Chapter 14: Getting Back to the Beginning and Getting Caught

Well Heath is leaving today. I haven’t spoken to him since early afternoon yesterday just before he stormed off. I didn’t mean to upset him then, but I really just didn’t feel like talking about it. That it I’m referring to would be my mother’s sudden engagement. I still don’t want to talk about it or even think about it for that matter. I am so angry with her right now that I could just….just…just explode!
 

How could she not consult me before saying yes to him? She didn’t even give me a hit that this was coming and I doubt it was a total shocker to her. Is it selfish and bratty of me to want to her of asked me about the engagement? I want my mom to be happy and I’m not saying that I would have said no. I just wanted her to actually talk to me about it.  She’s barely said more than two words to me since she told me. I just feel like she doesn’t care how I feel. Then again I’ve been feeling like that a lot lately…well ever since I got that recording contract.
 

My dad would just die if he could see how she’s changed since he passed. He wouldn’t even recognize her. She used to be so much fun. She was one of my best friends. I don’t know her at all anymore and I don’t like this new woman she’s become. I can’t figure out what exactly changed her. I know that my dad’s death caused her to become way overprotective of me, which was understandable. Just like I did, she lost a part of her when we lost him. That twinkle she once had is long gone now. I thought she was starting to get that fun spirit of hers back when she started dating Steve, but I was wrong. She just went…I don’t know…kind of wild. She became solely focused on Steve and my fame. I don’t get it and I don’t think I ever will.
 

“Hey, can I come in?” I ask quietly after rapping my knuckles on the open door to Heath’s bedroom. He looks up from the book he’s reading and our eyes catch for a moment before he breaks the comment. He folds down the corner of the page he’s on and places the novel on the bedside table.
 

“Look Elli—” Heath begins, but I quickly cut him off.
 

“Let me go first.” I say and move to sit on the corner of the unmade bed. “I’m sorry that I snapped at you. I was upset about my mom and Steve and I took it out on you. I didn’t mean to make you feel….I don’t want you to think that I can’t talk to you because I can.”
 

“Then lets talk.”
 

“Heath,” I sigh his name out of frustration.
 

“Or would you be more comfortable talking to your ex-boyfriend.”
 

“My ex-boyfriend?” I echo. He’s not supposed to know about Justin. I never told him about our past relationship. I was afraid he would get jealous and do something stupid and irrational like forbidding me to be around Justin. I’ll bet you money my mom was the one that said something.
 

“Justin Timberlake.” He says through a clenched jaw. “Why didn’t you tell me you two once dated?”
 

“I don’t know,” I shrug. “It just didn’t come up?”
 

“Elli, if this is gonna work,” he prompts motioning between the two of us, “then we need to be honest with each other.”
 

“You’re right. I’m sorry.” I apologize sincerely. I realize now that I should have told him from the beginning. I guess I’m just getting too used to lying. I really like Heath a whole lot and I don’t want to screw this up. I can see myself with him for a long while—that thought makes me smile. I look up to see that he’s wearing just the slightest smirk too.
 

“You know what the best part of fighting is?” He asks with a sly smile as he extends his hand to me. I take his offered hand and climb my way up to sit closely at his side.
 

“What?” I smile as his face leans down closer to mine. He’s head dips so close to me that his next words are spoken against my already tingling lips.
 

“Making up.”
 

I giggle against his mouth as he initiates a sweet kiss that quickly turns passionate. I slide my hands into his hair as his encircle my waist tightly. I love the way he kisses me. He playfully nips at my bottom lip before pulling away—leaving me wanting more by the way—kisses, just kisses.
 

“How long did you and Justin date?”
 

“Does it really matter?” I answer his question with another question of my own.
 

“No,” He pecks my lips. “I’m just curious.”
 

“Only a few months.” Vague I know, but what does he need to know the details for? Like he said, it doesn’t really matter. Hoping to change the subject and quickly I lean forward and up a bit to press my lips to his again. After only a few seconds he pulls back again.

“So what happened between you two? I mean why did you break up?”
 

