Chapter 27// "Why Aribella Jones and Winter Michaels hate me?"
"Elliott don't even try and talk to me actually don't even breathe near me" I put my hand up as I slam the car door shut.
"Come on Cress you can't be mad at me for that, it was one old lady"
"You nearly ran the poor woman over, and when I told you to stop the car so I could help her across the road, you told me to shut my mouth"
"The road was icy and it's dark, I'm very sorry that I was trying to get you home in one piece,"
"You beeped the horn at her, poor lady must be traumatized"
"As much as I'm loving this argument, I have a party to get to, you coming Elliott" Daniel asks
"Nah I'll stay here with my girlfriend" He puts an arm over my shoulder trying to look sexy, I take a step back so he nearly falls face flat on the floor.
I snort in an unattractive way at the shock on his face. I wave goodbye to Alec and Daniel "If you and Elliott do anything while I'm gone I will hit you with a shovel"
I unlock the front door and open it for myself, then push it behind me to slam it closed as I walk in to the house. I hear a loud thump; I hope I didn't mess up his perfect face.
"You're so abusive Cress" He laughs as he plants himself on the sofa. I try and walk away from him but he pulls me down on top of him. He puts all his weight on me "Come on let's just skip the fight and go right to the make up sex"
I pretend to laugh like he's said something unbelievably funny "NO" I reply.
"I think we should watch a movie, how about Conjuring 2"
"Don't even suggest that ever again, you know what I'm like with horror, I think we should watch Love Rosie.
"I'm not watching a chick flick with you, I'm just not that kind of guy"
*
"Tell me a story Cress," He asks at the part where Alex lifts up the breast pump and Rosie realizes that Alex knows about her child.
I think of something in my head but only one memory is coming to me.
"Why Aribella Jones and Winter Michaels hate me?"
Elliott looks away from the TV screen as a frown is placed on his face.
"I am going to get absolutely hammered" Cheers Aribella as her arm is wrapped around mine and Winter's walking beside us trying to fix her eyeliner.
"Cress maybe you should try and get one over on Conner, I don't think he'll say no to you if you're wearing that dress" Winter points out. I'm wearing a crystal white dress and my hair is curled down my back. My heels are so high it's hard to see the ground, it's the price I have to pay for being short.
I elbow Aribella in the ribs "So are you going to get Elliott tonight, you said he offered you at the last party but you wanted to be the one in charge"
"I'll totally get him in bed tonight, I mean it won't be the first time" She pushes her hair over her shoulder and smiles cockily.
"You and Dawson right" Aribella raises her perfectly filled in eyebrow at Winter. She giggles in response.
I hate the fact that Winter is completely in love with my brother, but I don't want to offend her by saying anything.
We enter the house filled with people dancing, I instantly see Conner leaning against the wall, a red cup in his hand.
His blonde hair is falling in his eyes as he looks completely unamused by his surroundings.
"Look at how gorgeous Elliott looks" Aribella sighs, looking lovingly in his direction. Elliott is sporting a dark grey sweater and is leaning against the wall talking to my twin brother
Elliott sees her looking and sends her a wink, Aribella pretends to catch it. I'm pretty sure Eliot also does a once over on me.
"I don't think you should waste your time on him, you can have any other guy Winter wrinkles her nose.
Elliott is laughing now, his blue eyes are filled with his usual mischief and his dimples are shining in his cheeks. I look away from him in disgust; I really can't hate this boy anymore.
"Well your opinion doesn't matter does it"Â Aribella brushes Winter off.
"I can just imagine him being the school's future player" Winter adds.
Winter and I decide to go and drown ourselves in the drinks and eventually I see Aribella pulling Elliott up the stairs.
*
After a few or maybe a lot of drinks, Winter and I are going crazy on the dance floor. I grasp her hand as we swing back and forth laughing, for a moment I don't think I\ve ever felt so happy.
