Elsie Jackson

What a strange two weeks.

I rolled halfway over in my bed; curling up slow and neatly as to not wake the sleeping bear next to me. I smiled to myself thinking how things had panned out over the last few weeks and how differently I was starting to view my life. The bear groaned and I held my breath until he settled. Nick Black was the last person I had in mind when it came to men. Was he attractive? Duh. But I wasn’t used to getting attention from men that were out of my league.

His body rose and fell with his deep inhales, and his jet-black hair was crazily spiked all over from his restless sleep. I tried to keep my worry to a minimum. Nothing shouts crazy girlfriend like being obsessively worried over the little things not that far into a budding relationship. Or it was not a relationship. It wasn’t like we had talked over that subject at all in our spare time. I really did not think of myself as a perverted type of person, but when it came to the attention Nick had thrown my way, it was hard to say no.

I had to force myself not to giggle as I got up, slid into his t-shirt, and journeyed on my regular routine of finding caffeine in the form of a small black bean. He hadn’t moved again and luckily Eddyson was not home for the next couple of days. She preferred to stay with her girlfriend off campus most nights. I leaned over the counter, inhaling the aroma stirring from my mug and looked down at my phone. Strangely, there wasn’t a usual morning text from Jay.

Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t heard from her in the past couple of days. I turned and leaned against the counter, holding on tightly to my mug as I messaged her.

Hey. Haven’t heard from you. Still alive?

Don’t be dumb.

Grouch.

Sorry.

You okay?

Yeah.

Movies and snacks later?

Sure. Come whenever.

Bet.

Nick made his grand entrance, the morning sun glinting off his shoulders.

“Good morning.” I smiled with my cup in tow.

He hated mornings, but I did not mind. Coming over to me, he wrapped his arms over my shoulders and leaned down to kiss the nape of my neck. “Morning, beautiful.”

“There’s coffee in the pot, creamer in the fridge.”

“I drink it black.”

“How ironic.” I giggled with my try-hard sarcasm.

He shook his head as he poured himself a cup and quickly took a drink. “Any plans for today?”

“Yeah, actually.” I answered between small sips. “I made plans to hang out with Jay later. Movie day.”

“Did she say anything about Ryker, by chance?”

“No.” Confusion. “Why?”

“He just left me a weird message. We were supposed to work on our cars today, and he cancelled. Didn’t really give a reason, so I figured Jay might know.”

“Oh, well, no. I’m sorry. Want to come hang out with us instead?” I tried to not seem hopeful.

“Oh, no, baby. It’s fine. Go and enjoy your day with Jay and I’ll just see you when you get home or something.” He smiled and kissed my forehead. “I can always rope Giovanni into helping me anyways.”

“Oh. Okay.” I smiled, trying to hide the slight disappointment I felt.

Not much later, once I had wrapped myself in the comfiest clothes that I could find, albite my own, Nick offered to walk me across campus since he had to pick up Giovanni anyway. If anything, Nick was a complete gentleman. In the short span of time that I had come to know him, he had treated me with nothing but the upmost respect. Not so much in the sack, but I wouldn’t say otherwise.

I hid the smile that curved my lips in the direction of my thoughts, knowing that my face would be an embarrassing shade of red as he pulled me along next to him, little flurries of snow beginning to swirl around us.

“It’s not even Halloween yet.” I groaned as I looked towards the sky.

“I love the snow.” He murmured, watching the area around us more than the little puffs of white sprinkling our coats. Distracted.

“I love the snow when its Christmas. Not a minute sooner.” My lips pursed.

When we reached Jay’s door, Nick gave me a quick peck on my forehead before he took off to retrieve Gio and I turned and knocked. I stood patiently and could hear movement on the other side of the door. The tones were hushed, and I could hear Jaylyn murmuring something about cleaning up their mess. I rolled my eyes.

“I don’t care if your house is dirty! Let me in, dork!” I huffed.

The door swung with an audible swoosh and Ryker sounded out of breath as he greeted me. “Hey, Els.”

“What were you two doing in here?” I smiled as I undid my scarf and hung it on the hook followed by my jacket. “Where’s Jay?”

