Lockwood City: The Tale of Eloise

Twelve

Maneskin- Beggin

Elias:

The reason why her theory was so compelling was because she started off by telling me the truth. Whoever she's been talking to has taught her a few good tricks although I feel like she's picking this up from Luna Bes. They're both equally dramatic.

She's moving around the house taking notes on her tablet. She likes soft colors but she likes making a statement so she's not ruling out black. I am a hundred percent on board with black. I didn't expect her to be so grown up or to be as serious as she is. Most people who go through what she has always blame someone. Not her. I can't imagine having monsters in my head without knowing why they came to be. Not having that closure.

"Okay, there is no way in hell I am staying upstairs alone," she says when she comes back down the stairs. "It has creepy prep school dorm room vibes,"

"What?" I laugh.

"You know like the Blackcoat's Daughter or Nightmare at The End of the Hall,"

"You still watch cheesy scary movies?"

"Yes, I do. Did you stop?" she crosses her arms over her chest as she looks over the fireplace.

"Yeah, girls don't really like scary movies," I admit. She spins around on her heels to look at me. There's a teasing grin on her lips. When she smiles the scar on her face makes her look a little sinister.

"Elias Graeson, did you sell out for perky boobs and quickies as an adolescent?" she laughs.

"Yes, I did," I grin. "Around fourteen actually. What were you doing up in that tower at fourteen?"

"Fourteen?" she taps her stylus against her lips pensively. She seems a little relaxed but the coldness swirling inside of me has me on my toes. "Twilight, Pierce the Veil, and AP Calculus,"

"You were an emo girl," I nod. "Why does that not surprise me? I can forgive the Pierce the Veil s**t, even the math, but you were a twiheart? No, Ellie,"

"I was in love with Bella. She was such a cool character. Her reasoning didn't make any f*****g sense and Edward. God, what a f*****g ass hole," she scoffs. "That saga was cursed from the start and I loved every second of it. I mean it's called the Twilight Saga. Cringe,"

It really is her. I-I mean I know it's her. I just can't believe how outgoing she seems despite the way she reacts to everything around her. She's very trusting, at least towards me. I didn't think she would be okay with any of this but I see what she's doing. She really wanted out. She's stayed put not because she wanted to but because she sees the way everyone tiptoes around her. She didn't want to disappoint them or belittle their efforts. I saw it in the way she looked at her parents as they walked out the door. It was like watching someone rip a bandaid off. Not her own but theirs.

"I uh-" I clear my throat. "I actually started boosting cars at fourteen,"

"What?" she laughs looking up at me amused. "Why?"

"The same reason you peeled out in the middle of the Lockwood Tower. It was fun. I-" I meet her icy stare. "Chemical Kids And Mechanical Brides is one of my favorite songs at the time. How did you get into it?"

"Blitz swears that A Match Into Water was written about me," she laughs. "That and Mike Fuentes was hot as s**t,"

"Mike Fuentes," I laugh.

"Mike Fuentes," she grins shaking her head. "I got over it after the allegations. What were you doing at fifteen?"

"Uh-weed. Lots of it. You?"

"I got really into computers and video games. Coding. I met my first chick best friend," she smirks. "Her name is- I still don't know her name and she doesn't know mine. We call each other by our gamer tags,"

"What's your gamer tag?" I urge.

"Assail_001," a little snort rumbles in the back of her throat. "But everyone just calls me Sail,"

"To do something violently. Clever,"

"What do you think of this?" she asks holding out the tablet.

I take it avoiding her touch. It's a picture of the living room. The entire fireplace is black, from the floor all the way up the brick chimney to the ceiling. She put a fluffy white rug in front of it. A bigger round one frames a third of the space. She's even added lamps and decorative tables.

"Holy s**t, you're really good at this," I say looking up at her. "Why does the Penthouse look like a museum?"

"A storage room," she huffs. "It's where my mother puts things she creates but can't quite ever get rid of. Like the bike and the car. All of the masterpieces she can't put on display because they're just too dark or painful to let anyone put a price on,"

"Is that what you think of yourself?"

"Yeah," she smiles. "A priceless masterpiece that fell, shattered, and was pieced back together incorrectly. Still pretty, still broken, but you can't just throw it out because it was the piece that inspired rage and violence. The reason why Moon Stone Valley was burned to the f*****g ground fifteen years ago,"

"Not an easy piece to get rid of," I agree. "Do you want to go for a drive?" I ask suddenly. "We can get some snacks and drive around the City in my jeep. I can show you the school. We never even have to get out of the car,"

"Snacks?" she whispers taping the white stylus against her lips.

"Yeah. I know some snacks you might like. Nothing too crazy. We can play music and talk. My windows are blacked out. It feels-"

"Small?" she asks. I nod. "I'll get a sweater," she moved the pen in her hand between her index finger and middle finger the way a drummer would. "Maybe change my shoes,"

"The closet down here. Second door on the right when you enter the room,"

"Thanks," she nods and walks away.

I'm nervous now. My hands feel a little shaky and I want to change out of these clothes. It's incredibly easy to just be myself around her. Yeah, I need to put something a little more comfortable on. I grab one of my duffle bags and head up the stairs to change. It's in my head now. She's kind of right. This hall reminds me of Lockwood Academy. I change my clothes and take one of the hats in my bag. She's lying on my bed in the middle of the living room with her hand held up as she quietly sings to herself. She sits up when she hears my footsteps.

"Ready?" I ask her. Her eyes scan my body and I swear the coldness in her eyes sparks.

