Two days. My mom has been staying in the guest house for two days now, and we haven't talked since our fight the night before. I don't know if she's jealous of the Kennedy's or what, but I don't need to be distracted by this petty argument. Instead, I need to focus on the important things in life...like teaching Ethan how to ride a bike and helping Jonas practice for his soccer tryouts and driving Addison to the mall whenever she wants.
"You have to pedal, just like you did on your old bike, bud," I say, pointing to the Mickey Mouse tricycle thrown in the grass.
Ethan looks down at his new red bike and then back to the tricycle. Confidently, he walks over and picks up the tricycle from the grass, hops on, and starts pedaling down the street.
I sigh. He's been doing this for the past hour.
"Stay on the sidewalk!" I advise, sitting down in the grass and taking out my phone to scroll through social media.
Flynn honks his car horn as he pulls into the driveway, giving me a heart attack. I stand up from the grass and walk towards him.
"Hey, Ivy," he greets, closing the car door. "What's up?"
"Nothing. I'm just trying to teach Ethan how to ride his bike."
"How's that going?"
"How do you think it's going?" I ask, placing my hands on my hips and sighing. "If you're looking for Elliott, he's out with Val."
"Actually, I was looking for you. I bought Elliott these tickets." He holds out to thin sheets of paper. "They're for an REO Speedwagon concert tonight."
I nod. "Aw, that'll be so fun for you two."
"Well, the thing is...I don't want to go."
"What? Flynn, why would you buy the tickets if you didn't even want to go?"
He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. "It's not like any of us expected Giano Bertolini's family to move to California!"
"What does Giano Bertolini have to do with any of this?"
"You know I love Mrs. Bertolini's pizza, right? Well, they're moving next week, so Giano is having this huge going away party tonight. I just...I can't miss out on the last chance for me to have this pizza for a concert that only people over forty-seven will be going to."
I raise my eyebrows. "So basically you won't go to see your best friend's favorite band just so you can eat some lady's pizza?"
"Pretty much."
I laugh, shaking my head. "Okay, so, where do I come in in all of this?"
"You take Elliott to the concert with you," he says. "It'll be like your first date."
I snort. Little does Flynn know that that would actually be more like our tenth date. "I mean, if I can convince him to actually go with me."
"Please." Flynn rolls his eyes. "Elliott would go with Jake Acker if that meant he got to see REO."
I laugh and nod. "Well, I feel bad just taking these tickets. How much do I owe you?"
"Ivy, you don't even have enough money to pay for pizza," Flynn jokes and hands me the tickets. "It's my treat."
"Thanks, Flynn," I say with a small smile.
He winks and opens his car door. "Have fun."
"You too," I say before he gets in his car. "Save me a piece of pizza!"
Ethan comes pedaling back after Flynn drives down the street and out of sight. He knocks his tricycle into the grass, heads into the garage refrigerator, takes a juice box, and walks inside the house. I follow him back inside after setting the tricycle and red bike next to one another in the garage.
"I'm glad you're here," Crystal says as soon as I walk into the house, her hand pulling on mine. "We've been waiting." She takes me into the family room and points to the couch. "Take a seat."
"Should I be worried?" I ask, looking around at the rest of the kids in the family room and taking a seat.
Addison places Bethany in her playpen. "Here's the thing, Ivy. You're not so slick."
I raise an eyebrow. "What?"
"We know," Rose says calmly, resting her palms against one another.
I hold back a laugh, not sure what is happening right now. "You guys are kind of freaking me out."
"It didn't take us very long to connect the dots. The late nights, the mysterious flowers, the smudged lipstick."
I rub my thumb over my lips insecurely.
"I can't believe you'd actually think we'd be okay with you having an affair with my brother-" Jonas stops mid-sentence, his eyes landing on the door as Elliott walks in.
I look at him with wide eyes, hoping to give him some sort of sign that he should run when he has the chance. Elliott just smiles and throws his jacket on the railing.
"Elliott, I'm glad you could make it," Crystal says. "Take a seat."
Elliott raises an eyebrow and slowly walks in the family room. He takes a seat next to Rose and places his arm over her shoulders. "What are we doing?"
"We're confronting Ivy about her affair," Jonas says, his eyes squinted as he looks at me.
"Guys," I sigh, "if you could just let us explain why we didn't tell you-"
"Well, of course you're not going to tell us!" Addison exclaims. "We'd have to tell Nora! It's so wrong!"
"Wait, wait, wait." Elliott holds up his hands. "Who is having an affair with whom?"
"Ivy and Flynn have been sneaking around behind everyone's backs," Jonas answers.
Elliott drops his jaw and stands up from the couch. "Ivy, you hoe!"
I look at him in bewilderment, completely speechless.
