Ugh.
IlikedEllie.
What an odd turn of events.
Dad headed to work, leaving Ellie, Ash, and me in the living room alone. We didn’t say anything at first, and Ellie kept smiling at me like a giddy little girl. I cleared my throat and gave her a “Can you leave us alone?” stare.
She shook out of her goofy Zen state and clapped her hands together. “Right, well, OK. I’m going to go hang out with Lorelai in her room. But if you two need anything I’m one hallway away. I also left you snacks in the kitchen.”
With that, Ellie headed out, leaving me alone with Ash.
He turned to me and smiled. I was beginning to like that smile more and more. “Sooo,” he said in a singsong tone. “You never told me you were rich.”
“What? I’m not rich.”
Ash glanced around the room and arched an eyebrow. “You have a wine cellar in your basement.”
I narrowed my eyes. “How do you know about the wine cellar?”
He pointed a finger in my direction. “I didn’t know about it! I was just saying something that rich people have to see if you were rich. I bet you have a swimming pool and a hot tub, too.”
“And a sauna,” I said. “But that doesn’t mean I’m rich. That means my dad is rich.”
“Typical line a rich kid would say. Can I see the pool?”
I nodded as I walked him through the house toward the backyard. The swimming pool used to be one of my favorite parts of our house. Mom, Lorelai, and I used to spend all our summer days in there whenever Dad had to work late hours.
I hadn’t been in the water since Mom passed away.
I wasn’t even certain that I could still swim with my condition. Each night I did my exercises for physical therapy. Some days, it felt as if they were helping, but I still didn’t trust my body.
I was a little scared I’d instantly drown. Plus, now with Mom gone, the pool felt... sad. My friends used to come over all the time in the summer for pool parties. Dad would grill up hot dogs and hamburgers. Mom would gossip with my friends’ moms. Lorelai would be... well, Lorelai. Which meant she was as extra as all get out. It was such a happy time. It was odd how things I once loved so much became achingly sad after Mom passed away.
I wished the good could feel good again.
“Holy balls, you’re rich-rich,” Ash remarked, studying the pool area. “You have a waterfall attachment on your pool!A waterfall!”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the way his eyes bugged out.
“You swim?” I asked.
“I like to every now and then,” he replied. “You?”
“Yes, well, I did,” I said, growing uncomfortable. “I don’t do it anymore since the accident.”
He tilted his head with a look of confusion. “The accident?”
“You know, the car accident.”
“Oh.” He walked over to a hammock and sat inside it. “You were in a car accident?”
I snickered, baffled by his surprise. “Yeah. That’s why I’m like this.” I gestured toward myself. “I wasn’t always ugly and broken.”
Ash’s eyes studied me. “I don’t think you’ve ever been ugly and broken.”
There they were again, those fluttering feelings. “Yeah, well, that’s just you being nice.”
“No, it’s not. I’m the opposite of nice. I’m a major dick.”
