Free Falling

4|One of the Guys

As promised, I was teaching Eli how to ride a skateboard, specifically a longboard. Because he was a beginner, I suggested that we started with a longboard that was just a skateboard with more length and width to it, which would make staying on the board much easier. But somehow he still struggled with balancing himself as he wobbled back and forth, flailing his arms in the air.

"You're feet are too close together. That's why you keep falling off," I said, pushing Eli off so I could demonstrate. "Place your dominant foot in front of you and the other behind, like this."

Eli watched with calculating eyes and nodded. I hopped off and he took my place, copying my position. I grinned.

"Is that it?" he asked, craning his neck to look at me for confirmation.

"Great! Now we can start riding."

His eyes widened, and I had to keep myself from laughing at his scared expression. "I think that's enough for today."

"What? We haven't even gotten to the best part."

Eli shook his head and stepped off the board. "No thanks. I couldn't even stand on it without falling off, and now you want me to actually ride that thing?"

"Wasn't that the point of this whole thing? To get you to ride a skateboard?"

"No," he objected, pointing at the longboard. That's not a skateboard. That is a mini surfboard."

"Riding a skateboard takes much more balance and stamina than it does with a longboard. This should be easy for you."

"It's not," he deadpanned. "And honestly, I only said I wanted you to teach me to make myself seem less of a loner."

A snort escaped my mouth and I picked up the longboard, tucking it underneath my wing. We began walking aimlessly down the sidewalk. "That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard."

"It's true." He looked at me and smiled, and I rolled my eyes, averting my gaze to the cracks in the sidewalk.

Suddenly, a question popped in my head. "Where are you guys from?"

Eli looked at me with furrowed eyebrows. "That was random."

I laughed. "I know, but I've been wondering ever since you guys started at the school. It was a bit mysterious when all of you showed up at the same time, and you're all pretty close..."

"We did not come from prison," he concluded with an eye roll.

I held my hands up defensively. "I was not assuming that you did."

Eli scratched the back of his head, and for a few seconds, it seemed as if he was battling with the decision on if he should tell me or not. It didn't matter much to me if he didn't.

"We grew up in foster care," he said finally.

My eyes widened, not expecting that revelation. "I've never met someone who's been in it."

"It's pretty shitty actually."

"Wow," I breathed, the shocking news still processing. "Were you all in one foster home?"

Eli sighed and ran a hand through his dark, disheveled hair, and I could tell I brought up unwanted memories. I was about to tell him that he didn't have to answer, inwardly scolding myself for being so goddamned nosey, but he spoke before I could.

"All of us were placed in the foster system the day we were born. The first twelve years that we were together weren't that bad because we had each other. But after that, we kept getting placed in different homes, some miles away and others across the state. Bad things happened even when we were together, but it was like at least we had each other. But when they tore us apart..." he trailed off. "Eventually, we found each other again. The four of us, inseparable." He smiled when he said that, and I felt a sense of gratitude he had for his friends. It seemed as if they'd saved one another, and that was the bittersweet revelation of it all.

I nodded, letting the new information dolly around in my head. I was carefully choosing my next words. "Are you guys still in it or-?"

"No. When we were old enough, we left as soon as f*****g possible. All of us saved up money, and now we live in a four-bedroom apartment, which doesn't sound like much, but it's actually nice. It has enough space for all of us. We all have part-time jobs, so we're able to afford the rent."

"Now I can see why you're all so different but still stick together," I calculated. "They're your family."

"They're my family," he echoed firmly as if saying out loud made it official.

"Anything else I should know about you?" I questioned jokingly.

He pretended to think. "My full name is Elijah."

I nodded. "Seems legit."

He burst out laughing and I couldn't contain the wide smile that danced across my lips. "What does that even mean?"

"Means that it's a legitimate name for you," I answered while laughing.

He nudged me gently. "What about you? Tell me something about yourself."

"My full name is Catherine."

He shook his head but smiled nonetheless. "Something else."

"Ha," I rubbed my sweaty palms together, "that depends on what you want to know and how much you want to know about it."