"Flynn and Nora were perfectly happy together. How could you just get between my best friend and his girl like that?" Elliott asks, a false disappointment on his face. "That's low."
I roll my eyes. "I'm not having an affair with Flynn, guys."
"You lie!" Ethan screams.
"Yeah, what he said!" Elliott says, sending a wink my way.
I shake my head and stand up from the couch. "I'm not having an affair with anyone!" I cry in frustration. "I have been dating someone though." I look at Elliott for a split second before turning back to the kids. "And that's none of your business."
They frown.
"Lame," Jonas whines. "I thought we were cooler than that, Ives."
"I'm just your nanny," I remind, ruffling his hair. "My personal life has to stay out of my work, okay?"
"Okay," they mumble. "Sorry."
I stand up and go upstairs to take a breather. I almost gave everything away about Elliott and me. If I had let that one slip, that could've been the end of my job. As I'm sitting on my bed, Elliott walks in.
"Hey."
I bite my tongue and rest my back against the bed. "Did I ever tell you that I hate you?"
"Yeah," he says and sits next to me, placing his hand on my knee.
"That's still relevant," I mumble.
"I was just joking around," he argues. "Come on, it was funny. An affair with Flynn?"
"They thought it was real, Elliott," I say with a huff. "Did you see how upset they were with me?"
"Well, yeah, but you're not having an affair with Flynn," he reminds. "You're not, right?"
I sit up and hit his arm. "I'm not." I kiss under his jaw. "But I am having an affair with their older brother, which is probably a worse thing to be keeping from them."
"Okay, let's stop using the word affair because it's making me feel like a character in Desperate Housewives." He smiles softly. "And you said it yourself, Ivy, your personal life is none of their business."
I shrug. "It's different when you're involved. I just feel weird about this whole situation."
"Ivy, in a month, this job and all the secrecy is over."
I nod and wrap my arms around my legs with my knees against my chest. "Yeah. I know. And then I leave for college." I look down at my crossed legs. "What happens to us then?"
Elliott smiles softly. "I don't know."
"Yeah, of course not," I say and run a hand through my hair. "I didn't mean to ask that. It just came out. I'm stupid. Are you hungry? I can make lunch." I stand up from the bed and go for the door.
"I already ate lunch with Val." He takes my hand in his, stopping me from leaving. "You don't have to act cool in front of me, Ivy. You know that, right? I think about what is going to happen to us a lot too, okay? And I honestly don't know. But I don't mind right now."
I nod, knowing that he's right. It's the summer. A summer fling, right? That's all this is to him. And that's all it is to me too. We'll see if we want to keep seeing one another after it's all said and done. But that's for after the summer.
"Hey, are you busy tonight?" I ask.
"Uh, yeah, actually. I'm going to a concert with Flynn. I thought I told you about this?"
"Uh, yeah, actually," I mimic. "But your best friend decided that he likes Giano Bertolini's pizza more than you."
Elliott raises his eyebrows. "He's ditching the concert to go to Giano's goodbye party? What a traitor!"
"Sad, isn't it?" I sigh. "I guess you'll have to go alone now."
"Yeah. Or maybe I could just ask Carter. We had some good times listening to their music. Oh! Does your mom like REO?"
I roll my eyes. "Remember when I told you I hate you?"
"Still relevant?"
"Still relevant, Kennedy."
~
"Thanks for babysitting tonight, Nora," I say, checking my hair in the mirror.
"Yeah, it's not like I had anything better to do today. Flynn is stuffing his face with some other woman's homemade pizza all night and Jett is having a movie marathon with Myrtle."
"You don't want to intrude on movie nights with Myrtle?"
"It isn't possible, Ivy," she sighs. "So...are you excited to go on this date with Elliott?"
"It's not a date," I lie and adjust my dress to limit the amount of cleavage.
"Like I haven't heard that one before."
I roll my eyes and grab my phone off my bed, shooting Nora a vindictive smile. "Just call me if you need anything. My mom will most likely be out all night, so you won't have to worry about her."
"Okay." She stands up from the bed and follows me downstairs. "How are things with your mom anyway?"
I shrug. "The same."
She pouts her lip and rubs my back gently. I'll never get used to Nora's openly friendliness. She has always been so comfortable around me, in ways that I could never be with someone I've barely known for a month.
"Damn. I'm one lucky man," Elliott exclaims as he enters the room. He looks at Nora, his smile fading slightly. "Uh...I mean...you look hot, bitch."
I roll my eyes at his lame coverup. "We'll be home around midnight."
"Have fun!" she says, opening the front door for us. "But not too much fun."
"Thanks, grandma," Elliott mumbles as he walks out the front door.
