Date Shark (31 page)

“I started checking her room, the bathroom, the kitchen. I paid closer attention to everything she did. I came home unexpectedly, anything to figure out what was really going on.”

“And did you?” she asked quietly.

Eli’s chest began to rise and fall more quickly. Red crept into his face. His hands balled up so tight his knuckles turned a snowy white. “Yes, I did.”

He looked ready to explode. Leila had felt so betrayed, so hurt that Eli would do something so unforgivable as abandoning his unwell mother only a few hours earlier. Now, she realized her mistake. Eli was the one who had been hurt. Whatever his mother had done, it had broken her son’s heart. Tears welled in Leila’s eyes and she left the couch and approached Eli. She worried he would be angry at her for treating him so badly, but as soon as she was within reach, he swallowed her up entirely.

For a long time they held each other without speaking. Leila ached for her friend and whatever pain had been inflicted upon him. She wasn’t sure if the moisture on her cheeks belonged to her or Eli, but she didn’t pull away to find out.

After some time, Eli spoke again. “I came home one day and found her lying on the kitchen floor. I thought she was dead, but once I got my panic under control I found a pulse and called for an ambulance. When I stood up to answer the door I realized my pant leg was wet. It wasn’t until that moment that I noticed the smell of cleaners. I saw the bottle of floor cleaner lying on its side next to her. I smelled her breath and realized she had been drinking it.”

Shocked, Leila pulled away from him. “She tried to kill herself?”

Eli shook his head slowly. “No, that’s what she had been doing all along. There was no mystery illness. She was poisoning herself with whatever she could find, keeping herself sick enough that I would stay with her. She knew I would never leave her if she was ill. So she made sure she was always sick, and I stayed, just like she wanted.”

A weak, sickening feeling came over Leila. She felt her legs becoming unstable. Eli must have as well, because he guided her back to the couch and sat her down. He followed suit, putting an arm around her shoulders to steady her.

“Why would she do something like that?” Leila asked.

Eli sighed. “I don’t know if my dad dying caused something to snap with her, or if she was always like this, but she couldn’t handle the idea of being alone. She couldn’t even stand someone else competing for my attention. Not even Polly.”

“She killed Polly?” Leila squeaked.

His nod made her sick. “She admitted later on that she poisoned Polly, and my parrot, because I spent too much time with them.”

“That’s horrible.”

“She was completely unstable by the time I found her that day. She nearly killed herself just to keep me from moving out.”

“But you still would have visited her and included her in your life,” Leila argued. “That’s why I was so upset thinking you had just abandoned her, because that’s not who I believed you were. And you’re not.”

Eli pulled her against him even more. “For her, it wasn’t enough for me to call or stop by on the weekends. She needed that constant attention, and in her mind, making herself sick was the only way to get it.”

“She took so much away from you,” Leila said. “I would be angry, too. I don’t understand how someone could ever do that to a person they loved. I’m so sorry I judged you for not visiting her, Eli. I had no right to question your decision. Can you ever forgive me?”

“Of course I can,” he said as he stroked her hair. “You were dropped into the middle of a situation with no explanation. I don’t blame you for not understanding. I’m just sorry I didn’t tell you all of this sooner.”

A heavy dose of guilt settled in Leila’s stomach. “It was none of my business. I shouldn’t have agreed to meet you mom without asking you first. It wasn’t my place.”

Eli relaxed against her. “It’s okay. I was more scared of how she might have treated you than anything else. I wanted to tell you about her, but it isn’t easy to talk about what she did. When I realized why you were so angry, I thought she might have done something to drive you away from me. She has a knack for scaring away my friends, especially girls.”

“She didn’t say anything like that,” Leila assured him. “When I thought you had left her alone, I was so hurt that you would be so unkind to her and treat her so poorly. It scared me to think that you could be that two-faced. And I got scared that I would end up like her, forgotten and thrown away.”

“Oh, Leila,” Eli said with such profound anguish it brought Leila’s face up to look at him. He pressed the palm of his hand against her cheek and held her. “Leila, I could never forget you.”

