Page 73 of Chasing Elliott
I spent the next half an hour following Mia around the house as she explored, reminiscing on the years I spent within these walls. From all the head butting me and my cousins did when Ifirst moved in to saving their asses at school. The parties we threw when the parents were away and getting ratted out by the neighbors. Helping Alex heal his heart from his first breakup after he came out and getting tutored by Nicholas because I wasn't a good student at the time.
A tear came to my eye as I came to a stop outside of my bedroom and a knot formed in my stomach as my hand hesitated on the handle, but suddenly the doorbell ringing was my saving grace.
"I got it," I called out as I trotted down the stairs with Mia hot on my heels. Walking toward the front door, I pulled my wallet out of my back pocket and started counting out cash. As I pulled open the front door my jaw practically dropped to the floor as I saw who stood there.
"Kara?"
"Hey, El," Kara said softly as she gave me a sad smile. "Can we talk?"
I nodded quickly as I stepped outside and closed the door behind me. Kara took a seat on the step and folded her arms over her knees. Putting my hands in the back pockets of my jeans, Iglanced up and down the street before taking a small breath and sitting down beside her.
"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked quietly, refusing to look at me.
"There's really no valid excuse, Kay," I told her as I fidgeted with my hands. "No reason should have kept me from not saying anything."
"Elliott, tell me," Kara repeated as she turned to look at me.
Taking a shaky breath, I lifted my head but still couldn't look at her. "My mother threatened to send me back to my father if I said anything, and then when I finally moved in here, I felt like too much time had gone by and I was just terrified of losing you."
Kara sat there silently for a minute before she reached over and put a hand on my knee. Ilooked up and saw her giving me a small smile which caused tears to spring to my eyes as Iwrapped my hand over hers.
"I forgive you," she told me firmly as she gave my hand a squeeze. "I wish it hadn't taken me so long to do so, but better late than never, right?"
"God, I've missed you," I breathed out as I suddenly threw my arms around her neck. Kara hugged me back with just as much urgency and the tears slipped down my cheeks.
Pulling away, I saw that Kara had been crying, too so I brought a hand up to brush her tears away at the same time she was doing that for me. We both chuckled and I shook my head as I looked down before looking out at the moving truck.
"I'm glad I caught you before you left," Kara said, her smile faltering. "I really wish you'd stay, though. I don't know what I'm going to do without my best friend."
"I figured since I'm starting another new phase of my life that I might as well get a new change of scenery," I lied as I looked down at our entwined hands.
Kara sighed softly as she took a hand out of mine and cupped my chin to look up at her. "Elliott, I know you're running away and you're too stubborn to admit you're wrong. I just want to make sure you're not going to regret what you're doing, is all."
"I know," I mumbled as I bit my lip. "And I won't. I love you more than anything and Idon't know how I'm going to handle not having you living across the hall from me, but I think this will be good for me."
Suddenly the pizza guy came pulling up in the driveway and climbed out of the car. Quickly pushing myself to my feet, I wiped at my eyes and reached into my front pocket to grab the money.
Giving him the cash and taking the pizza, I turned back to Kara with a smile. "Want to eat with us?"
"I wish you'd let us drop you two at the airport," my Aunt complained as she hugged me tightly, not wanting to let go. "I hate not seeing you off."
"If you came with, you wouldn't let us out of the car," Nicholas pointed out with a slight chuckle as he put a hand on my back. Pulling apart from my Aunt, I pressed a kiss on her cheek as she continued to hold onto my arm.
"They'll be fine, honey," my Uncle said as he put his hands on my Aunt's shoulders to pull her away from me. "They're responsible and can take care of themselves."
Looking up at my Uncle, I saw the unshed tears clouding his eyes. Giving him a sad smile, I quickly walked over and jumped up, wrapping my arms around his neck. My Unclehesitated for a minute before wrapping his arms around my waist and hugging me tightly.
He slowly set me down and cupped my face in his hands before pressing a kiss to my forehead. Nodding to myself, I turned around and walked over to Nicholas and bent down to pick up my carry on.
My Aunt grabbed the strap of my bag and gave me another hug as tears cascaded down her cheeks. Fighting back tears of my own, I pulled away and watched Nicholas walk out the front door without another word.
"I love you both," I said softly as I smiled.
"We love you, bug," my Aunt said as my Uncle came to her side and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Call us as soon as you land."
"I will," I reassured them before glancing around the house one last time. Turning around, I stepped outside and walked over to where Nicholas stood by his car, Mia already in theback seat. Kara was leaning against the passenger side door, a pained expression on her face.
Walking up to her, I put the bag down and threw my arms around her as the tears started to fall once more. We stood there for a minute holding onto one another like our lives depended on it before Nicholas cleared his throat.