"Yes," she nods averting her gaze like she's embarrassed about what just crossed her mind.

Maybe not embarrassed but definitely shocked. I look down at my dark jeans and black T-shirt. I want to badly reach out and take her hand in mine as we make our way to the car. Do I have first-date jitters? Oh, my god. I do. I've never had these before. I've always just taken whatever I want but this is different, isn't it? She's different. She's the one and I don't want to f**k this up. It all feels a little like it can fall apart any second.

"Jax usually drives this. I got it a couple of years ago. I used it three times and that's it," I tell her as she gets in the car.

"Victoria's son?" she asks when I go around and climb in.

"Yeah. Do you remember him?"

"Yeah, he looks like his dad. Jackson. He's head of the guard,"

"Have you ever met his dad?"

"Yeah, he flushed my body of the silver when I-" she paused, looking down at the floor like she just forgot where she was.

"Ellie, do you remember everything that happened to you?" I whisper. Her expression blanks and she nods. Her jaw tightens hard enough that I hear her teeth grind against each other. "Let's set up your phone,"

"What?" she shakes it off and glances at me. "Right. My phone," she reaches for the touch screen and I let her. "Did you not go on dates?"

"What?" I feel my heart start to beat rapidly. She lets out a low simper and glances at my chest. She can hear it. The way my heart is racing. She likes the way I react to her.

"Did you ever take her on dates? In this, I mean. All I'm getting is your scent and two others but not hers,"

"Tiff wasn't big on dates. Her mate was killed in a raid. A lot of things she did with him were kind of off limits when we first started-"

"Wait, wait. You were lovers before you got together?" she sat back as the music began to play. "That must have been fun,"

"It was," I nod. "She was in trouble when we met,"

"Were you friends with her mate?"

"No, Russell was part of the seeker program. They're a couple of years younger than us,"

"Four. A couple is just two," she plays Fast Times At Clairemont High. "I hit shuffle on my entire backlist,"

"Perfect," I put the jeep into reverse and back out of the driveway.

She looks around a little as she puts her seatbelt on. She puts on a pair of Raybans and sits back taking everything in as we make our way out of Cherry Hill. Her smell is a little overwhelming. It's completely different than I remember when we were kids. It used to be darker, like vanilla with a hint of lavender. Expensive and gentle. Now she smells sweet. Like warm caramel being poured over vanilla orchids. It's tantalizing and a little explosive even. My phone ringing paused her music.

"Sorry," I apologize. I meant to turn it off. I don't want any interruptions.

"It's fine," she smiles. I hit the green button on the screen.

"What's up, Jax?"

"Hey, man. I know you said not to interrupt you unless it's an emergency," he sighs.

"What's the emergency?" I ask.

"Max is here," he answers. "He's trying to convince my dad to kick Tiff off the Guard program. He clawed up her f*****g car, bro,"

"s**t,"

"We should go," Eloise says. I look over at her.

"I don't-"

"We should go. I promise you won't regret it," she meets my eyes.

"You've had a lot to deal with today,"

"I was promised snacks and tours. You can't just take me back," she smirks. "Besides, I want to see the look on Max's face when he sees me for the first time ever," she laughs. "I need his scent. His is more important than hers. Tiff isn't a threat to me but he is. Think of it as our first social experiment,"

"You don't think Tiff is a threat to you?"

"I know she's not," she says with confidence.

"We're on our way, Jax," I say.

"Hurry," he urges and hangs up.

"Are you sure?" I ask her again.

"Mhm," she nods.

I head back in the direction of Lockwood Tower. I take her through the city. The way she's looking around curiously is adorable. I see her write a few things down in her tablet but I don't question it. I really want to though. Her music is all over the place. Rap, punk, pop, classical, and metal. The only thing the songs have in common is that they're angry.

"Ground rules," I say. "No fighting,"

"Check," she nods.

"You are not allowed to run off on your own,"

"Check," she grins.

"You have to hold my hand the entire time,"

"Uh-" she looks over at me. "Is that really a rule?"

"I need it to be, yeah,"

"Mmm, if I need to. I won't hesitate. How does that sound?" she offers.

"Good," I nod.

"Okay, my turn," she sits up and sets the tablet down on the floor under her feet. I love that she does everything with as much enthusiasm as possible. "Don't interrupt me when I am speaking. It is literally my pet peeve. That and people who chew loudly,"

"Check on and check," I smirk.

"Okay. I know it's a lot to ask but don't let anyone touch me. At all. It feels like-" she looks down at her wrists. "Like I'm burning when other people touch me,"

"Does it feel like that when I touch you?"

"When you touch me it feels like I'm being doused in silver," she whispers. I grip the steering wheel tightly before I relax. "It's not a bad thing," she admits. "But it's definitely something I need to work on,"

"Thank you for being honest with me,"

"I'm not a very good liar," she admits.

"Good," I smile.

"Does it bother you?" she asks after a while. I have to turn the Jeep around to park in front of L.C. Tower.

"What?" I ask.

"That we can't connect the way we're supposed to?" she whispers. "I know she's part of the pack's link. Is it easier that way?"

"It would be easier for me. I'm used to it. It's all I've ever known since I shifted. It's not going to be easy for you if and when you learn to tap into the pack's link. We share everything. Feel everything it's why we're so strong. We give each other strength, Ellie. A mate's bond is a lot different. Kind of like a private channel. Just us two. We can work on that with time. Just the two of us before I have to share you with the rest of the pack. Yeah?"

"Okay," she nods as I park. She takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "Let's go,"