A Beautiful Forever - By Anderson, Lilliana Page 0,59
have left in this world is three more perfect weeks together, and it’s more than I could hope for. Long term, there’s simply no way we could make it, once I tell him everything about my past, it would be virtually impossible for him to look at me the same way he does now. As much as I’d like to keep it all a secret, I can’t, I mean, things would be fine for a while but eventually my secrets would push him away – I just can’t pin all of my hopes on him.
I find a bench to sit on and scroll through the messages on my phone, there are at least ten notifications, telling me there are voice messages waiting – I know they’re from my parents but I haven’t been able to bring myself to listen to them but their ever increasing number keeps staring at me, taunting my curiosity.
I select one and my thumb hovers over the screen, just above the voicemail number. Nerves and foreboding fill my body, and I can’t seem to force myself to touch the numbers and make the call.
Blowing out my breath as I squeeze the emotion from my eyes, I hit the home button and select my gallery instead. I select the most recent photo I have of Elliot and I on the train when we were riding to Shane’s party last night, I touch his face on the screen and flick to the next one. It’s the one of us kissing outside the cemetery on that ghost walk he took me on.
Deciding to focus on Elliot and deal with my family issues in three weeks’ time, I delete my voicemail notifications and place my phone back in my bag on a sigh.
“I can do this,” I say to myself as I rise from the bench, heading towards the supermarket to go and buy the milk to take back with me.
Elliot
Paige has been gone for ages, and I’m starting to get worried, our new housemate, Jolene, has been here for nearly an hour already, and she’s still not back from getting milk.
I think about sending her a text or calling her, but I don’t want to seem too overbearing or worse – needy, even though right now, I feel like she’s the only reason my body allows me to take a breath.
Jolene seems like a nice enough girl. She's a Bondi girl same as me and thinks we might have actually mixed at some point as she used to date a guy I knew from Sydney Grammar. I probably have met her before, but she would have been like every other girl I knew back then and overlooked me because of my weight.
She keeps touching me on the arm, and I can see Naomi giving me a sympathetic smile. She knows me well enough by now to know that I don’t like girls who are all over me the moment we meet. I know I exploited the reaction girls have to me for a while after I broke up with Katrina, but that’s just not who I am. I like girls who like me for me, which is why I’m so glad when the door opens, and Paige walks in carrying the milk.
Paige
As soon as I open the door, I see everyone sitting on the floor talking around the coffee table. What’s the deal with the floor today? Is there a broken spring on the couch or something? Then I notice the new girl, Jocelyn – or something? I’m shit with names, so I’m not quite sure what hers is. However, she is paying a lot of attention to Elliot; her hand is on his arm, and she’s saying, “I can’t believe I have probably known you for most of my life, and I can’t even remember!”
He turns around and sees me, jumping up guiltily and coming over to greet me. My chest hurts, and I feel immediately sick. I was just out agonising over my feelings for him, and he’s back here flirting with the new girl?!
“Having fun?” I ask straight away. The new girl gets up and follows him over.
“Hi, I’m Jolene. You must be Paige,” she says, holding her hand out to shake mine. I look at it for a moment before I decide to give it a quick shake. She looks at me with uncertainty, “Um, Elliot and I were just catching up, turns out we knew a few of the same people at school.”