Page 71 of Chasing Elliott
Making my way up the stairs, I tried to push all the doubt and fears out of my mind and just focus on the here and now, on this moment in front of me. As I reached the fourth floor and turned the corner, my eyebrows furrowed as I saw a couple boxes sitting outside the door.
Walking around them, I knocked on the door as I stared at the boxes in confusion. Hearing footsteps approaching, I took a deep breath before biting my lip in anticipation. As thedoor opened, I saw Benjamin standing there with a look of exhaustion clear as day on his face.
"Kara isn't here," he said, clearly annoyed with whatever was going on. "I am very sorry though for everything that happened. I really hope you two can patch this up."
"It's okay, Benji. It's not your fault," I reassured him as he walked back into the apartment. Following behind him, I spotted multiple more boxes scattered around the place. "I'm here for Cooper, actually."
Benjamin released a distressed sigh as he ran a hand through his hair before turning back around to face me. "I'm sorry, El, but he's not here either. He's moving out of the baseball houseand refuses to tell me where he's moving to, and he won't show up here if Andrea or I arearound."
I closed my eyes and sighed in defeat before glancing around at the boxes. Looking back up at Benjamin, a sad smile came to my face as I closed the distance between us and wrapped my arms around his waist before burying my head in his chest. His arms instantly wrapped aroundme as he rested his head on top of mine.
"It will get better," I mumbled softly as I tried to fight back tears.
"I know it will," Benjamin replied sadly as he placed a hand on the back of my head. "Just not yet."
"So, you're just leaving?" Marcus asked as he shoved a handful of chips into his mouth, not taking his eyes off the television. I nodded as I slung my backpack over my shoulder and headed toward the front door. "Just like that?"
"Just like that," I responded blandly after slipping on my shoes. "Thanks for letting mecrash here the last few days."
"Mi casa es su casa. Although I am rather surprised you reached out and asked if you could stay in the first place. We aren't exactly friends or anything, especially after what happened between me and your girl."
Clenching my jaw at the memory, I shook my head softly to myself. "Yeah, well, that's how desperate I was for a place to stay," I snapped as I pulled open the door. "Have a nice life, Marcus."
Stepping into the hallway, I slammed the door shut behind me and quickly made my way down the stairs. Heading to my car, I threw my bag in the back seat and closed the door. Sitting in the driver's seat, I closed my eyes tightly before I started pounding the steering wheel. Elliott's face kept flashing through my mind and there was nothing I could do to stop the feelings that rushed through me.
Fighting back the tears, I took a deep breath before starting up the car when I suddenly heard my phone go off. Pulling it out of my pocket, I saw a few texts from Benjamin.
Benjamin: Elliott stopped by looking for you.
Benjamin: She wanted to talk and patch things up, but she knows you're leaving.Benjamin: I'll be gone for a few hours this afternoon so you can get the rest of your stuff.
Rereading the first two texts, I cursed myself under my breath as I leaned my head back against the headrest. Mad at myself more than anything, I knew, or at least told myself, thequicker I moved and left this place, the quicker I would get over her.
But I knew I was lying to myself.
Pulling out of the parking lot, I made my way towards Benjamin's apartment and watched the campus and town pass me by. This was going to be the last time I was seeing any of it and itdidn't seem real.
Reaching the apartment, I quickly climbed out and closed the door before making my way into the building. As I approached the few remaining steps, I stopped for a brief second when I spotted a brunette standing near the door.
"Andrea?" I questioned in shock as she turned around. Locking eyes with the pale green ones that were identical to her brothers, I closed the distance between us and pulled her into me.
"Hey, Coop," she said softly as she hugged me back before pulling away and roughly hitting my chest. "We need to talk."
Sighing, she pulled out her spare key and opened the door. Only a handful of my boxes remained around the apartment, stacked neatly near the kitchen. Following Andrea into the living room, she fell down on the couch as she crossed her left leg over her right and folded her arms over her chest.
"So let me make sure I got this right," Andrea said as she stared at me intently. "You and Elliott had a fight about Johnathan, and then you told her that you overheard what she told Benji,and you were pissed that she didn't tell you herself. Then you told her it wasn't your time, so she kicked you out. Then to put the icing on the cake, she finds you with Laura and you're both practically naked and she runs out and you don't try to contact her at all after to try and fix things?"
Staring at her with narrowed eyes, I nodded slowly before walking around and sitting down in the chair. "Yeah, that's the just. Look Drea, I don't want to corner her at all, and I think it'd just be best if I left and tried to start fresh. I've ruined everything around here, all my relationships."
"Elliott came looking for you," Andrea scoffed as she looked at me, clearly annoyed. "She wanted to talk and see if you two could fix things, and you're not even going to reach out and give her the chance? Don’t you want to be with her? I mean for fucks sake, you’ve donenothing these past ten months but try to get her to fall in love with you."
Running a hand through my hair roughly, I rested my head back against the cushion and groaned. I wanted to be with Elliott more than anything, but I didn't deserve her, and I wasn't sure I could risk hurting her again.
"She's better off without me," I mumbled as I avoided eye contact.
"Well, that's that," she replied as she uncrossed her legs and slapped her knees. "At least someone will be patching up things before she leaves."
It took me a second to process what she was saying but when it finally dawned on me, Iquickly turned in my seat and whipped my head in her direction.