He shrugged. "Doesn't have to be your deep darkest secret. Give me something that would make me understand who this Cathy person really is."

As I said, that depends on what you want to know and how much you're willing to hear.

I kicked a pebble down the sidewalk and lifted my head towards the sky. It wasn't pitch black, but I could see the silhouettes of stars peeking through.

"I'm just a regular girl who loves to skateboard and stay to herself," I summarized with a simple shrug. "There were things that happened my junior year that I regretted so much that I decided to spend my last year under the radar. Now, I consider myself just one of the guys."

"One of the guys," he echoed. "What does that mean?"

"It means that I'm the opposite of who I used to be." We locked gazes, and I smiled softly. "I prefer it this way."

"Well," Eli began with a chuckle, "if you're one of us now then I must say that you're the most beautiful guy I've ever seen."

"Thanks," I laughed, "you are, too."

Eli dramatically flipped his imaginary long hair and twiddled his fingers at me. "You know I try."

My laugh echoed down the street and into the night sky. A blissful silence wrapped around us like a warm blanket as we trudged down another block. A cool breeze swept among us, and I pulled my jacket tighter around me. My hair sat in a bun on top of my head with a few loose strands flying about, but these days I had been caring less and less about my appearance. Eli wore black jeans and a white t-shirt, and I smiled as I realized we wore matching colors.

We were both alike in a way; we drowned everyone with our silence so that we could remain hidden, but not enough to deem us as outcasts. We both hated attention and false rumors told by pretentious people who had nothing better to do with their lives. The past was also a sore subject for both us, and that was obvious when we gave a short synopsis of one another.

I sighed quietly and checked the time on my phone. I was surprised to see we had been walking for almost half an hour in complete silence, both of us trapped in our own consciousness.

"It's getting late," I said, setting my longboard on the ground. "I can ride back from here. Want me to walk you home?"

Eli smirked. "Shouldn't I be the one walking you home?"

"It wouldn't be much walking considering I have a form of transportation and you don't," I replied smugly. He shook his head as I laughed.

"No, I don't need you to walk me home. My apartment isn't far from here." I nodded and turned the opposite direction to ride off when he called my name. Hesitation skidded across his face for a split second. "Thank you, for today. It was nice having someone else to talk to that wasn't a guy."

I smiled. "Anytime."

He nodded, bid me goodnight, and ventured off into the night. I watched him until he blended in with the darkness perfectly, vanishing from my sight.

I took my slow time getting home, choosing a longer detour to prolong my ride. But when I got home and went into my room, I realized that my night wasn't ending just yet.

He was laying on his side with his hand propping up his head, leaving nothing to the imagination as he held a single decorative pillow over himself. I groaned, knowing I would have to throw the pillow away or let him keep it, and moved to my closet to stash away my longboard before addressing him.

"What are you doing?" I said, shaking my head at him with a smile planted on my face.

"I was waiting for you to come home," he said tauntingly. He slowly began to get up from his spot. He still cradled the pillow over himself as he stalked towards me. I dared myself not to back away and stared at him defiantly, but my insides were turning into goo. I knew he could tell because he gave me a knowing smirk.

"Does Kenny know you're here?" I asked as he stopped in front of me. My eyes flickered down to his toned stomach, and I reached out to trail my hands down his chest while trying to contain the beast clawing to escape.

"I came in through the window like usual."

My hand crept behind me to lock the door, and the timing was perfect because he scooped me up in his arms, revealing himself as the pillow dropped to the floor. A quiet squeal escaped my lips but it was smothered by his own. He laid me down gently onto the bed, removing his sweet lips from mine, eyes gazing inquisitively into my own.

"How do you want it?" Some nights he didn't ask me, but when he did, I went for the same answer.

Grabbing the back of his neck, I brought our lips back together roughly, intertwining my fingers into his short, soft hair. He didn't waste any time to unzip my jacket and toss it to the side before fumbling with my jeans. Giggling, I untangled my hands from his hair and pushed my jeans down, kicking them off.

"You are going to be the death of me," he grunted, nipping my bottom lip.

"I'll make it worth your while."