Because of Ellison (6 page)

I heard a small snicker behind me and I turned to glare at
the little pixie of girl that she was. Her blue eyes were too big for her small
head and her broad smile took up the rest of the room. Luckily, her nose was a
perfect button and the combination gave her a cute innocent look.

“Ah … you and Ellison had it out again, I presume. She’s
really not as bad as she seems, she’s just extremely overprotective of animals,
nature, friends, and family. As long as you don’t litter, or try to hurt
anything she cares about, she’s an awesome person.”

I laughed. “Well, does she have to be so irritatingly snarky
all of the time? I believe she’s called me a creepy stalker at least five times
since I’ve been here. I’m starting to get a complex.”

Lily looped her arm through mine and took one of the cans
from me as we walked towards the back porch. “She must like you. If she really
thought you were a jerk, she wouldn’t give you the time of day. She’s really
good at not noticing someone if she doesn’t want to.”

“Well, I guess it’s hard to ignore a person when he’s
staring at you taking a shower.”

Lily stopped in her tracks and pulled me out of step with
her. “What?”

I urged her to continue walking forward as I explained what
happened between Ellison and me earlier that day. Lily laughed so hard when she
heard the story that she snorted three times and her face was turning an
interesting shade of blue. When she was finally able to breathe again, she
removed her arm from mine and used it to slap me on the back.

“I can’t believe you didn’t just strip down. It would have
saved you a few hours of re-priming this afternoon and, by my count, she still
has to get even with you one more time. I hate to think what she’ll come up
with. I’d be nervous if I were you, Hunter.” She climbed the steps giggling to
herself after serving me her ominous warning.

I stopped at the base of the stairs watching her as she
climbed up. “What is she capable of?”

Lily turned around and put her hands on her hip. After
kicking a rock off the porch, she looked back at me and laughed.

“That’s the thing with Ellison. You never really know. That
girl is capable of anything.”

I spent the early part of the evening watching television
with Lily and Uncle Bill. Every time I saw headlights coming down the dirt path
that led to the houses, I peeked out the window to see if it was Ellison
arriving home. I couldn’t get her out of my head and I was a little annoyed
that she’d gotten under my skin. By the time night had fallen, I’d gotten a
good look at her freakishly large brother as he meandered home with an older
gentleman I’d not met.

“That’s El’s daddy. He’s never around during the day and
leaves for work before the sun even comes up. You’ll rarely see him around.”
Lily commented when she noticed how intently I was watching out the window.

Uncle Bill gave me a funny look. “Are you looking for anyone
in particular, Hunter?”

Lilly laughed at his question and took the liberty of
answering for me. “He and Ellison got into it again today. Apparently, he saw
her in her skivvies when she was getting a shower after a hike.”

“Oh dear. I wouldn’t let her daddy find out about that.
He’ll remove your eyes if he knew you was looking at his little girl.” Uncle
Bill laughed and clapped me on the shoulder.

What was with these
people and smacking me?

“It wasn’t my fault! She was showering in the front yard for
fuck’s sake! How was I supposed to know she’d be naked out where anyone could
see her? And from what I could see, she’s not a
little
girl anymore.”

Bill’s face wrinkled from his scowl. “First off, son, there
are rules in this house and one of them is to watch your language. I don’t know
about you kids these days, but when I was brought up, you’d get smacked upside
the head for cussing in front of a lady. I’da thought your momma would have
taught you better than that.”

I smiled at the thought. In truth, my mother cussed like a
sailor. Hell, she was the one that taught me the best words — most of the
time, after I’d done something really stupid.

“And secondly, Ellison’s not used to having extra people
‘round here and normally she’s got the place to herself during the day. Except
for Lily, most of us are at work. I’m sure she realizes that now and will be
more careful. What’d she do when you saw her?”

“She told me to strip so that we were even.”

“Did you do it?”

“No! I see no reason why I had to remove my clothes just
because I’d walked in on her. It wasn’t my fault.”