The day had been so filled with emotion already, but Leila was surprised when a new emotion blossomed in her heart. It started as a tightening in her chest, a warmth that threatened to consume everything. As Eli held her so close, touching her with more care than anyone had ever shown her before, the world around her seemed to disappear. The feeling was new and frightening, and she wanted to drink it in until she burst.

All night there had been something in the back of her mind telling her that she was overreacting, that her anger was more than it should have been at Eli. If he were only a friend. But he wasn’t just a friend, and she knew exactly what she was feeling in that moment. It was ridiculous to deny any longer that she was in love with Eli. That was why it hurt so much to think he could cast off someone he should have loved. She didn’t want to be like his mother. She wanted him to love her forever and never have any reason to doubt him.

Leila’s faith had been restored, but she had no idea what to do with this new revelation.

She felt numb and electrified at the same time, too unbalanced to resist when Eli laid her head back against his chest. All she wanted to do was linger in the delicious, yet confusing emotion. It was all she could focus on.

Eli didn’t seem to be having the same problem. “Being angry at her isn’t even what really keeps me from visiting her,” he said.

It was a struggle to get her mind to focus. She was slow to respond, but eventually she said, “Then what is it?”

“Part of me is scared that if I see her again, I’ll fall right back where I was before, her virtual slave with no life of my own.” His raw honesty doubled her respect for him. It was a rare thing to see Eli vulnerable. She felt honored that he would share his deepest fears with her, but she didn’t want him to be scared.

“Eli, that wouldn’t happen,” Leila said.

“How can you be sure? I spent twenty-two years of my life catering to her.”

Leila pressed her hand flat against his chest, just over his heart. “It wouldn’t happen because I won’t let it happen,” she said. “You may be her son, but you’re my …”

Leila faltered for a moment. She wanted very much to claim him as something more than her friend, but she didn’t know how to cross that boundary. She didn’t know if she should. In the end, she settled for stealing a line from his mother. “You’re
my
Eli now, too, not just hers. And I’m not giving you up any time soon.”

“Thank you,” Eli said as he buried his face in Leila’s hair and hugged her so tightly she thought she might break in two.

When Eli released her, she made no move to leave. Instead, she curled her legs up on the couch and settled against him. It wasn’t just that she didn’t want to be away from him, although that was certainly a factor. She also suspected Eli might not be ready to be alone after talking about something so painful. Her guess seemed to be gratified when Eli propped his feet on the coffee table and laid his cheek against her head.

It didn’t take long for Leila’s eyes to drift shut without her realizing. She had a fleeting thought that she should get up and go home at some point, but it was quickly lost amid her contentment and exhaustion. It was hours later before she woke to the sun pouring in through the big picture windows of Eli’s apartment. The disorienting feeling of not knowing where she was never came. Leila woke feeling perfectly at home.

“Good morning, beautiful,” Eli whispered as he cradled her against his chest.

She loved it when he called her that. “Good morning. I’m sorry for falling asleep on you.”

“It’s no problem,” he said. “Would you like some breakfast?”

“I would love some.” That seemed like the cue to quit lying all over him, so Leila forced herself to sit up and leave the wonderful warmth of Eli’s arms.

Eli stood as well, though he didn’t seem terribly rushed to get away from her. He smiled and smoothed down a portion of her unruly hair. His gesture made her blush. “Do you mind if I freshen up a bit? I’m sure I look like a wreck.”

“You look perfect,” Eli said, clearly lying, “but you can use my bathroom if you’d like. There are about a dozen extra toothbrushes under the sink if you want to use one.”

“Stocking up?” Leila teased.

The causal smile that brightened Eli’s face made Leila’s breath catch, though that had never happened before. “My neighbor is a dentist,” he said. “He must think we all need to brush our teeth better because he’s always giving everyone on the floor boxes of new toothbrushes.”

“Marketing,” Leila explained. “The toothbrushes probably have his office’s name and phone number on them.”

Eli laughed. “I think they do.”