“Stop fussing.” She grumbled as she came out of her room.

She looked like she hadn’t slept very well in the past couple of days, the dark rings that were normally under her eyes were more defined than usual.

“Okay, cranky.” I stuck out my tongue.

She rolled her eyes but opened her arms for a hug. The embrace was tight, but short when she winced, and I pulled back.

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“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She half-smiled. “What do you want to watch today?”

“Horror movies. Duh.” I started to pull snacks out of my bag.

“Should have guessed.” She shook her head. “Oh, and Ryker is going to hang out with us today, if that’s cool with you?”

“Yeah. Sure.”

I had to look away to hide the questioning look on my face. Something was going on that they were not talking about. Their gazes kept shifting to each other, not to mention Ryker cancelling on Nick at the last second. There was something I wasn’t being included in on. Jaylyn hadn’t been sleeping, and she looked like she was in a lot of pain. Her movements were slow and calculated, trying to relieve the pressure in some unknown place.

“Els?”

“What?” My head shot up.

“Pizza or Chinese food?”

“Chinese, of course.”

She agreed and started her odd shuffle to the kitchen.

“Wait, where do you think you’re going?” Ryker stopped in front of her to block her path.

“To get my phone to order food?” She sounded annoyed.

“I don’t think so.” He crossed his arms. “I got it. Go sit down and relax.”

I must have had a strange look on my face when Jaylyn gave up the small tiff and turned to go towards the couch, sitting down slowly to make sure her back stayed straight. I could not have been for sure, but I thought I had seen the glimpse of white gauze on the back of her neck as her hair swayed with the slight motion. She ignored my glare and played the movie, blissfully unaware of the daggers I was throwing her way for not telling me what the hell was going on.

Three movies and food later, Jay had barely managed to make if further than the couch. Ryker was practically waiting on her hand and foot. The curiosity was eating away at me and I could not hold it back anymore.

“Okay. Are either of you going to tell me what’s going on or not?” I darted between the two of them. “You’re both acting so weird.”

“Nothing, Els. It’s no big deal.” Jay looked guilty, and I knew I hit my mark.

“Stop trying to lie to me.” I rolled my eyes. “You’re moving around like a stiff board because of that bandage on your neck, so I know something happened. I also know that Ryker cancelled his plans with Nick today. So, you might as well spill the beans.”

“How do you know that?” She accused me with her eyes.

“Not the point.” My face lit up like a Christmas tree. “So, spill.”

She sighed and looked over the top of the couch at Ryker. He cleared his throat and shifted his weight from one foot to the other.

“We met up at the races last night. I wasn’t expecting to see her there. The cops got called. Everyone scattered, and Jay and I got lost on the other side of town without phones and hardly any money. We stopped to eat and get directions. When we were leaving the diner, we got caught up with some gang members blocking the street.”

Jay coughed to intercede. “I’m fine, Elsie. Really.”

I knew the blood must have drained from my face. It was the sudden dread all over again. Violence did not sit well with me even on my worst days. I tried to stay away from most confrontations, even if they were just verbal. My childhood wasn’t exactly the greatest and my parents had a certain way of raising my siblings and me. It wasn’t the way we wanted, and most of my childhood was making up excuses for my mother and father’s abuse. It was what it was.

“Are you sure?”

“Of course.” She nudged me with her foot under the blanket. “I’m only tired from all the running we had to do. I didn’t realize I was so out of shape.”

She had the most peculiar way of turning high anxiety situations and making them seem like they were nothing to get so worked up over.

“But you’re all right, right?” Total worry.

“I’m fine.” She insisted. “I have it bandaged mainly to keep my hair out of it. Small flesh wound. No big deal. Ryker just insists on babying me to death.” She rolled her eyes again.

“If you say so.” I tried to let it go and go back to watching the movie.

Ryker stayed in the kitchen, texting on his phone and the multiple dings kept me from really being able to pay attention and absorb the plot. I kept glancing at Jaylyn from the corner of my eyes. She seemed exhausted and curled up tighter on the couch with her blanket. If anything, she needed a good night's sleep and some anti-inflammatory for the pain.

