Page 19 of Tristian (The Doherty Mafia)
Elsie went to the bathroom and I left the apartment, texting Isabelle that I was on the way to her apartment.
Even while I drove there, I’d battled with the idea of helping Elsie.
There was a part of me that kept saying I shouldn’t treat her with the kindness and support I showed her. I stood up for her to my family when we first arrived. Maybe they wouldn’t have warmed to her that quickly if I hadn’t set the example.
I couldn’t help but battle with those thoughts. I couldn’t help but recall everything I’d learned over the years of my life. To never trust a girl. Especially not one who made me that crazy with my need to fuck her.
There had to be something up with that.
Just like I should’ve known there was something up with Christie.
We were both eleven. Both just kids. But when she bumped her bike into mine that crispy cold December morning eleven years ago, I looked into her big green eyes and thought I was in love.
She had long blonde hair and freckles on her cheeks. She apologized to me profusely even though she hadn’t damaged my bike.
“What can I do to make it up to you?” she asked coyly. I saw from the way she blushed, she liked me too. I couldn’t just let her ride away. I had to hold on to her as tightly as I could.
The loss of my mom had made me desperate to cling to people I wanted in my life—I didn’t realize it at the time.
“You could let me buy you a milkshake,” I said and she blushed even harder.
That was the first and the last time I was ever going to ask a girl out on a date.
We rode our bikes together to the diner I used to have breakfast at with my brothers. Everyone knew me there. Hell, everyone had always known me everywhere.
We sat together at a booth in the corner and we ordered milkshakes and fries. Christie was shy and sweet, too nervous to meet my eyes.
She was the first girl I was truly interested in. More than interested in. I thought she was the prettiest thing I had ever set my eyes on and I hoped she liked me too.
I remembered our conversation well even now, even though it happened more than a decade ago. I asked her what her hobbies were, what kind of movies she liked, if she had a boyfriend. She seemed hesitant to answer any of the questions, it was like she hadn’t thought about those things before even though they were regular things.
We finished our food and I knew I wanted to see her again. I wanted to hold her hand and kiss her.
As we were leaving the diner, Christie flipped her hair over her shoulders and turned to me.
“Do you want to meet me tonight? At Brambley Park? I think I’ll be able to sneak out around midnight.” Her eyes glowed with excitement as she proposed the idea and I couldn’t believe my luck.
I didn’t think she had an adventurous streak. Of course I wanted to see her tonight. I figured it’d be my opportunity to kiss her. I excitedly agreed to see her at the park at midnight.
I went back home and spent the rest of the day thinking about her. Daydreaming and fantasizing about her plump pink lips. I used to tell my brother, Brendan, everything. We’d always been best friends, but he seemed busy that day.
Besides, I didn’t want to jinx it by telling him I’d met a girl who wanted to meet me alone at night in a park.
I stayed up all night, pacing around in my room until eleven-thirty. Then I snuck out of the house and got on my bike to ride over to the park, shaking with excitement and joy. I was so fuckin’ naive.
I could see her blonde hair shining from a distance as she stood waiting for me, wearing a bright pink puffy jacket and her cheeks flushed from the cold.
I waved to her and she waved back, but she looked nervous. Even more nervous than she’d looked in the morning. And even as I walked towards her with a skip in my step, I had no idea I was walking into a trap.
Isabelle opened the door with a smile.
“Where’s Elsie? I thought you were bringing her.”
“She’s taking a shower, and I’m not staying for long.”
Isabelle walked into the house and I followed her. She’d already made up a bag with some clothes she thought would fit Elsie. They were about the same size and height, so I figured it wasn’t going to be a big problem.
“I heard everyone’s warmed to her pretty quickly,” she said.
I stood back, watching her, with my hands shoved in my jacket.
“Yeah, I guess,” I answered.
