluffy cushions. “Yes, can we get past what a dick I was as a kid?”
“Sorry, but—but you were really mean to me.”
“I’m aware,” he sighed.
“No, I mean, really mean to me.”
“I know! I was a stupid kid, but yes, I liked you. I always thought you were really sweet and funny. And because I was a stupid boy, and I didn’t know how to tell you that I liked you, I started teasing you. I thought you would catch on to the fact that I was talking to you more because Iwantedto talk to you, and forget the part where I was being a complete dick.”
I shook my head, still baffled by the whole thing. “That’s just insane.”
Sighing, he flopped back on my cushions, rubbing his hand over his face. “Like I said, I was a stupid kid.”
For some stupid reason, it did make me feel better. Even though those years were horrible for me, knowing it wasn’t because he thought I was completely disgusting somehow lightened my heart just a little.
He sat up, taking my hand in his, which surprised the hell out of me. “So, tell me what happened. Why are you crying?”
“I really don’t want to talk about it.”
He nodded, grabbing the remote off the table. “Alright. I’ll just sit here until you tell me what’s going on.”
“What—but I have to go to sleep!”
He shrugged, leaning back as he turned on the TV and flipped through the channels. “I can wait.”
“All night?” I shrieked.
“Why not? It’s not like I have a job right now. I have nowhere special to go. Although I was considering heading back to New York, but now I’m curious.”
“About?”
“About what’s really going on.”