Bill laughed a deep belly laugh. “Well, son, if Ellison was
trying to make you two square and you refused, you’ve got something coming.
That girl will find a way to make sure she gets even. Her poor daddy had to put
up with all sorts of pranks gone wrong between El and her brother through the
years. Most of the time, it’s entertaining as hell, just as long as you’re not
her intended target. I’d sleep with one eye open if I were you.” He kept
chuckling after giving me information that didn’t really help out with the
nagging obsession I was starting to have with her.

I stood up to stretch my legs and ran my hand through my
hair. “Well, thanks for that. I’ll be sure to avoid her as much as possible.”

He looked up at me with a strange expression before busting
out into another fit of laughter. “Good luck to you, son. I’d let her do what
she’s going to do so that you can get it over with as quickly as possible. It’s
kind of like ripping off a band
aid.Band
-Aid.
Just let her do what she’s going to do and eventually the sting will go away.”

Lily bounced up from her chair and ran over to grab my arm.
“I have an idea.” Turning to Bill, she asked, “Daddy? Could Hunter and I take
your truck for a little while? I’m going to take him into town and show him
around.”

“Well, sure, Lil — but you know the rules: No speeding
and be home before midnight.”

“Midnight, Daddy
?!
You can’t be
serious! I turned 18
three weeks ago
.
I should get an extended curfew now that I’m an adult!”

“Listen
Darlin
’, the only thing
‘round these parts that’s open after midnight are the bars, and considering
that you didn’t turn 21 three weeks ago, you have no business being there.
There ain’t
nothin
’
good that happens for kids your age after midnight and
your curfew remains the same.” Uncle Bill stated his case and by the tone of
his voice, it was obvious he wouldn’t budge from his decision.

Lily and I both groaned, but I was absolutely ecstatic with
her suggestion that we get out of the house. I was never one to hang around one
place for too long back home and I was starting to feel the effects of cabin
fever after being holed up in this place for two days.

“Let me go change real quick, Lil, and I’ll meet you
outside.” I quickly ran back to my room and changed into a clean pair of jeans
and a button down black shirt. I wasn’t sure where she was taking me, but I
wanted to make a good impression in case we ran into any one worth noticing.

I guess now would be a good time to mention how unfaithful
I’d been to Tiffany the entire time we dated. I know it will make you hate me
and I’m sure you’ve been questioning my lack of thoughts towards her during my
exile. To be honest, not having to deal with her was the only good part about
having all my stuff taken away. I could imagine the battery in my phone was
already dead from the amount of times she undoubtedly called and I was almost
afraid to remotely check my voicemails for fear of hearing her shrill voice. I
knew that when I returned home, I needed to man up and break up with her, but I
just couldn’t bring myself to do it when I thought about the hour of screaming
I would endure after the deed had been done. I couldn’t feel bad about hurting
her though, because I knew she was the type to replace me within five minutes
of splitting up.

I shook Tiffany from my thoughts and raced back out into the
living room. Uncle Bill motioned for me to go outside without turning his
attention away from the television. “Wheel of Fortune” was on and I grimaced
when Bill started shouting out letters like the contestants could actually hear
him. Quickly finding my way outside, I spotted Lily by Bill’s truck talking to
… well, shit … she was talking to Ellison.

As soon as I opened the door, the two devil mutts moved
their little legs as fast as they could while cruising straight towards me. By
the time they were by my side, drool dripped from their tongues and I reached
down to pet them, only to come up with a disgusting mixture of dog spit and
snot covering my palm. I looked at the black one and noticed that the front
half of its body had long hair, and the back half had short hair. It was like
someone cut two dogs in half and glued them back together, making it the most
ugly and pathetic creature I’d ever seen. Oddly, it was so ugly, the little
furball was cute. Ellison remained focused on her conversation with Lily and I
took the opportunity to love on the dogs hoping to score some points and change
El’s mind about exacting revenge. From what I was told by Lily and Bill,
Ellison had plenty of experience in the prank department and I wasn’t looking
forward to finding out just how creative she could get.

