Page 77 of Apple of My Eye
‘Look at you grinning!’ Isaac teases.
Ignoring him, I pull out my phone to text Eloise:
Do I even want to know what you said to Julian and Isaac to make them like you so much?
Then I slide it back into my pocket.
We sit on the porch again after dinner, watching the fireflies blip in and out. I check my phone. Still no text from Eloise. Earlier this week we had talked about potentially getting together, how fun it would be to hang out with Isaac, Julian, and Evan. I gaze at the Anderson house and watch as the front porch light clicks on.
‘Want to walk to the Andersons’?’ I ask them. ‘You can meet Evan, one of Eloise’s best friends. He’s great.’
‘Works for me.’ Julian gets up from his seat.
‘The stars are so bright out here,’ Isaac says as we’re walking down the hill, his head craned back to look at the sky.
‘Watch out, it’s bumpy,’ I call out, just as Issac fumbles, careening forward and spilling some beer on his shirt before righting himself.
We’re laughing when we arrive at the porch to find Eloise and Evan talking in hushed tones.
‘Hi,’ I call out. ‘First U-Pick day is done. How are we feeling?’ My smile falls as soon as I see Eloise’s face.
‘What are you doing here?’ she asks. She seems exhausted. I’m overwhelmed by the impulse to gather her in my arms.
Evan looks at Eloise questioningly.
‘I just thought we’d say hi .?.?.’
Eloise glances at Evan with a mixture of panic and anger.
‘I’m Evan,’ Evan introduces himself to Isaac and Julian, smoothing out some of the awkwardness while I try desperately to meet Eloise’s eyes, and she keeps her gaze firmly fixed on the ground.
‘Really nice to meet you guys,’ he continues, the picture of charm. ‘But we’re pretty tired. I think we might head in.’
‘OK.’ I feign indifference, even though my heart plummets. I look at Eloise one more time but she’s still looking at her feet.
‘Goodnight,’ she says quietly. Evan shepherds her inside.
‘What was that about?’ Julian asks as soon as we’re out of earshot.
‘I have no idea,’ I say, firing off a text to Eloise asking if she’s OK.
‘Did she seem normal today?’ I ask them.
‘Yeah.’ Isaac shrugs. ‘I think.’
I glance at Julian, the more introspective of the two.
‘She was kind of weird about the fantasy football thing,’ Julian offers, ‘but girls are always weird about that.’
Shit.I stop walking, going completely still. My hands feel clammy. ‘You told her about the fantasy football bet?’ I gulp.
‘Well .?.?. yeah? Was it a secret?’
‘I mean .?.?. I guess not, but .?.?.’Fuck.Fuck. Fuck.
‘What?’ Isaac asks. He hates being out of the loop.
‘It’s just .?.?.’ I sigh. ‘Eloise wanted to buy the Parkers’ farm. We didn’t exactly see eye to eye at the beginning because if I turn it around, she can’t buy it anymore.’
