Page 51 of Bar Down

I keepmy bandaged hand around Eli’s shoulder and bring the other one to his face.God, he’s so pretty.I lean in and kiss him, thinking about all the little moments we’ve shared since he brought me here, to his childhood home. Both Eli and his family have been nothing but kind to me, accepting me from the start and putting up with my personality that my own family deemed to betoo much.

I don’t want to think about leaving this place, but I know that once we head back to Grand Marquee, I’ll still have Eli by my side. He isitfor me. I press my lips harder against his, but I think something might be wrong because Eli isnotkissing me back. When I pull away, I see the panicked look in his eyes and I hear a fork clatter across the table.

Shit.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

Did I seriously just forget we’re having breakfast with his family!?No, no, no.This is bad. This is next levelI fucked upbad. I immediately release him and sit back in my chair, staring at him. Eli closes his eyes and breathes hard through his nose.

He’s really pissed.

Edvin has one hand over his mouth but instead of looking outraged, he’s trying to hold in a laugh. I dare to take a look at his parents and they’re both looking at us, stunned.

They don’t really look mad, but they’re also not jumping up and down with joy, and also I’m still drunk, so maybe I’m not the best judge of character right now. Before I can make this worse, I say, “I don’t know why I did that, blame it on the alcohol.”

No one says anything, and Eli is still stewing in his fury, so I laugh awkwardly and excuse myself, “I should probably sleep it off.” I clear my throat, trying to get the lump to go away becauseEli still won’t say anything or even look at me. “Thanks for the breakfast,” I say lamely, grabbing a few slices of bacon off the plate.

In a daze, Mrs. Kalias looks at me and says, “You’re welcome,hani.” I don’t say anything else as I bolt up the stairs, shove the bacon in my mouth, grab a pillow, and lock myself in the bathroom.

How could I be so stupid?

Did they believe it was just a drunken kiss on my part, or did I just out him in front of his family?

I feel sick to my stomach and not just from my actions. At least the toilet is right next to me so I can puke my guts out.

Hopefully my humiliation comes out too.

Eli

I countto 100 and I still don’t have the courage to open my eyes. I know Ash is somewhere upstairs, probably passing out in our bed.

Fucking hell. Why would he do that?

My hands hurt from fisting them so tight, so I slowly let out a breath and stretch out my fingers, reaching out for a fork and a sip of orange juice.Stay calm.Maybe they’ll ignore it and think it was a blip.

When I look up, my parents are staring at me, waiting for an explanation, and oh fuck—I think I’m gonna be sick. I rush to the sink and throw up just in time. Ed starts laughing and my mom comes up to soothe me.

Fuck, I can’t do this.

“Eli, sweetheart, are you okay?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” I mumble and make my way upstairs. When I open the door to the bedroom, I am facedwith silence. Ash is not there, and the bed is untouched. The sweatshirt I gave up folding earlier is still there and I crawl over it, clutching it to me before promptly passing out.

Ash

I wakeup to pounding and a muffled voice at the door. Picking myself off the bathroom floor, I move to it but hesitate with my hand on the handle.

“How mad are you?” I ask through the door.

“Not mad,” the muffled voice says. This surprises me and I hurry to get the door open.

“I’m fucking furious, Ash. What were you thinking?” Eli’s face stops me dead in my tracks.

He’s hurt—really hurt byme. My shoulders slump and I reach out to hug him, touch him, something, but he sidesteps me.

“I’m sorry,” I say, voice cracking. I want to throw myself at his feet and beg him to forgive me, but I know that won’t help now. He just needs to process it, that’s all.

“You’re sorry? What was the one thing I asked of you? The one thing I told you I wasn’t ready for?”

---