I shake my head and wave goodbye to Nora before following Elliott to his car. "You're honestly such an idiot. You look hot, bitch? Smooth one."
"Hey! It's hard working under pressure!" he argues, opening the passenger's door for me.
Elliott starts the car and pulls out of the driveway, accidentally running over Ethan's red bike that I distinctly remember putting back in the garage. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the boy planted it there.
I'm in charge of directions to the concert, since Elliott doesn't want Siri to interrupt the music he has specifically chosen for our drive there. My phone keeps freezing at times of important turns, which gets us a bit off track. We have to make three rest stops to redirect ourselves before we finally make it to the venue.
"We're going to be the youngest ones here, aren't we?" I ask, glancing at all the elderly couples entering the stadium. "Is the opening act Wayne Newton?"
Elliott laughs and helps me out of the car, intertwining our fingers as we walk. "I hope so."
We wait in a long line before going through a quick security check. After getting directed to our seats, which happen to be in the very back, Elliott leaves me to go grab us some drinks. I stay to "guard" our seats. Elliott thinks that some sixty-year-old cat lady is going to steal our ever-so-great seats.
I sit in the chair, waiting patiently for Elliott to come back with our drinks. There's a crowd of people, talking loudly to one another and laughing at some joke their spouse said. I group of middle-aged dads come to sit behind me. They all reek of alcohol, their pre-concert drinking evident. I cross my legs, holding my arms with an uncomfortable feeling that I get from these men.
"Hey, what are you doing here all alone, pretty girl?"
I ignore the heavy-set man with a beer belly and keep my eyes focused on the distant stage.
"That's a pretty dress," another says, his hand touching my shoulder.
I jut forward from his touch. "Thank you," I snap, unable to ignore the compliment.
"What's your name, sweetheart?" a taller man from the group takes Elliott's seat.
Please come back, I beg to Elliott in my mind, hoping that I'm suddenly telepathic.
"She looks scared, Lance. Leave her alone," one says.
"You don't need to be scared, princess." Lance moves closer to me. "Can I get you a drink? Maybe that'll loosen you up."
I hold my breath, not sure why I can't just stand up and head to where Elliott is getting our drinks.
Lance's hand falls to my bare knee. I grab his hand and tug it off my leg, but his grip only tightens. I look behind me, but the other men have already ignored the situation and started talking about a dumbass baseball game they watched yesterday.
"What the hell are you doing?"
My vision is blurry from tears when I look up to see Elliott running towards Lance and me. I let out a sigh of relief when Elliott takes Lance by the collar of his shirt and throws him to the ground. Before I can register all that is happening, the sound of skin smacking skin as Elliott's fists fly into the man's face, the shouts from the friends of the man, the gasps falling from my lips as the blood falls down Lance's face, a security guard is ripping Elliott off of Lance.
Another one comes from behind me, pulling me away from the fight. I feel overwhelmed, the haze of the moment nearly causing me to pass out.
"I'll fucking kill you!" Elliott screams, his lip split and hair flopped on his face. "You sick son of bitch!" He fits against the officer, who drags him down the aisles.
People stare at the scene in awe, as if it's some type of television show. I follow Elliott and the security guards, explaining what happened and how Elliott was defending me. Even after I explain everything, they still kick us out of the venue.
"That's bullshit!" Elliott mutters, his breathing heavy. "It's that bastards fault! He should be the one kicked out!" He kicks the fence that encloses the venue.
I take his arm, pulling him to sit on the curb with me. "Hey, hey, Elliott, look at me." He stops to stare into my eyes. "There's nothing we can do. At least they didn't arrest you. It's okay."
"But it's not okay, Ivy," he sighs, placing his head in his hands. "Dammit. Are you even okay?"
I nod. "I'm fine. I'm just a little shaken up."
His jaw clenches and unclenches. "I could kill him for touching you. I want to kill him."
"I'm okay," I say, holding his hand in mine and placing it near my stomach.
He lifts our hands and kisses the back of mine gently. "I'm so sorry, Ivy. I blame myself more than I blame that idiot. I ruined tonight, didn't I?"
I shake my head. "No, Elliott, you didn't." I build up enough courage to smile. "I'll let you in on a little secret."
"What's that?"
"I thought it was hot, the whole defending my honor and beating the crap out of that loser." I bite my lip. "Definitely sexy."
Elliott grins. "Yeah?"
"Oh, yeah," I say and hold the side of his face, kissing him slowly.
He pulls back with a weak smile. "I knew you liked my dangerous side." He stands up from the curb and holds his hands out for me to take. "Now, let's go watch this concert."
"Elliott, they kicked us out," I remind the obvious.
"Oh, so you expect me to just let a seven foot fence keep me from seeing my favorite band with a beautiful woman by my side?"
