That Thing Between Eli & Gwen

by J. J. McAvoy

  “Taigi?” Sebastian turned, looking down at the dog.

  Taigi barked, baring his teeth at him.

  Good boy, I thought, tempted to “accidentally” loosen my grip on his leash.

  “Eli—”

  “To you, it’s Dr. Davenport, and why the hell are you standing in front my building? Would you like for me to actually bust your face in? Hannah isn’t here to threaten me with the cops.”

  He looked back at the building above. “You live here?”

  “And you don’t, so why are you still in my face?”

  “That’s Gwen’s dog—”

  Taigi jumped as if to bite off the finger he had dared to point in his face.

  “You should leave before I let him go,” I threatened, giving Taigi some slack.

  The husky jumped closer to Sebastian, causing him to back up quickly.

  “Taigi, it’s me, Bash—”

  Again, he bared his teeth.

  “Apparently he doesn’t want to see your ugly face, either.” His whole presence was pushing my buttons, especially since I knew why he was there.

  “I came to see Gwen—”

  “Why?” I asked him calmly. “You miss her? You know you made a mistake? Those all seem like you problems, because she’s fine. Haven’t you been selfish enough for one lifetime?”

  He dropped his head, running his hands through his sandy brown hair. “I can never say sorry enough for what I did to you. You have every right to hate me, but I need to see her. I know if we talk, if we just remember the good, instead—”

  “What good could possibly overshadow the fact that you ran off with the woman who was supposed to be my wife as she walked down the aisle? What universe do you live in?”

  I could tell he was getting angry from how tightly he held the bouquet in his hands. His whole body tensed.

  “This is none of your business, Dr. Davenport. I still love Gwen, and I’m going to make my universe her universe again—”

  “You sound more like a crazy stalker, and not her partner,” I said, moving toward the door, but stopped when I was at his shoulder. “But then, how could you be, when she’s with me?”

  “What?” he snapped. “What the fuck do you mean you are her partner? You couldn’t possibly be in—”

  “In a relationship? Why not? Come on, use that peanut-sized brain of yours, Evans. You both dumped us. Who else were we going to look to but each other? So when you say it’s none of my business, you are sadly mistaken, because Guinevere is with me in every sense of the word. And if you, in any way, upset her or try to contact her, I won’t just bust your face in, I will make sure you spend the rest of your life being fed through your nose.”

  He was steaming, his body shaking. “Are you scared she'll go back to me? Is that what this show of manhood is for right now? What, you guys have known each other for a little while and you think that compares to the years she has spent next to me? Do you know anything about her? She’s in love with me, I was her first!”

  “Are you trying to make me jealous right now?” I snickered. “Please understand, I don’t give a rat's ass about what you both were. She knows you broke up with Hannah, and you know what she said? She wished you two had stayed together. That was right before she took my hand. So stop yelling about how you were her first and she wants you, because the truth is neither of us wants anything to do with you people ever again. We’re enjoying our lives way too much for your bullshit.”

  Taigi took this time to lift his leg and piss all over Sebastian's Italian shoes.

  It took everything I had not to laugh.

  “You fucking mutt!” he screamed, trying to kick the wetness from his shoes.

  Taigi happily sat beside me.

  “Try your luck at something new tomorrow, Evans. It looks like you really won’t win today,” I replied, heading inside.

  Only when the elevator doors closed did Taigi relax, lying down on the elevator floor.

  Kneeling down, I petted his stomach. “I see what she was saying about you being a little mastermind. That’s why you wanted me to turn around? So I didn’t waste my time with him?”

  He looked up at me lazily, only to put his head back down—like I shouldn’t have even bothered asking, since I knew the answer. Great. Now I’m guessing at the thoughts of a dog. This was all Guinevere’s doing…but I couldn’t help but wonder if Sebastian had really been her first. She was just so…sexual. The fact that any man had thrown that away made me wonder about his sanity.