"You fucking pig, how dare you" Everyone looks up to the top of the stairs to see Aribella swearing at Elliott, she's spitting foul words in his direction.
"I don't want to have sex with you" His arms are folded and his hair is messed up and his top is riding up.
"Come back when you have more experience"
"Don't you dare walk away from me Elliott Grayson, all you guys are the same" She shouts but he just gives her the middle finger.
"Really are we all the same, who told you to try them all Aria, you slut!"
Oh shit, that is probably one of the worst things Elliott has ever said, how dare he. That's a sick and vile thing to say.
With that he brushes her off and climbs down the stairs, casually walking out the backdoor lighting a cigarette.
Aribella looks bewildered at the top of the stairs, I run up to her and wrap my arms around her comforting her.
"It's okay, Aria, he wasn't worth it, I swear" She lifts her head to look at me the tears brimming in her eyes.
"Really" She's so vulnerable and hurt, I nod.
I grab her wrist to force her to come down the stairs "Come on Aria lets show them what you're made of"
*
"Cress calm the shots," Aria giggles.
"One more" I pout at Aribella, shakily holding it in the air.
That's when the door slams and the shouting begins again. I look in the direction of the door that just shut and see Winter, her dress is practically falling off her and she looks beyond angry.
"You made me do that" Winter shrieks, her face nearly the same colour as her hair.
"You actually offered me one, I didn't say I would do anything in return" Daniel shrugs.
"You dick, you said you wanted me?"
"Did I? Well, I didn't mean to, I don't do girls with ginger hair" Daniel rolls his eyes. God he is so much like Elliott.
"It was your choice to give me a blowjob" Everyone gasps at Daniel's words, Winter is fuming with rage.
"You said you wouldn't tell anyone what just happened in there" But Daniel is already walking away from her.
Winter huffs as she sits down next to Aribella "I'm done with boys for the rest of my life, and as for Daniel well he might as well rot in hell"
"Come on Cress go and talk to Conner, maybe you'll have better luck than the rest of us" Aribella suggests. At this moment I'm completely drugged with alcohol so it seems like the best idea.
He's sitting next to Alec, I straighten my posture as I walk towards him and lean against his chair "Hey" I smile in his direction, he raises his eyebrow when he sees me.
"Hey, Crystal isn't it?"
I take a deep breath and try not to get offended, it's an easy mistake isn't it?
"It's Crescent"
"Well Crescent..." And we sit there and flirt, he's actually cute. Once you get past that dark and mysterious mask.
I feel someone standing behind me. When I turn around it's Elliott, he has this beaming smirk. I lookeat him in suspicion, he's definitely done something.
"Cress are you on your period cause your dress is a bit red from the back"
I look behind me to see a bright red stain on my dress. At that very moment I die of embarrassment, my cheeks are as red as the back of my dress. Everyone is looking at me, laughing and I feel like my life is officially over.
But the weird thing is that I'm not on my period. I look up at Elliott and his blue eyes are gleaming with humor. Behind him the light catches the reflection of a bottle.
Red dye.
I don't think I've ever been so mad at Elliott, every bone in my body hates him.
"Elliott for once I wish I could give you all the pain that I feel, just for a moment. So you can feel the pain I feel every time you come near me. You're evil and everyday you break my self-esteem more and more. I hate you Elliott Grayson and I wish you would get the hell out my life"
Before he can realize that I've seen the bottle, I lean forward to grab it from behind his back.
I unscrew the lid before anyone can even imagine what I'm about to do. I throw the continents of the bottle forward and everyone including Elliott is covered in red.
But Elliott is unfazed, he's still holding my gaze "You don't realise it Crescent but seeing you everyday, makes me feel more pain than you can imagine"
At that moment I thought he meant that every time he saw my face he was disgusted but looking back at it now I know he means something completely different.
"Get the fuck out my life Elliot. I've had enough. I'm done" My voice is overly high pitched and my vision is blurry.
