"Eleanor, I need you to stay away from me." He says as he holds tight onto my hand. I look up at him in confusion and hurt. No hint of anger is in his eyes.
"What, why?" I ask, voice breaking.
"I just need you to trust me okay? I don't want you to g...
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I was in the locker room getting dressed for cross country practice that next morning when I got a message from Danny.
Danny: Just thought I would warn you Isaac is back today.
I stare blankly at my phone, unsure of what to type back. Instead I just put the phone back on the bench and continue getting dressed. After I am done I pick it back up and see another message.
Danny: And he's at practice
With the knowledge that Isaac is not only back in school but in attendance at practice, I start moving a bit slower out to the course. Though I knew I would have to face him eventually, I still feel embarrassed and confused at the prospect. As I make my way towards the group of runners I don't see Isaac, but I notice Danny talking to a pair of twins. I decide I should at least introduce myself, considering Danny speaks so highly of them. The twins are bigger up close than they looked passing me in the hallway. Their shoulders are wide and strong, as are their jawlines. They both turn to me with matching smiles when Danny calls my name.
"Ethan, Aiden, this is my best friend Eleanor," Danny says, indicating that Aiden is the one wearing a jacket while Ethan has opted for just a bro tank. I give the twins a wave and try to see if they have any other distinguishing characteristics.
"Guilty," I smile back, "You guys are new here right?"
"Guilty," Aiden responds with a grin and wink, "And I would have transferred sooner if I knew how hot the girls were here."
I blush, thinking of a response when I notice Isaac has join the group and he is looking this way. No, not looking, he is glaring. For a moment I just stare over at him and wonder if it is possible that he somehow got taller. I remember when we were younger how every summer it seemed he would grow another foot. He went from such a small, soft spoken boy to this giant almost overnight. Right now there was no trace of the boy he had been, just a tall looming figure whose fierce blue eyes are burning a hole in the space between us. For a moment I think he is shooting that look at me, but then I realize he is looking at the twins.
"What's Lahey's problem?" Danny asks, and I turn to see his expression matches my confused one.
"Do you guys know him," I ask the twins, confused as to how Isaac could seem so angry at them when he had missed the only days they had been at our school.
"No, never met the guy," Ethan says
"Do you know him?" Aiden adds, with raised eyebrows in my direction
"He's on the lacrosse team with me," Danny responds, "And Eleanor and him have uh... history."
"I see, well you will have to tell us all about it Eleanor. Maybe after practice?" Ethan asks with a wide grin, and gives Aiden a playful punch in the arm. I nod, but find my eyes glancing back over in Isaac's direction. He has stopped glaring and is now in what looks to be a tense conversation with Scott. I feel numb. After going to entire summer without so much as seeing him, I had begun to question myself. I had begun to wonder if I'd imagined the entire conversation we had after school that day. But seeing him today I knew there was no way I had imagined it, and the pain still feels fresh even after so many months.