  When I got off the elevator, there was Logan, once again leaning against my door. He looked like he'd had one hell of a night.

  “Are you hungover?” I asked him, opening my door and letting Taigi in; I would drop him back at her place once I left for work.

  He nodded. “I was just so upset at myself… I was so determined yesterday, and then when I left, it all disappeared.” He sat down on the arm of my couch, burying his head in his hands.

  Grabbing an aspirin and water, I handed it to him. “You didn’t let Mom see you like this, did you?”

  He shook his head, throwing the pills into the back of his mouth and drinking half the bottle at once. “She was fast asleep when I got home this morning. I didn’t want to wake her up, so I came here. Cause where else am I going to go?”

  “Here is fine.”

  He sighed, not looking up at me. “If it doesn’t work out, I promise I will go back to med school. I won’t ask for you to help get me into a good one, either. I will work hard and get in on my own—”

  “It will work out,” I said to him.

  He looked up at me, his blue eyes confused. “What?”

  Taking a seat, I drank my water. “Don’t think of medical school as a fallback plan. If you don’t want to be a doctor, Logan, then you can’t be doctor, no matter how hard you force yourself. Make music. Your songs aren’t half bad; I listened to them while I was running this morning. You have talent.”

  “Who are you, and where is my older brother? God, how drunk am I?” he muttered, falling into the seat beside me.

  I smacked him over the head.

  “Yep, it’s you,” he groaned, rubbing the spot. “I don’t get it. Last night you were one minute away from killing me. You looked so disappointed.”

  “Logan.” I sighed. “I’m sorry. Over the years, I’ve never asked you what you wanted to do with your life. I just made decisions for you and forced you to do what I thought was right for you. You aren’t me, and I’m not you. I can’t keep coaching you, nor am I going to stand in your way. So, I’m just going to be your brother on the sidelines. My only job is to cheer you on, no matter what. It might take me a while to adjust, so be patient with me, but I promise I will try.”

  He didn’t say anything for a few minutes, just took a deep breath. “Thank you, Eli.”

  “I have no idea why you are thanking me.” I tried to brush it off, taking the frame from the side table and giving it to him.

  “What is this?” He stopped, just staring at it. “Is that—”

  “Us, plus Mom and Dad. Yeah, Guinevere painted it. We have copies; apparently she’s giving the original to Mother.”

  “It looks so real. For a second, I thought: when did we take this?” He laughed. “She’s amazing.”

  “She really is,” I said to myself.

  Guinevere

  I bit my spoon and opened my yogurt as she came over to me, her heels clicking on the floor before she sat down, placing a cup of coffee in front of me.

  “Mrs—Dr. Davenport, good afternoon,” I said once I put the spoon down.

  She smiled. “Gwen, you can call me Meryl, it’s fine. How are you?”

  “I’m fine, thank you. I’m taking a small lunch break before starting my first round of painting.”

  “I went by to have a sneak peek, but sadly your curtain is already up. I think I saw a few younger students here with you last night?” She stirred her coffee.

  “Oh yeah, they helped me finish tracing it onto
the wall. At first I thought I could do it alone, but that would have taken me weeks. I promise, when I’m done, I will let you be the first to see it.”

  She nodded, holding her cup.

  “Is everything all right?”

  “My sons. They often think I don’t know or don’t see everything that happens to them. For the most part, I just let them think I’m clueless. What neither knows is that they, like their father, have a tendency to ramble when they're drunk.”

  What? Why was she telling me this? “I don’t understand…”

  “Last night—well, early this morning, Logan stumbled into our home an absolute mess, and he was upset with himself. He kept asking why couldn’t he just be like Eli, and saying he didn’t want to let us down. Then, thirty minutes ago, he comes to my office, clear-minded and sober, with his brother, telling me he’s dropped out of medical school and is going on tour.” She giggled.

  I wasn’t sure if it was a nervous giggle or a happy one. “Are you upset?”

