ELOWEN
Joey flailed his arms around and practically knocked over the beers lying around as fake rage took over him. "My thoughts exactly! We're all home for college and I have yet to see Yvette. How is that fair?" Cindy looked upside Joey's head and furrowed her eyebrows. "Why the cranky look? It's just a question."
"Yvette is terrified of you. Especially since you got that ugly tattoo on your neck." He rubbed his snake tattoo which was too realistic for a three year old to see. Elowen just laughed at the two while Vernon massaged her arm to keep her warm. "You date someone for as long as we have and suddenly you know the true meaning of hate." She playfully rolled her eyes.
Joey quickly jumped to his own defense. "She is always telling people that and goes around and tell me how much she she loves me. I wouldn't believe Cindy if I bet money on it." His girlfriend punched his arm with all her strength. "See! And she's abusive!"
Vernon gave Elowen a slight nudge then used is eyes to point where he wanted her to look. When she turned around, she saw Kellie and Amanda entering the lake area through the path. They held hands as Kellie searched around for Elowen's face.
Cindy's eyes widened as she took a sip of her beer. "Thought you said she wasn't coming. I don't want any drama," she whispered as Kellie and her girlfriend neared their circle.
"I'm glad you changed your mind." Elowen smiled up at Kellie.
Her best friend shrugged as a response. Amanda did the same thing and quickly clapped a hand over her mouth to contain her laughter. Everyone quickly ignored the action to avoid stirring Kellie up. "Amanda actually talked me into coming. So thank her."
Vernon winked at Elowen who rolled her eyes at Kellie. "Well, you know Cindy." She stuck her tan hand out to Kellie who accepted the hand shake. "And her boyfriend, Joey." He waved. "We were just talking about Yvette."
"We should talk about Philip." Kellie smirked as she and her girlfriend took a seat on the blanket. "I heard he hasn't sent a letter to Elowen in a while. Do you guys think he's..."
Cindy crushed her beer can on her knee though it wasn't empty. Beer juice flew up in the air and she didn't even flinch when droplets hit the side of her face. Joey, on the other hand, crawled out the way. "We try not to talk about it if that's okay with you. But I can say that I went to see Ms. Hill and they haven't gotten any visits from the CNOs. So, I see that as good luck."
"Maybe they couldn't identify his body." Kellie's eyes landed on Vernon who was at a lost for words.
Elowen pulled his hand off her lap just so she could stand to her feet. "Is this why you came here? I thought you were better than this!"
Kellie looked up at her friend with no remorse on her face. "You've chose them over me since the day you locked eyes on Philip Hill. I don't know you anymore and I'm surly not about to sit around some blanket table to forget it all."
"Then that's all you had to say. This is the last time we'll be seeing each other."
Amanda spat a piece of her nail out of her mouth as Kellie pulled the both of them to their feet. "We're leaving already, Kels? We just got here."
"We're not welcomed." Elowen scoffed at Kellie's reply. "But the whites are." She looked Cindy up and down before turning on her heels towards the exit.
"That's so bogue!" Cindy spat. "The nerve of that bitch. She's got a stick up her ass for me. Just another jealous whore. And what the fuck is her girlfriend on? Was she buggin' out or was that only me?"
Elowen brushed her hand at the situation. "Who cares."
Joey slapped his knee once it got quiet. "Well I'm fucking mint. Let's ditch this bad scene and head to my place." He tapped his pocket before pulling out a bag of green. "We got all night ladies and gents." He winked at Vernon who appeared to not be down with the idea. "Ah, your man is a lightweight?"
Elowen looked at Vernon and forced a smile on her face. "If you don't do this it's fine. I won't do it either. I don't want you to feel left out."
"No way. You have fun, Elowen. I'm just going to head back to your place anyways. I need to call my mom." Elowen gave him a peck on his lips joyfully.
"We got you! I'll drop you off, V," Joey informed as Cindy dragged him to her car.
Elowen wrapped her hair up tight as she heard a light knocking on her door. "You decent?" Vernon asked while sticking his head in the door.
"Yes." Before she could even turn to greet him, he snaked his arms around her waist and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I really wished you were there. Joey was a laugh."
"I can make it up to you. Maybe jump your bones a little. I just helped Spencer put Yvette to sleep." Elowen smoked while unwrapping his arms from her body. "What's wrong?"
"It's really late and the whole thing with Kellie just isn't sitting right with me." She turned around to cup his face in her hands. "You understand right?" Vernon nodded and Elowen planted a kiss on his cheek. "I love you."
He nodded. "Yeah, love you too."
He stood there as Elowen crawled in her bed and turned off the lamp on her nightstand. Vernon grabbed one of Spencer's quilts off her chair and went to sleep in the living room. A part of him did it because he wanted to look like a respectable man and the other part figured Elowen didn't want to share a bed with him.