24. Saturday Week Eight
"Stop it, Rei," Eli ordered from in front of me.
I glared at the back of his head, fussing around with his sweatshirt that I was wearing and then my hair, "no, I will not stop it, I look like a hobo!"
Eli knocked on the door again, "you look fine, will you come here?"
We had spent the night at the lake and I had messaged my Nan telling her I was staying with Lana. It was around 9 am now and I was wearing my black cargo trousers, which I had worn last night, and Eli's sweatshirt because I was not going to meet Eli's Gran in a sheer top.
I huffed but stepped up so that I was now stood next to him. Nervous, I reached down and gripped his hand in mine, "I can't believe I am going to meet your Grandma for the first time looking like this."
Eli growled from next to me, "you look fucking stunning, now shut up."
Weirdly conflicted by his words, I tightened my grip on his hand causing him to give mine a reassuring squeeze back before the door swung open to reveal an elderly woman with greying hair and a benevolent smile; she reminded me of Rose.
"Ryker!" She cried. Eli released my hand so that he could hug her back after she threw herself into his arms.
Eli pulled away from the hug and motioned to me, "Gran, this is Reillyn. Tigru, this is my Gran, Hattie."
In the next moment, I was pulled into a warm embrace. "It's so lovely to meet you. I have been waiting for my Ryker to bring a girl home for years!"
I gave her a huge smile as I pulled away, "it's lovely to meet you too, Mrs Ryker. Eli's told me a lot about you."
Shock registered on her face when I said 'Eli' but she soon shook it off and instead tutted at me, "call me Hattie, dear."
My smile grew as she opened the door wider and ushered us inside. Eli lead me through to a lounge not much bigger than my own. It had a very cosy feel to it, the complete opposite of the Ryker mansion. Eli sat down on one of the sofa's but I drifted over to the mantlepiece which was littered with photos.
My eyes were drawn to a photo on the far left, it was a baby photo, I picked it up and turned to Eli, "Is this you?" I asked with a chuckle.
Eli nodded at me from his perch on the couch but then he decided to join me by the fireplace. He picked up another photo and showed it to me, I took it from his hands. There was a boy in the photo, no more than 7 and a man in his mid-50s, there was a car between them; it was Eli's car.
I turned to Eli, "you and your grandad?"
He pointed to his car in between them, "we fixed that up together."
"Took them weeks, but you should've seen the smile on his face when Stan said that he could have it." Stan, I presumed, was Eli's grandfather.
The photo was placed back on the mantlepiece and I turned to face Hattie as she carried in a tray with biscuits on it.
"Would you like a drink, dear?"
"I'll do it," Eli offered and with that he sauntered off to the kitchen.
Hattie sat down on the sofa and then patted the spot next to her as an invitation for me, I happily obliged, taking a seat.
"Eli was telling me how working with his grandad has made him want to become a mechanic."
Hattie gave me a wide smile, "oh yes, he has always loved cars. When he was little I thought it was a boy thing but it seems to have stuck with him all these years. He comes by every few weekends to tinker with the old pile of tin in my garage," she paused for a moment before giving me another soft smile, "it was what he and Stan were working on before he died."
My heart expanded in my chest as I gave Hattie an understanding smile, "sometimes if you carry on doing things that you used to do together, it can make the grief easier to bear."
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity, she reached her hand out and grabbed mine in both of hers, enveloping my cold hands in her warm ones. "Have you lost someone, dear?"
"Yes, my parents," she squeezed my hands in hers and I felt myself draw comfort from it, "when I was 12, I have lived with my Nan ever since."
She lifted one of her hands to tuck one of my curls behind my ears before she cupped my cheek and said, "you're a strong girl, Reillyn."
I swallowed past the lump in my throat which had generated due to this woman's kindness, "thank you, and please, call me Rei."
Eli came in at the moment with a mug in each hand. He handed one to his Gran and the other to me before taking a seat on the sofa opposite me. I looked down at the tea in my hand and took a sip, milk and sugar, just how I liked it. I smiled at Eli over the rim of my mug and he winked at me causing butterflies to explode in my stomach.
And then Hattie announced that she was going to pull out the baby albums.
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After hours of scouring through baby albums and an amazing breakfast of pancakes and bacon made by Hattie, Eli stated it was time for us to leave.
"Thank you so much for having us, Hattie," I told her as I gave her a hug goodbye.
"You are most welcome," she pulled away and grabbed my face in her hands, "you're welcome anytime."