In a short enough amount of time, I was surprised to see Nick walk through the door. It made sense the way Ryker had been furiously texting before. I hope I hadn’t caused trouble between the two of them.

“What’s going on, guys?” He asked casually holding two large brown bags. “I heard someone ordered Chinese, so I guess that makes me the delivery boy.” He winked and plopped down next to me on the couch, setting the bags on the coffee table. “Hey, baby.” He kissed the side of my head.

Jaylyn looked out of her element and crunched up tighter against herself as Nick made himself at home. Ryker joined in by sitting right in front of Jaylyn on the floor and opened the bags of food, doling out everyone’s personal order and leaving the communal food on the table for everyone to grab at their leisure. Jay clicked the movie back into action, of for at least an hour all that could be heard was slight chewing and the cheesy screams coming from the television.

Nick looked completely comfortable leaned up, cradling my legs. Jaylyn stayed in her little ball while she munched on her food and absentmindedly tangled and untangled her fingers from the hair at the nape of Ryker’s neck. He didn’t seem to mind and continued to eat and watch the screen. They were like an old married couple. Even if they didn’t see it and only I could. It made me happy. But them running constantly in and out of trouble didn’t.

When the movie credits started to roll, Nick smiled and kissed one of my kneecaps.

“Didn’t you want to talk about Halloween with Jaylyn?” He reminded me.

“Oh yeah!” I damn near dropped my food. “I totally forgot! I hope you don’t mind......but I already got our Halloween costumes for Tony’s competition at the bar!”

She looked horrified. “Els...You already put me in a dress. Do you honestly intend to torture me for the rest of my life?”

“Absolutely.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose. “So, what are we going dressed as?”

“KISS groupies!” The excitement I had contained finally burst free, but she sat across from me completely unamused.

Nick tightened his grip on my legs forcing my nerves to calm. Jaylyn was in a mood, meeting my usual enthusiasm with more resistance than usual.

“Tony hosts a Halloween costume contest every year, and I know that we could have a chance at winning, even if it’s just for fun.”

“I’m sorry, Els.” She sighed. “Of course, I’ll do it with you. I’m just really tired.”

“It’s okay. I know.” I patted her knee.

“Robbie is also hosting a party at the frat house that night too.” Ryker chipped in. “It’s a group contest, though. Six or more people have to have a matching theme to get in.”

“Rose texted me the information and I already have it all planned out!” I smiled.

“Of course, you do.” Jaylyn grimaced.

“Cops and criminals!”

“I would make a sexy man in uniform.” Ryker laughed at my suggestion.

“You, Nick, and Gio would be the criminals.” I giggled. “Us girls would be the cops.”

“Even better. Orange might not be my color though. Definitely not stripes.” He jokingly pursed his lips looking down at his shirt. “What do you think?” He tilted his head back to look at Jay.

“I think it’s too early to laugh about how Elsie is going to dress us up for the evening. But it will be a sight for sore eyes. I’m in.” She smiled softly, her eyes glimmering with restrained humor as she looked down at Ryker’s face.

Nick leaned in a nibbled at the lobe of my ear. “You ready to go?”

I felt my face warm. “Mhm.”

Jaylyn and Ryker were off in their own little world, laughing at each other quietly. It was refreshing to see Jaylyn so comfortable even if she was in a little bit of pain. After the last couple of weeks, she deserved to just breathe for a little while. Ryker was that breath of fresh air she had desperately needed.

We waved our goodbyes for the night and Nick curled me under his arm, shielding my face from the wind once we got outside.

“You okay?” His breath came out in puffs.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I smiled when we stopped outside of my door. “I’m just not used to Jay being so grumpy.” I shrugged.

“She’ll be all right.” He tried to soothe my ruffled feathers.

“I know.” I looked down. “I’m just excited for Halloween. I love dressing up and I really can’t wait.”

“I know. It’ll be amazing, baby.” He kissed the top of my head. “Do you want me to stay over tonight?”

“Is that really a question?” I giggled lightly tugging on his shirt to pull him inside the door with me as I stepped back.