Page 59 of Emerald

“There’s nothing normal about you,” I tell her, my thumb wiping the tear from her cheek.

“Yeah, because I’m a monster,” she says, pulling herself from my grasp. Ellie wraps her arms around herself and starts to walk back to my home.

She thinks she’s a monster. “Ellie, wait.”

“I’m fine, Nash. Go back to the bar and apologize for me. I’m sorry I embarrassed you. I won’t ever let that happen again,” she says, ignoring me as we continue to walk the path home.

“I won’t apologize for you.”

Ellie stops and turns around. “You’re right, I’ll go and apologize in the morning, it should come from me.”

“That’s not what I mean.” Ellie frowns at me. “You don’t have to apologize for anything. I was surprised, that’s all. Didn’t think someone like you would ever get drunk.”

“I don’t,” she mumbles.

I raise a brow at her. “What made you think tonight was the night to try it?”

She shrugs but refuses to look at me. Is she drinking because of me?

“Ellie, look at me,” I command, touching her chin and lifting it so she will look me in the eyes. She swallows and I can see she’suncomfortable. This woman is never uncomfortable. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know,” she confesses, looking confused.

“Did something happen with Manuel?” I ask.

Her brows pull together and then she shakes her head. “No.”

“Is it me?” Ellie doesn’t answer. It’s me. I did this to her. “What did I do?”

“It’s what you didn’t do.” She stills as if those words weren’t supposed to come out of her mouth.

“What didn’t I do?” I question her.

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” She shrugs, moving away from me as she wobbles toward home.

“For some fucking reason I am worried about you,” I tell her. This makes her stop, and she slowly turns around, those blue eyes glistening with emotion.

“I wonder what my life would have been like if I could have been who I wanted to be.” She shakes her head. “Does alcohol make you sad?”

“It can.”

She nods. “I’m sorry for making a scene at your bar. I promise tomorrow I’ll fix everything. I’ll be the perfect houseguest from now on. I won’t fight you anymore, Nash.” I don’t want her to stop fighting me. This version of Ellie isn’t right, she’s lost her fight, her claws.

“I don’t need you to be perfect, Ellie.” She stops at the top step and peers down at me, looking confused. “I like fighting with you, actually,” I confess as I slowly walk up the stairs. “I also like pushing your buttons. Watching the way your blue eyes light with fire, I imagine all the imaginative ways you want to kill me.”

“They’re green actually,” she mumbles.

“Excuse me?”

Ellie sighs, leans forward, takes out her contact lenses, and shows me the most mesmerizing sea foam green eyes. “Just thought you should know,” she says with a shrug.

“You’re full of surprises tonight. Anything else I should know?”

Ellie smirks. “It’s true, I do imagine all the ways I could kill you. I’m up to about fifty, but I’m sure I can think of more.”

“Guess coming from Persephone that should be a compliment.” She stills. Shit. That was supposed to be a secret. “Don’t get mad, Brooks assumed you had told me, seeing as you told me everything else. Why didn’t you?”

Ellie looks up into the night sky. “Honestly?” I nod. Those sea-green eyes fall back onto me. “I didn’t want you to see the monster that I truly am.” I swallow upon hearing her confession.

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