As I started down the rickety stairs, the dogs followed at
my heels and Lily and Ellison looked over to watch me as I approached.

I ran my hand through my hair and then instantly regretted
it after remembering the dog cocktail that had been left on my palm. “Uh … hey
girls.” The dogs were jumping on my legs attempting to get my attention and I
knelt down to lavish them with love. Ellison cocked an eyebrow in my direction
and I smiled up at her in response. “Looks like the mutts have forgiven me for
our less than stellar introduction.”

Ellison smiled and patted her leg to call them to her.
“Yeah, that’s the thing about animals. They don’t really hold grudges like
people do.”

Lily snorted out a laugh and Ellison looked over and smiled
mischievously at her friend.

Shit … apparently she
didn’t forgive as easily as her dogs.

“Well, I’m going to head inside, Lily, you two have fun
tonight.” Ellison waved as she began to walk off and Lily lunged forward and
grabbed her hand.

“Come on Ellison. It’s been weeks since we went out for some
fun. Why don’t you come with us tonight? We can hang at The Tavern and have a
few beers. Please Ellie!” Lily followed behind Ellison as she made her way over
to her house and once they were out of earshot, Ellison turned around and spoke
to Lily.

Feeling awkward standing by the truck, I shoved my hands in
my pockets and leaned against the passenger door looking anywhere but in the
direction of the two girls. A sudden loud squeal grabbed my attention and when
I looked in their direction I saw Lily jumping up and down excitedly. Ellison
opened the front door of her house to let her dogs inside, then closed it and
walked back towards Lily.

Great … a night out
with the girl who was out to get me … should be interesting.

I plastered on a fake smile as they approached and Lily
immediately ran around to jump in the driver’s seat while El and I climbed into
the passenger side. Ellison sat in the middle and when I squeezed in beside
her, the smell of her hair wrapped itself around me. She smelled like coconuts
and some flower I didn’t recognize and I had to admit — it was
intoxicating. The cabin of the truck was cramped and the heat from Ellison’s
body seeped into the side of my chest and leg. I trained my eyes out the window
of the truck, but after a few minutes, I couldn’t stand the uncomfortable
silence in the truck.

“So, where are we going?”

Turning towards the girls, I smiled and waited for Lily to
respond. It was apparent Ellison wasn’t completely happy being in the truck and
Lily didn’t disappoint when she answered.

“We’re going to The Tavern. It’s a local hangout where my
boyfriend, Ryan, is the bartender. He’ll serve us, but only as long as the
place isn’t packed. It’s a Thursday, so we should have no problems. Not many
people do much at night when they have work the next morning.”

Nodding my head, I responded, “Sweet. It’s been two days
since I’ve had any fun. I was wondering if there was anything around here
besides trees.” Things were looking up and I was excited to be getting back to the
types of activities that I was used to. Partying, drinking and socializing were
definitely things I knew how to do well.

We pulled up to The Tavern and I looked warily at a rundown
building that looked like it could have been a bar back in its better days. The
makeshift parking area was nothing more than loose stones and there were four
dingy vehicles parked on either side of the front door. Lily pulled to a stop
and hopped out of the truck to quickly dart inside. Ellison looked over at me
after a few seconds. I hadn’t noticed I’d taken to study the building.

“Not what you expected?” Ellison chuckled softly as she
climbed out of the driver’s side door. Opening my door, I stepped out of the
truck and called out to Ellison as she moved towards the front door of the bar.
“Hey, El! Wait up!” Picking up my pace, I ran to catch up with her and grabbed
her arm.

She turned to me with wide blue eyes and a smirk peeked out
at the corners of her enticing lips. I didn’t know what was happening to me,
but being this close to Ellison was causing my body to simmer with heat. “About
this ‘getting even’ thing, I kind of just want to get past all the crap that
happened today and start over. I think everything has just been a
misunderstanding and I want to apologize for my part of it.”

The smirk changed into a knowing smile. “Been talking to
Lily or something? You seem a little nervous there, Hunter.”