I sigh and roll away from him and off the side of the bed to my feet. This is exactly why I didn’t want to tell him about Justin. Now I have to face all of these questions that I do not want to answer. I’d rather talk about my mom and Steve than my past relationship with Justin—especially why we broke up.
 

“Do we really have to talk about this?” I groan, running a hand through my wild curls.
 

“He hurt you?” He asks though his question comes out more as a statement. I turn my back to him as I feel the all too familiar stink of tears rising from the back of my throat. It may have happened three years ago, but sometimes when I think about it, it feels like just yesterday and I’m left with a deep ache that fills me from head to toe. I nod my head to answer his question just as he comes to stand behind me. His arms slide around my waist and he pulls me back to lean against his chest.
 

“He cheated on me.” I whisper through my silent tears. I hate that I’m still crying over this….over him. His turns me around to face him, but I keep my head down so that he cannot see my tears stained cheeks.
 

“I would never hurt you like that.” Heath vows after lifting my gaze to his. I can tell from the look in his eyes that he means what he says. The pads of his thumbs move over my cheeks and wipe away my tears before he lowers his lips to mine in a kiss full of promise and reassurance.
 

~*~*~
 

Heath is leaving today and I couldn’t be any happier. I am so sick and tired of watching those two hanging all over each other—it’s sickening. They did get into a little fight or at least that’s what I’ve been told. Turns out Elli’s mom is engaged! Can you believe that? I was beyond shocked when I found out. Joey told all of us that Elli was pretty upset about it. I couldn’t help but wonder if the engagement was the reason she came to my room earlier today. I can’t imagine why she would want to talk to me though, when she has the perfect Mr. Heath Ledger there to listen to all of her problems.
 

Anyway, Elli and Heath were fighting because Elli snapped at him when he tried to get her to talk about her mom and Steve. Great right? Okay so I know that I really shouldn’t be this happy about this, but I can’t help it. I don’t like Heath and I don’t want them to be together.
 

“I will not pretend to be your girlfriend Justin.” Cameron states firmly as she sits back in her chair and stiffly folds her arms over her chest.
 

“Why not?” I ask after the waiter leaves us after dropping off our drinks.
 

“It a terrible idea okay?” She continues and leaning back on her elbows as she speaks in hushed tones like she thinks someone might be eavesdropping.  “Stuff like this only works in the movies. This is real life Justin, it’s not pretend.”
 

“But—”
 

“It’s a bad idea and I’m not going to play along.”
 

“Fine.” I pout with my arms crossed over my chest.
 

“That pout is not gonna work on me Timberlake.” Cameron laughs. “This would only leave somebody hurting in the end and you know it.”
 

“I said fine.”
 

“You’re such a baby.” She laughs, seemingly finding this whole situation very amusing. I stick my tongue out at her childishly before laughing along with her. I guess that idea was kind of stupid. I mean I’ve played these games with Elli before and I only ended up hurting her in the end. Why does my brain even go there?
 

“Okay, it was a f**ked up idea,” I chuckle. “Let’s move on to another topic.”
 

“I think we should still talk about this.” She says in all seriousness.
 

“There’s nothing to talk about Cameron.” I sigh in annoyance. Sometimes she can really wear on my nerves with all this talking about my feelings and shit.
 

“You’re still in love with Elli and you need to do something about it.”
 

“Whoa, who said anything about love?”
 

“Okay, well, you still have strong feelings for her.” She corrects with a roll of her eyes. I roll my eyes right back at her and lean back in my chair with my arms crossed over my chest.
 

“What do you suggest I do?” I ask, clearly irritated with this entire conversation. “Go up to her and tell her to dump Heath and go back out with me—you know the guy that cheated on you.”
 

“You need to tell her how you feel.” She stress for about the millionth time. “For all you know she could still have some feelings for you too.”
 

“I finally got her to try the friends thing and I’m okay with that for now.”
 

I really am. I now ya’ll probably don’t believe since I did come up with that hair brained scheme for trying to make Elli jealous by dating Cameron, but I’m really serious. We were friends before we were ever more and I’d like more than anything to get back to that.....to the beginning.  
 

 TBC....