Meant To Be (The Callahans #4) - Monica Murphy Page 0,3

game and making him laugh despite the loss. Kissing him in the backyard, anticipation racing through my veins at the mere thought of his expression when he first opened my robe.

But it all turned to total shit with Jake showing up. Eli didn’t get to see me. And now…

He won’t ever get to touch me again.

My phone buzzes again, and I check it. Another text from Ellie.

Are you going to answer me???

Dang it, I forgot the read notification still shows up in iMessage. Nibbling on my lower lip, I contemplate what I should tell her.

I decide to ask what she’s talking about first.

What are you referring to?

Ellie: Rumors are circulating that you’re with Eli Bennett.

Me: Define with.

Ellie: That you two are together. Is it true?

I wait for a moment, blinking back the tears that threaten to fall. I hate being so emotional. Sadness is such a useless feeling sometimes. All I want to do is wallow in it, and that can’t be good.

Me: It was true.

There is no hesitation in her response.

Ellie: What the hell???? And you never told me? Seriously????

Me: I didn’t know how to tell you. I wasn’t telling anyone.

I don’t bother mentioning Mom knew.

Ellie: OMG we need to get together right now. Want to meet for coffee?

Relief smacks me hard in the chest. I’m so grateful she’s not mad, I almost burst into tears. I would give anything to be able to meet Ellie for coffee but…

Me: I can’t. I’m grounded.

Ellie: ?????

She can’t believe it because it never happens.

I decide to FaceTime her and get some of this conversation over with. She, of course, answers immediately.

“I think you’re going to need to start from the beginning,” she tells me.

An exhausted sigh escapes me and I launch into the briefest description ever of my relationship with Eli, leading up to what happened last night at my house. By the time I’m finished, Ellie is watching me with bug eyes and her mouth hanging open. She snaps it shut when she realizes I’m waiting for her to say something.

“Um. Wow.”

“I know.”

She makes a little face. “You actually had sex with him? How—how was it?”

I burst out laughing. Out of all the details I shared with her—and yes, I was pretty brief, but I still told her everything, that’s the only thing she wants to know.

“It was.” I hesitate. There are no words to describe what those moments were like between me and Eli. “It was really good.”

“And then he just dumps you right there in the middle of your road,” she says.

“Yes,” I say with a wince. “I still can’t believe it happened.”

“I can’t believe it either.” Now she’s the one pausing. “I can’t believe you kept this from me either.”

“I didn’t know how to tell you. I was afraid if I said anything to anyone, then you’d all try to convince me to end it,” I confess.

“I would’ve never done that!” She rests her hand against her chest. I can tell she’s thinking about it before she says, “Well, maybe I would’ve.”

“Exactly. No one likes Eli. He’s such a jerk on social media, everyone at our school hates him,” I say.

“He totally brought that on himself you know,” Ellie says.

“Oh I definitely know. He does too. I think he likes being the local shit-stirrer,” I say. “But there’s so much more to him than that. He’s sweet and protective. He can say the worst things sometimes, but he can also say the absolute best things.”

We’re both quiet for a while. My mind goes back to last night and Eli’s accusations. How much they hurt me, especially when they’re not true. He only said those things because he was hurting too. He lashes out. He acts first and thinks later.

What he said…broke my heart. I’m still hurting.

I want to see him. Talk to him. But he’s cut me off.

Completely.

“I’m sorry it ended so badly,” Ellie finally says.

“So am I.” But I’m not giving up yet. No way. I can’t. It’s been less than twenty-four hours. He has to still feel something for me. I need to convince him we belong together.

Because we do.

“I wish we could get together for coffee,” Ellie says. “And I have to be at work by eleven. But let’s try and talk later this afternoon?”

“For sure. Call me when you’re done with work,” I say.

Once our FaceTime call is over, I open up Snapchat and go to mine and Eli’s conversation thread. He’s my best friend on Snap. We have the red heart next to