  She shook her head, just staring. “Not at all. Whatever my son wants to do, I will always support him. I knew he wasn’t passionate about medicine, so I wasn’t too surprised. What caught me off guard was Eli. I was expecting to have to calm him down and remind him he can’t control his brother's life…but for some reason I didn’t need to do that. And I got to wondering, besides me, who else can break through that thick head of his? Next thing I know, I’m looking for you.”

  Why was I so nervous? Brushing my hair back, I nodded. “I heard them fighting, and I talked to Eli afterward—”

  “Thank you, Gwen.” She put her hand on mine. “Thank you for being there for him. At first, I told myself he was only pretending to be all right for our sake, and then I realized he really is happy. So thank you. I hope I’m not putting too much on your shoulders. I know you two are friends, right?”

  I felt like she was trying to read me, and I took a bite of my yogurt, looking away. Only I wished I hadn’t, because then I saw Hannah and her pretty, curled golden hair as she held her tray and sat three seats behind us. Her eyes met mine, and I was forced to look back at Meryl. She glanced over, and Hannah’s head dropped, eating her soup.

  “She must still bother you. I never said I’m sorry for what you had to go through on that day. I can’t even imagine.”

  “You have no reason to be sorry. None of that really bothers me. Part of me feels like I should be more upset, but I’m glad I’m not. I keep thinking I’m so glad we ended before I married him, or everything would have been much worse.”

  “Good for you,” she said, drinking some of her coffee. “I, for one, am glad I do not have to worry about her and Eli again.”

  “What do you mean?” I stopped eating.

  “Once Eli cuts you out of his life, he cuts you out completely and never goes back. When I visited him three days after the wedding, I noticed he had already gotten rid of everything that once belonged to her. It’s just the type of person he is.”

  I knew that wasn’t a hundred percent true. He might have thrown out everything physical, but he had still held on to her phone number for a while before finally allowing me to delete it.

  “Who is what, Mother?”

  Speak of the devil.

  Turning, he came alongside us with a man with silver-pink hair pulled into a short ponytail, both of them holding trays of their own.

  Meryl winked at me, standing up. “Nothing, we were talking about her work. How are you, dear?”

  “Why do I have a hard time believing that?” He gave her a look, taking the untouched coffee from in front of me and giving it to his friend.

  “Eli—”

  “She’s allergic to coffee.” He kissed her cheek, taking a seat in front of me.

  She gave me a look, and all I could do was nod.

  “And if it was nothing, why don’t you stay?”

  “Eli Philip Davenport, you don’t believe your own mother?”

  “No, I know you were talking about me. You only throw out my middle name when I’ve said too much, or you have.” His eyebrow raised and a smirk crossed his lips.

  She looked to the pink-haired man. “How you are his friend is beyond me, Dr. Seo.”

  “I only endure his torture because you are his mother, Madam Chairwoman.”

  She patted him on the shoulder, nodding to me before taking her leave.

  At her exit, Dr. Seo tried to take a seat with us, but Eli gave him a look…a look he ignored, pulling a chair close. “Dr. Ian Seo. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms.—”

  “Guinevere Poe, but you can call me Gwen. I like your hair.” I shook his hand.

  “That cruel man made me dye it after cheating in a bet. Thank you, though.” He frowned at Eli, who spread jam on his bagel, not paying any attention to him.

  “What was the bet on?”

  Eli stopped mid-bite and glared at him.

  “He was just trying to warn me not to touch something that was his. Lesson learned. Do you have any friends who like Asian men with pink hair?”

  “All my friends are taken.” I laughed, shaking my head.

  He sighed.

  “I’ll keep an eye out,” I added.

  He looked to Eli. “Must God bless only you?”

  “That sounds like a conversation between you and whatever god you believe in. Can you take the coffee and go? It’s giving her a headache.”

  It wasn’t, but I knew he was just saying that to get him to leave. I noticed he had started drinking tea instead whenever he was around me.