A few minutes later, Leila emerged from Eli’s room feeling much better than she had the night before. It helped that when she stepped into the living room the aroma of omelets and Swiss cheese greeted her. She slid onto one of the barstools with a smile. Eli set a plate down in front of her and walked around to join her at the breakfast bar. The cozy, intimate area made her smile.

“Have I ever told you how much I love your apartment?”

“On several occasions,” Eli said with a laugh.

She took a bite of her omelet, feeling very content. “I could totally live here.”

Eli’s fork stopped before reaching his mouth. He looked over at her with an expression Leila couldn’t puzzle out. “You practically live here already,” he said before bringing the fork to his mouth.

A hint of uncertainty brushed against her mind. “Do you mind that I’m here so often?”

“I love having you here,” Eli said, smiling at her. “In fact, I think we should do this more often.”

For some reason, Leila didn’t ask whether he meant having breakfast together, or Leila staying overnight. Perhaps she was afraid the answer would have been breakfast.

When the plates were both resting in the sink, awaiting some soap and a wash cloth, Leila gathered her things. Before she could say goodbye, Eli surprised her by offering to walk her down to her car. Leila hoped he was having as hard of a time as she was wanting to be apart. She didn’t ask his reasoning. She just enjoyed the extra time with him.

They stepped out of the elevator, and Leila’s eyes were drawn to the doorman, Howard. It was his grin that had caught her attention. Usually, he stayed behind the counter. That morning he ventured out from behind his desk, not at all subtly. He shook a finger at Leila.

“I knew you two would work everything out, didn’t I?” he said.

Leila chuckled at his delight. “Yeah, you did.”

“Perfect. Just like I said.”

“Uh, sure,” Leila said, her cheeks pinking as she pushed Eli toward the door. They made it to Leila’s car before Eli spoke up.

“You want to explain that?” he asked.

She shrugged. “Not really.”

“I think Howard has the impression that something more than you falling asleep on my couch happened last night. Any idea why he would think that?” Eli was trying for serious, but the corner of his mouth kept creeping up and ruining it.

“Um, it’s probably because he thinks I’m your girlfriend. Bye!”

Leila flung her arms around him, kissed his cheek like he always did to her, and practically dove into her car. She didn’t take a breath until she was at least three blocks away. When she did, she started giggling like a twelve year old girl who had eaten way too much sugar. A few blocks later, panic began to set in.

She was in love with Eli. She was head-over-heels, together forever, struck by Cupid’s arrow in love with him. And she had no idea what to do about it.

Chapter 24

Sleeping Arrangements

Something changed after Eli told Leila about his mom, but he wasn’t totally sure what that was. In truth, the something that had changed had very little to do with his mom, and more to do with the way Leila looked at him. The perpetual air of being in Eli’s background had been replaced by a comfortable confidence when they were together. Unfortunately, that wasn’t nearly as often as he would have liked. Preparation for the fall fashion show had quickly taken over nearly every waking minute of Leila’s life, and some of the ones that should have been devoted to sleeping, as well.

It was a blessing and a nuisance. Her absence made the days long and dull, but it did give him a chance to think about the night they fell asleep on his couch. He couldn’t even begin to describe how wonderful it had felt waking up next to her. It occupied his mind frequently. Trying to gauge where to go in his relationship with Leila since that night was tricky. She hadn’t broken up with Luke, which was hard to deal with, but she seemed to be testing the waters with Eli. Before, Eli had often kissed her cheek when they parted, but now Leila did as well. If they watched a movie together at either of their apartments, she didn’t seclude herself on the opposite side of the couch. She called more often and stayed longer, though not overnight. Eli wanted to encourage her outright, but he knew a cautious approach would be best.

Eli unlocked Leila’s door and slipped in before any of her neighbors took notice of him. That was part of Leila’s testing, or at least he was pretty sure it was. Leila had given him a key to her apartment, as a backup. Naturally, he had followed her example, even if he was a bit stunned. As far as Eli knew, Luke didn’t have a key to her apartment. That had been all the encouragement Eli needed to follow through on the plan he had come up with the night of the awful double date.