Thea

"I'm sorry Thea," Ellis says stopping at the stairs that lead down into the now crowded subway. I shake my head.

"We have to go back to the bar and get the motorcycle," he shrugs and smiles like he isn't trying to force me down into a dark hole with a bunch of pushing and shoving strangers.

"It's way too crowded. We should walk or take a cab or something."

Ellis laughs, "Thea this is not even a little crowded. It's Saturday morning. You should see it on a Monday."

My eyes widen in fear as I imagine the stampede of people forcing their way down the cement stairs and into the sticky heat of the underground. 

"I guess we can officially say that you will never move to the city. Even though my tour has been amazing."

I nudge him with my shoulder and start walking away from the subway station, "I don't think you could show me anything that would make me want to live here. A visit is fun but full-time? No way."

"You're going the wrong way."

"If it is away from the tunnel of death then I'm pretty sure it is the right way," I say throwing my hands up.

He grabs my hand and basically drags me down the decently crowded stairway and into the musty air that I hate so much. I almost gag on the smell but hold it back.

I somehow make it through the turnstile in one try this time, which is already a huge accomplishment, "so I'm basically a local now." I say as we rush onto the waiting subway.

"Sure, Thea, sure." Ellis laughs. His grip on my hand is so tight but I don't mind. I know he's nervous and I understand why.

"One time my then best friend was over, her name's Lauren, and we were playing on the swings outside in my backyard." I say trying to distract him.

"So we were like five or seven but she wanted to go in the baby swing, you know the one that locks?" I ask.

"Yeah." He nods now seeming interested in the story.

"She went into the swing and obviously was too big so it kind of jammed up. But there was this bees nest under the wooden part of the play set and I guess the squeaking from the swing woke them up and they swarmed. I mean swarmed like in movies, Ellis."

"So what happened?"

I take a deep dramatic breath, "I left her there. She was stuck in the swing and I ran away into my house because I'm terrified of bees. I mean who isn't?"

"You left her?" His blue eyes are wide and pretty in the horrible lighting of the subway. I move a little closer to him so our legs are touching from thigh to ankle.

"Yes."

"How many stings?"

"At least thirty."

"No," Ellis says shaking his head probably trying to imagine the amount of pain Lauren was in. "Did you get stung?"

"Nope. Not one sting."

"You're the worst friend ever," Ellis says laughing.

"Yup, now you know another secret." I say and kiss his cheek. He smiles and kisses my lips just before the subway stops where we need it to.

"Are you guys still friends?" He asks as we put our helmets on and get situated on the motorcycle. My heart is pounding in my ears but I try to stay as relaxed as possible because I know that it's Ellis' turn to freak out.

"Nope. I don't think her mom would allow her over our house again. But then Blake moved in a couple weeks later."

"Ahh, Blake. I'm surprised she hasn't sent out a search party yet," he says.

"It's still early. If you don't get me back soon she just might."

"Nah, you're mine until I leave." Ellis says and I stay quiet because I am trying to control my breathing as the bike starts up.

He turns to me, "if you're okay with that, of course. I'm not trying to actually kidnap you."

"You can kidnap me anytime you want." I say and wrap my arms as tightly as I possibly can around his stomach as he kicks off the ground and we tear off onto the busy Manhattan streets. The horns are blaring, the taxis are breaking way too hard and fast, and I know we could be squashed under a tire of a bus in seconds. But we don't. And I trust Ellis, probably a little too much.

We stop at a small brick building that looks like a typical apartment building, unlike the hotel Ellis lives in. Ellis checks the unopened envelop to make sure we have the right address before putting it away and grabbing my hand.

Brenden lives in a small walk up apartment. The door is bright red and there are potted flowers on the small stoop.

"Ready?" I ask as I walk up the two cement steps and Ellis follows right behind. I knock on the door and we wait.

"Maybe it's too early," Ellis says ready to bolt down the steps.

"We've been waiting three seconds. Relax."