I shake my head in amusement. "There is no way we're climbing that fence."
"Come on, Red."
I hold on to his hand as he leads us around to the back of the venue. The crowd cheers loudly, the music beginning to play. Elliott nods his head towards an entrance for employees only.
"Follow my lead," he whispers, clearing his throat before calmly leading us through the entrance without being noticed.
A security guard stops us. "What do you two think you're doing here?"
"Lo siento, mi hombre. Nosotros no hablamos inglés."
"Oh. I don't speak Spanish, man," the guard says, his eyebrows furrowed together. He raises his voice and speaks slowly to say, "you can't be back here."
"SÃ, sÃ. Pero yo necesito comprar un perro."
I hold back a laugh, putting my best poker face on. "Yo quiero ir al baño."
"Baño? Do you have to go to the bathroom?" the man asks in confusion.
Elliott gasps loudly. "¿Cómo se atreve a hablar con ella de esa?"
"I-I don't understand!" the man cries out. "You gotta leave!"
"¡Idiota!" Elliott exclaims, clutching my hand and dragging me past the man who does nothing more to stop us.
We somehow make it to the pit of people near the stage. I can't hold in my laughter anymore, bursting out with an embarrassing cackle that brings a smile to Elliott's face.
"How did that work?" I ask, tears rolling down my face as I struggle to breathe from laughing so hard.
Elliott laughs and wipes under my eyes. "I don't know, but I kind of feel bad for that guy."
I laugh harder, realizing at this moment that there is nowhere else I'd rather be and no one else I'd rather be with. Elliott simply smiles at me, not knowing what I'm thinking at this exact moment. How could I ever tell him what is going through my mind?
"I love this song!" Elliott yells each time that the band plays a new song.
He stands behind me, my back against his chest, our hands high in the air together. We sway back and forth, singing loudly. My cheeks start to hurt from smiling for so long, but it's a pain that I couldn't complain about.
Elliott kisses my neck softly, pressing his cheek against mine and dancing to the song. "I'm glad Flynn loves pizza more than me."
"Oh, are you?"
"Yeah. We'd look pretty dumb if it were he and I standing like this," he yells over the screaming crowd and loud music.
I laugh and tilt my head back to look up at him, still beautiful when he's upside down. "I'm glad Flynn loves pizza more than you too, Li."
And I meant
Every word I said
When I said that I loved you I meant that I loved you forever
Elliott sings loudly to the encore song, his voice worn out from the night of scream-singing. I join him, my heart warm with an unfamiliar feeling.
What happened to me earlier tonight, with that drunk man, should've bothered me all night. It should've been stuck in my mind, the brutal image haunting me. That's what should've happened, right? I don't know how to react to something like that. I don't know what to think. It was all so scary.
But I'm not scared.
I've been insecure of pretty much everything my entire life, with no one to love wholly and to trust entirely. The closeness of another person has been ripped away every time because of me, because of my fear of intimacy. I don't trust people. I don't take leaps of faith off cliffs. I don't allow myself to be held in the arms of another, feeling safer than ever before.
And I'm gonna keep on lovin' you
'Cause it's the only thing I want to do
I knew I had something to be afraid of when I decided to give Elliott a chance. I feared heartbreak, betrayal, loss of myself. I still fear all of it; I don't think that can go away. But it can lessen.
And as I look into those eyes, the ones that look at me with more care than any other eyes ever have, I don't feel scared.
It's beyond cheesy to believe that Elliott can make me feel safe. He's just as lost as I am. He hasn't ever experienced this feeling, and maybe he never will. Maybe I'm way ahead of him and way too deep.
Whatever this new feeling might mean, I'm not so afraid anymore. And I know this could mean heartbreak, but that's a risk I'm willing to take, unless I'm satisfied with living a life without intimacy.
A life like that just seems boring. And I'm not satisfied with being boring babysitting Ivy anymore.
I don't want to sleep, I just want to keep on lovin' you
I'm falling in love with Elliott Kennedy.
~~
AN:
lol @ this chapter
lol @ my life too while we're loling @ things
the Ivy monologue at the end is probably whack so let me know how bad that one is so I can maybe fix it
I predict mucho drama in the near future
oh and you guys are good at titles so hit me up if you got a better one because I lack creativity right now
ps if you want a translation of Ivy/Elliott/worker conversation here you go:
Elliott: I'm sorry, my man. We don't speak English.
*worker responds in English*
Elliott: yes, yes. but I want to buy a dog.
Ivy: I have to go to the bathroom.
*worker responds in English*
Elliott: how dare you speak to her like that!
*worker responds in English*
Elliott: idiot!
I don't know I wanted to include Elliott's Spanish graduation skills you know gotta keep it fresh y'all lol who am I these days
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