  Dr. Seo winked at me before getting up. “I hope to see you around more, Ms. Poe.”

  “I’m working here, so I’m sure we will meet again.”

  He nodded, patting Eli on the shoulder, much to Eli’s annoyance, before leaving.

  “So, what were you and my mother talking about?”

  “What was your bet against Dr. Seo?”

  He licked his lips, swallowing before nodding. “Fine, it’s a draw.”

  “How’s your day?” I asked, continuing to eat.

  He shrugged. “Saved a few lives here, saved a few lives there—”

  “Wow, I am surely in the presence of greatness. Should I bow?”

  “If it pleases you.” He winked. “Your mural?”

  “It’s good. Only planned to be gone for a few minutes, but people just keep popping up.”

  “I know what you mean,” he said seriously.

  I could feel something was off. He didn’t look happy, nor did he look like he wanted to tell me what was bothering him. “Eli, what is it?”

  “This morning when I came back with Taigi, Sebastian was waiting in front of the building…with flowers.”

  “White and red poppies?”

  He nodded.

  “I’m guessing you didn’t just walk past him?”

  “Words were spoken.”

  “Just words?”

  Again, he nodded. “Though Taigi did piss on his shoes.”

  “Oh, I love my dog.” I laughed, brushing my hair back. “He didn’t say anything to upset you, did he?”

  “Not in the least.”

  “Good, then if you aren’t worried about it, I’m not.” I stood, grabbing my tray. “I really should get back if I want to get to where I was hoping today. Dinner?”

  “I’ll actually cook this time,” he replied, but before I could leave, he called out once more. “Guinevere?”

  “Yes?”

  “Three questions: do you like poppies?”

  “Yes, they are my favorite flowers. Your second question?” I knew he was asking because of Sebastian.

  “What’s your middle name? After all, thanks to my mom, you know mine.”

  It seemed like a boring question, but I told him. “It’s Aurora. Guinevere Aurora Poe. And your last question?”

  “Will you go on a date with me tonight, Guinevere Aurora Poe?”

  “Yes.”

  “Pick you up at the arts and crafts corner?” He smiled.

&
nbsp; Rolling my eyes at him, I waved before heading out. I walked back down the grayish-blue hall while stretching my arms, preparing for the work ahead of me. Then she came out in front of me at the end of the hall. “Hannah.” I nodded, trying to walk around her.

  She called out to me. “You should stop now.”

  “What?” I turned to her.

  She put her hands in her scrub pockets, walking forward. “Whatever is going on with you and Eli, you should stop before you fall in love with him and he actually hurts you. Eli doesn’t fall in love.”

  “I’m sorry, what’s going on between me and Eli isn’t any of your business—”

  “I cheated because he didn’t love me.” She cut me off.

  I wanted to slap her across the face, but she just kept going.

  “Eli is a planner. He sets goals and has this whole layout in his mind of the way his life should be. I wanted to get married at the end of the year, but Eli wanted to get married by his 31st birthday. Why? Because his father did. He dated me because I checked all the boxes for what he wanted in a woman. There was no passion in anything we did; it was all just logical for him. I wanted passion. I wanted to be loved the way you see in movies. So I cheated. And—”

  “How’s that passion working out for you?” I asked. “Maybe you forgot who you're talking to, but I really don’t give a shit, Hannah. If you don’t feel loved, you leave before you are in a white dress, walking toward someone. You want me to feel pity—”

  “No. Like I said, I just wanted to let you know, because I hurt you already. You should be with someone who can love you, who’s not messing around—”

  “Stop talking to me!” I snapped at her. “I don’t want to hear your words of “wisdom”; you aren’t my sister, or my friend. You are the last person in the world I would ever take relationship advice from. Mind. Your. Own. Goddamn. Business. Hannah!” Walking away from her, I went straight to my corner, closing the curtain behind me. Why couldn’t they just leave us alone? Why must we be as miserable as them?