I look over at Aribella and Winter as they look at me in pity.
"No" He states.
I'm up in his face now "Fight me then, hit me, bruise me on the outside, instead of scarring me on the inside. Go on Elliott I dare you"
I put my fists up as I wobble in my heels.
"No" He repeats.
"It's not your choice, hit me" I want to cry, I hate him. I hate him so much.
"I'm not fucking hitting you Dawson" He looks sick at the thought of it. One punch from him would be the same as the humiliation that I'm consumed with right now.
"I hate you Crescent Dawson, you walk around like you own the place with your other stupid friends but you're nothing, and one day everyone will hate you. You'll lose everyone Crescent, you'll be alone" Elliott's words are icy cold his tall masculine figure is so intimidating. Before he leaves the room he picks up a red cup and throws the alcohol at me.
In rage and fury I storm out the room in to the back garden where the music is sill blazing.
I lean against the wall and slide to the ground; my heart is drumming with hatred in my chest. I hate him, more than anything.
I sit in the shadows for about half an hour before more screaming comes from inside. I stand up and try to listen to them.
"Cress come quick, it's Winter and Aribella"
I give the girl a confused look and follow her inside.
No one's moving. Aribella is standing on the table her arms on her hips, she's shouting at Winter who is standing on the floor looking equally as annoyed.
"You knew I liked him and then I find you lying there with him, you disgust me Winter Michaels"
"I'M FUCKING SORRY ARIBELLA I WASN'T THINKING STRAIGHT"
I look at the guy standing next to me.
"What happened?"
"After you left, Aribella found Elliott with Winter, Aribella hasn't stopped screaming since"
I look at Winter, hurt written across my face. Elliott, why is it always Elliott?
"Look at that slut Crescent, she disgusts me" Aribella points at Winter. I cringe at the slut shaming, it's a vile thing to say.
"Don't get her involved and are you really calling me a slut, you should here what everyone says about you behind your back" Winter mocks.
I've always been closer to Winter. When we argue it just hurts so much more. I value her friendship so much and she is always there for me to confide in.
As opposed to Aribella, who in certain situations Winter and I always protect. Aribella can be a bit stupid and irrational sometimes but I love her all the same.
"Really, you don't want me to get Cress involved well Cress told me you lost your virginity to Damon Reid"
Oh no, Reid is 2 years older than us and one night Winter wasn't thinking straight, next thing she knew she woke up next to him. Winter swore me to secrecy, not to tell anyone and the funny thing is that I haven't told anyone.
Reid must have told Daniel, who must have told Aribella, or so I'm guessing.
I look up at Aribella instantly knowing that she's lying and she doesn't even have the audacity to look me in the eye.
Winters head snaps in my direction and the hurt in her eyes is unbearable.
"You...you told her" Her voice isn't angry, actually I'd rather she screamed at me but instead her voice is soft with pain.
Damon Reid is a scary guy, he's someone that hangs about with the wrong people. If I slept with him, I wouldn't want people to know either. It's dangerous.
"Winter...I swear I didn't..." She looks as Aribella and gives her a devilish smile.
"Well, it looks like Cress likes to tell secrets because she told me a incy weensy detail about your family, Aribella you're a..." I jump in front of her to cover her mouth with my hand.
This is true I told her this secret, because it's a big weight to have on my shoulders. We're all friends so we should all know about this but Aribella specifically didn't want Winter to find out.
"YOU TOLD HER!" Aribella lunges for me, probably to tear my hair out but Aidan and Alec are there to hold her back.
Winter pulls my hand away from her face "Let me say her secret to everyone just as she told mine"
I look deep in to Winter's eyes pleading with her.
"Winter you can't because it's not right. It's not our secret to tell" I know I'm sticking up for Aribella but I also know it will kill Aribella if this secret gets out.
This doesn't help the fact that Aribella is still shouting abuse at me for telling winter.
"You think her secret is more important than mine, she's more important that me?" Winter points at me.
