Page 67 of Chasing Elliott
"Sorry I couldn't make it to the phone, but chances are I didn't want to. Leave a messageafter the tone or else I won't call back,"Elliott's voicemail greeted me for the hundredth time. Groaning in frustration, I threw my phone on the bed before collapsing down onto it.
"Just go to their place and talk to her for fucks sake," Benjamin complained from thedoorway as he fixed the cuff on his shirt. "Don't give her a chance to ignore you."
"I don't want to push her into talking to me," I reminded him as I rolled off the bed and walked toward the closet.
Benjamin scoffed as he shook his head. "And calling her three hundred times isn't trying to push her to talk to you?"
Turning to glare at him, I narrowed my eyes before ripping off my tee shirt and throwing on a denim three quarter length button up. Stepping out of my sweats, I put on my black jeans before throwing on my white converse and heading toward the door only to find Benjamin still standing there.
"What?" I asked harshly as I brushed past him and made my way towards the front door.
"We're going together, aren't we?" He asked as he followed closely behind. "I mean, Ihave to pick up Kay, but it'd be smarter if we carpooled."
Not wanting to argue, I nodded before following Benjamin out of the apartment and down to the car. Sliding in the passenger seat, we drove to the girl's house in silence with only the quiet hum of the radio in the background.
"You want to come in?" Benjamin asked as he put the car in park outside of theirbuilding.
"I don't think that's a good idea," I told him softly as I stared up at the building, at the window that I knew was Elliott's bedroom.
Benjamin released a soft sigh before he slipped out of the car and made his way into the townhome. Cursing under my breath, I brought my fist down on the dash board before putting
my fist in my mouth. Taking as deep of a breath as I could, I saw Kara and Benjamin walking out of the place in my peripheral. Climbing out of the car, I held the door open for her beforemoving to sit in the back seat.
Pulling up to the baseball house, I quickly climbed out of the car and made a beeline for the door, not bothering to wait for them. I wasted no time in pushing through the crowd and finding myself in the kitchen as I searched for a beer.
A couple hours went by and everything was blurry. My head started to pound under theweight of all the alcohol, but I didn't care as I danced with a bunch of people on the makeshift dance floor that we had made in the living room and dining room.
I suddenly felt a small pair of arms wrap around my bicep and I turned to see a beautiful blonde standing there, but that was all I could make out since my eyes couldn't focus to save my life.
"Can we talk for a minute?" She asked as she tried to pull me out of the crowd. Sighing, Ireluctantly stumbled after her as she led me out back.
Stepping into the cool night air, I suddenly recognized Benjamin's tall frame standing in front of me with his arms folded in front of his chest. "What are you doing, Coop?"
"I'm trying to have a good time," I slurred as I unknowingly bumped into someonewalking past.
"You need to slow down," Benjamin scolded as he put a hand on my arm, but I quickly swatted it away.
"No, what I need is to get the love of my life back, but she doesn't want a damn thing to do with me. I need to forget about her, that's what I need to do."
Turning around, I somehow managed to find my way back upstairs. Thinking about Elliott seemed to sober me up a bit as I wandered up the stairs in search of the bathroom becauseI felt the bile rising up in my throat. Trying to open the door, I cursed as I found it locked. Just as I turned to go downstairs and see if that one was unoccupied, I ran into someone and felt my shirt become wet.
"Oh shit," a familiar high-pitched voice mumbled. "I'm sorry, Cooper. Let me help you clean this up."
Finally recognizing it was Laura, I yanked my arm out of hers and shook my head. "No, I'm fine. I can take care of myself."
"I really think we should talk, Coop," she said sadly as she stayed standing where shewas. "I feel like this is all my fault. Can we please go sit and talk?"
Groaning, I followed her to the end of the hall to my bedroom. Suddenly feeling the bile rise in my throat again, I couldn't contain it as I threw up near the dresser. I heard Laura screech and looked up to see her standing directly in front of me with some of my vomit on her dress.
"Fuck, I'm sorry," I slurred slightly as I shook my head at myself in disbelief.
"It's fine," Laura tried to say through a smile as she walked past me. "I'll just wash it out."
I wasn't sure how long I stood there until I felt her hands pulling at my shirt. Putting a hand on her wrist to stop her, she gave me an annoyed look.
"You have liquor and vomit on your shirt and pants, Coop. I'm just trying to clean it out for you." Glancing down at myself, I now saw she was right and allowed her to take my shirt and pants off.
Sitting down on the bed, I suddenly realized she was in only her undergarments as shecame walking back into the bedroom. The minute she sat down I stood up, not wanting to be near her. I heard her sigh, but I ignored it as I moved to lean against the wall.