"Or what? You'll send bees to attack me?"

I snort just as the door open revealing a little boy who can't be older than three and a man who has dark brown eyes and curly brown hair. The man is holding a cup of coffee and the boy is still in his pajamas. I guess it is pretty early.

"Can I help you?" The man asks in a deep voice and places his hand on the little boys shoulder.

"Is Brenden here?" I ask because I think Ellis is frozen.

"Yeah, sure. And you are?" He asks looking from me to Ellis then his eyes widen with realization, "Ellis," the man answers for himself and opens the door wider so we can enter.

The apartment is larger than it looks on the outside. The living room is littered with baby toys, cars, and trucks, and there is a sippy cup on the table that the little boy grabs before walking back over to us.

"I'll go get him. He's inside with the baby."

My eyes lock with Ellis and he looks like he might throw up. I lean my head on his shoulder not knowing what else to do but knowing I want him to know I'm here.

A tall man with the same blue eyes as Ellis walks in and his face lights up. His smile stretches across his face and I can feel how excited he is to see his brother. Ellis automatically smiles too.

"I can't believe you're here. At fucking 6:30 in the morning but you're here," Brenden says.

"Language," Matthew scolds.

Brenden rolls his eyes, "you remember Matthew?"

"Yeah, of course." Ellis says, "this is Thea."

"Girlfriend?" Brenden asks and wiggles his eyebrows up and down. Matthew laughs and then walks away probably to tend to the crying that is happening in some other part of the apartment.

"We've known each other for nine hours so I'm not sure we're ready to label anything just yet." I say.

"Yeah I'm waiting until hour twelve to ask her to make it official," Ellis says.

Brenden laughs and walks into the kitchen, we follow behind him and gratefully accepts the cups of coffee he offers.

"Kids?" Ellis asks after a few minutes of silence.

"I'm assuming you didn't read my letters?"

Ellis shakes his head and takes a long sip of coffee.

"That's Holden," he says nodding towards the living room where Holden is rolling cars into the wall with a soft thud, "and Violet is five months."

"Wow, congrats." Ellis seems so unsure for the first time and I don't know how to help him.

"Dad comes by a lot to see them." That makes Ellis' head snap up and his eyes connect with his brothers. Matching eyes with expressions that don't sync.

"What?"

"When he came by unexpected, kind of like this," Brenden says, "I was just as surprised. Dad was always the tough one. He was the one that said to move out. I always thought Mom was just going along with whatever Dad said. But I guess I was wrong. Dad asked me to move back so many times and Mom always said no. Not that I ever would come back.

"Ellis, I'm really happy with how my life turned out. I think that them kicking me out was one of the best things that could have happened. It allowed my relationship with Matthew to grow, it allowed me to see that money is not everything, and it allowed to me realize who I truly wanted to be."

Ellis nods, "I think I'm starting to get that."

"It's hard when you're still under that roof," he says.

"I'm going to Europe tomorrow for culinary school," Ellis says softly.

Brenden looks at him like he is seeing him again for the first time and that same smile lights up his handsome face, "I am so proud of you."

While they talk I head out into the living room to play with Holden. He shows me how to correctly throw the cars into the wall. I can see the markings from past crashes.

"Thea do you mind if we stay for breakfast?" Ellis asks walking into the living room just as Matthew walks in with a little chubby baby.

"I don't mind at all," I say my eyes still locked on Violet.

"Can I hold her?" I ask. Matthew chuckles before handing the squirming baby over to me. I barely notice what the rest of them are doing as I play with Holden and Violet.

"Do you think your non-girlfriend needs a babysitting job?" I hear Brenden ask from the kitchen.

"Nah, she is leaving too." And I hope I hear disappointment in Ellis' voice.

"Well that sucks. She could have been the best thing that ever happen to you. And us."

**Thanks for reading!

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I am going to start updating on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

And my new story 18 Letters to You will be coming out sometimes today! Please check it out :)

-Brooke