I don't know what to say; deep down Winter is one of the most important people in my life. But if I say that out loud right now then Aribella will murder me on the spot.
"You're both fighting over Elliott, if either of you were my friend you would hate him for how he treats me" My voice is a sad whisper. They both look speechless.
"Who's more important?" Aribella still asks.
"Your both equal to me"
My words hurt Winter more than I expect, she turns around and walks out the house without another word. Soon Aribella is dragged out and me, well from what I heard I went crazy and started thrashing things and crying. I think eventually Daniel got me home.
"What's the secret?" Elliott asks as soon as I finish the story.
I take a deep breath; we've only been dating one day. I'm going to ruin everything.
"Aribella is adopted, she has no idea who her parents are, they just left her one day"
Elliott gives me a hard look. It's surprising because her adopted parents love her just as much as any parent could. But that was never enough for her, she was always determined to find out who her real family was.
He eyes me carefully "You're hiding something from me"
'I'm selfish, I don't want to tell you. I should have told you at the time, you had the right to know"
"You can tell me anything" He holds both my hands in his.
"Aribella was pregnant at 14, she aborted the baby as soon as she knew. It was out of fear of her real parent leaving her, she didn't even think about it. She was scared she wouldn't be good enough to look after the baby, and never wanted it to have to spend time in care like she did"
"Elliott it was yours"
Why they were having sex at 14 I will never know.
Elliott has a deep frown on his face.
"That was over three years ago" He states. I nod, it was so long ago Aribella came crying to me. I supported her through all of it. I was there for her, always.
"Don't think this changes anything Dawson. I never loved her, I've only ever loved you. I'd choose you, baby or no baby. You're the only person I've ever wanted"
Those words are so comforting it makes my heart melt.
"Looks like I missed a lot when I left"
"That's the night you left for New York" I add.
He nods in response.
I ask him the question that I've been desperate to ask for the past year.
"Did you leave because of me?"
His expression is serious as he thinks about the answer "Yes and no, I went to go live with my dad because I knew I'd taken things too far and I couldn't face you. I didn't mean to hurt you so much, but I kept doing it. It was when you told me to hit you, it fucking killed me Dawson. I was only supposed to stay in New York for a few weeks but then it turned in to months. I also had some issues with my cousin here"
"Your cousin" I ask.
"It was nothing" He shrugs.
"But that whole argument you had was my fault wasn't it?" Elliott asks.
"No I don't think so" I respond.
"If I hadn't kissed Winter then that argument would never have broken out"
I think about it but for some reason I can't blame him.
"It's my fault that I told Winter to begin with, I'm just a bad person" I sigh.
"Cress you're not a bad person, a fucking psycho sometimes but not a bad person"
"When I came back I couldn't wait to see you, but you weren't at the usual table anymore. Daniel said to me that I wasn't even allowed to mention your name around him. I heard the rumours about what happened but I wanted to hear the story from you"
"Then I saw you, you were walking down the corridor with that Emily girl, laughing with her. Your hair was longer and you were just so much older. I know we were never friends but when I saw you I realised how much I missed you"
"A few days later when I saw Aribella pour the water on you I was so filled with rage. I never imagined that when I came back from New York things would be such a mess"
That's when he suddenly laughs "Winter used to slap me on your behalf all the time" And then he stops and looks at me sadly "I would never have imagined a day that you two wouldn't be friends"
I don't reply because it hurts to think about it, losing two people that mean everything to you in one night is unbearable.
"You don't need them now, you have me" He gives me a cheesy grin as he lies on top of me.
"Cress you're so bony, it's painful to lie on top of you"
Author note:
This chapter was kinda of like a flashback chapter, so there wasn't much of Crescent and Elliott hopefully the next one is better.
So what do you think of them all hating eachother.
I swear I have been updating and typing so mcuh lately that my hands are getting cramps.
Keep voting and commentingxx
Edited