She looked at him, her leg bouncing up and down nervously. “I don’t understand what I did to get you so upset.”
He wouldn’t look at her. “I guess you’re happy with how everything played out.
You don’t have to try and smooth it over now, Caelyn.”
She took in his words and then a flood of anger jolted her to her feet. “Happy with how things played out? Do you think I chose any of this? I’m just trying to survive.”
His eyes met hers briefly, then went back to the TV. “That’s the thing. You don’t have to try and survive, because if things go bad here, you’ll always be able to call Mom and Dad to help you out of it.”
“I’m sorry I don’t have enough street cred for your liking, Elijah. And I’m really sorry that ever since we got here, you’ve been acting like a total baby. But please—
please don’t try and convince me that these are all my problems. Because I know that you’ve got plenty of your own.”
His eyes hardened and his jaw set in the way she’d become accustomed to seeing when he was angry. “You just keep telling yourself that, Caelyn.”
“No, Elijah.” She was going to continue, but she knew it was useless. He wasn’t listening anymore. He was lost in his own world, and she didn’t really understand how it had happened—but everything between them seemed to have come apart in an instant.
***
That night, Elijah slept on the floor.
She’d told him not to be silly, that she didn’t mind sharing the bed—but he’d refused, and then she’d given up.
In the end, Caelyn was too tired to keep fighting, especially when she had no idea what they were even fighting about.
Before bed, she’d gotten another text from Alicia.
I’m still worried about u.
Sighing, she texted back hastily: Don’t worry I got a job waitressing on the island. It’s all good.
But was it all good? She didn’t know anymore.
She’d fallen asleep sometime later out of sheer exhaustion, sleeping through until the next morning, when she was woken up by Elijah talking on the phone.
He was standing just outside the motel room, but she could still hear him through the paper-thin walls.
“I’m coming back, that’s all you need to know,” he was saying, as Caelyn blearily opened her eyes.
She saw that she had to get ready for work anyway, so she sat up and tried to piece her thoughts together.
Elijah’s pillow and blanket were lying in a messy pile on the floor. She felt sadness well up inside her at the sight of it. She’d wanted him next to her last night. She wanted to be talking and cracking jokes with him right now, instead of this.
Hearing him say he was ‘coming back’ sent a chill down her spine. Did he mean back to Boston, back to those bad friends he’d been alluding to?
“Give me a couple of days,” Elijah said. “Don’t worry about it. Just tell them what I told you. No, this last part.” He laughed, but it wasn’t the same laugh she was used to—it was bitter. “Yeah. I just got caught up in some stupid shit, brother. I’ll hit you up later when I’m on the road.”
A moment later, the doorknob turned and he re-entered the room, slowing down when he saw she was awake.
“Hey,” she said, softly.
“Hey.” He looked at her. “You sleep well?”
“I guess. You?”
He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter. I’ll be okay.”
What did that even mean? What did any of it mean? She was so frustrated, she wanted to scream at him. But somehow, she couldn’t find the words.
She was scared that he was leaving Florida and going back to Boston. She was scared that she’d never see him smile again, hear him laugh, feel his fingers stroking her hair.
But she was also scared to tell him any of those things, because ever since last night he’d been unreachable. He seemed angry and distant, like he was finished with her for some reason.
“I guess I’m going to shower and get ready for my first day at the restaurant,” she said, smiling. “What about you?”
He bent down and picked up the pillow and blanket, tossed them on the bed.
“Guess I’m going to hit the road.”
Her stomach dropped. “Where to?”
“Don’t know just yet.”
“Boston?”
He glanced at her. “Maybe.”
“I thought you said you needed to get away from…bad influences.”
“Maybe I did. Maybe I’m going back anyway.” His eyes met her as if challenging her to say something to sway him.
She wanted to tell him that he should stay, that she wanted to see him again. But she got afraid once more. The truth was, he didn’t want to stay and she couldn’t bear to hear him say it to her face.
So she just smiled again. “Will I see you when I get out of the shower or are you just going to—“
“Nah, I should get an early start,” he said, cutting her off. “You take care, though.”
She felt tears spring to her eyes and turned away, moving toward the bathroom.
“Have a nice trip, Elijah,” she muttered, as she closed the bathroom door and heard him readying his things.