She released me and I gave her a smile which she returned.
"I'll come by again soon," Eli said.
Hattie pulled him into a hug, "make sure you do, Ryker. I don't see you nearly enough."
Eli pulled away and grabbed my hand, we both walked out to the car and gave Hattie one final wave before Eli drove off.
I turned to face Eli, lifting my hand to run it through his hair as he drove, "thank you for taking me to meet her Eli. And for the lake too."
Eli stopped at a red light and looked over at me, I leant forward and placed a soft kiss against his lips which he steadfastly returned. His hand came off the steering wheel to grip my face which he tilted to the side a little before forcing his tongue into my mouth. I moaned and moved my other hand to rest on his thigh, desperate to deepen the kiss. But then the light turned red and Eli pulled away leaving me in a breathless state. He was a damn good kisser.
The drive home was going to take around 2 hours Eli said and it was now 1 pm so he decided to take me to his favourite diner around here. He pulled up outside a diner labelled 'the EATery.'
We entered the diner and were greeted by a man in his late-20s who directed us to a booth in the back. I picked up the menu but it was soon snatched out of my hands, I glared at Eli who was sat opposite me.
"I'm ordering for you," he announced.
"No you're bloody not," I said, reaching for the menu again, he just moved it out of my reach making me scowl, "Eli!"
"They do the best burger, trust me."
"I don't want a burger."
Eli rolled his eyes at me, "I know, that's why I took the menu. I'm ordering."
"Fine," I huffed with a scowl.
A waitress wearing a mini skirt and a tight white shirt, which had one too many buttons undone, came over to take our order. Her eyes brightened at the sight of Eli and she leant forward on the table so we could see right down her top, which just made my scowl deepen.
"What can I get you?" She asked looking directing at Eli as she bit down on her pen, bitch, I am sat right here.
"Two EAT burgers, both with fries," he handed her the menus and didn't even bat an eyelid at her slutty state, good boy.
After she left I spoke up, "I don't like her."
Eli smirked at me, "I noticed."
My eyes narrowed, "stop smirking like you are enjoying this."
"Maybe I am."
"Maybe I am," I mocked in a deep voice which turned into a squeal when Eli reached for my legs under the table and then dragged me around the booth until I was right next to him. He had one hand on my thigh and the other draped across the back of the booth.
His eyes flickered to my lips and he made a move to lean down but I noticed the slutty waitress coming back in our direction so I told him, "wait."
Eli looked confused but did as I said. I waited until I knew we were directly in the waitresses eye-line before I grabbed his head between my hands and tugged his lips to meet mine.
His hand that was resting on the back of the booth moved to grip my hair, tilting my head to the angle he wanted. Even though I had initiated the kiss, he somehow took control as he bit my bottom lip, causing me to let out a quiet moan. Eli tugged my leg so I moved impossibly closer to him, our lips moving against each other with a feverish pace. He tugged on my hair and I gasped at the movement, Eli seized the opportunity, slipping his tongue into my mouth.
But we were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat, "you didn't tell me your drinks order," the waitress said through gritted teeth.
I was still trying to catch my breath, one of my hands resting on Eli's chest, the other still around his neck.
Eli turned to face the waitress, "coke and chocolate milkshake."
The waitress nodded with a tight-lipped smile, "I'll be over with them in a moment."
The minute she was gone, Eli gripped my chin between his fingers and tilted my head to face him. His perfectly scarred eyebrow arched, "you did that on purpose, tigru."
Smiling cheekily, I pulled away from him, now just sitting next to him, "maybe I did," I replied with a wink.
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Eli was right, the burgers at that diner were amazing! We had our lunch and were then back on the road by 2:30 pm, I messaged my Nan letting her know what time I would be home.
We'd been driving for 30 minutes with nothing but the hum of the radio between us when Eli chose to break the silence.
"Ivy has a heart condition called Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. It is a birth defect which affects normal blood flow through the heart. She had surgery as a baby but there are still regular follow-up visits with her cardiologist to monitor her progress," he paused and then continued, "that's why I fight Rei. I can't tell you how but me fighting is what pays her hospital bills."
He looked over at me and I saw the raw emotion on his face; he was worried. I gave him a reassuring smile and reached out for his hand. He eagerly grabbed my hand in his and like he so often does now, he intertwined our fingers before focusing back on the road and driving us home.
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1971 words^
Edited â
I know this is really annoying but I am changing the name of a character.
Alec = Arik