Always Eli by Charlie Novak

Chapter Twenty-Three

Tristan

The journeyto Miranda and Eleanor’s house on the following Sunday seemed to take far longer than the usual hour, and yet it also felt like no time at all. By the time we pulled into the driveway, I still wasn’t prepared for what we were doing.

Eli had said the best way to do this was to rip the plaster off and bring me to a family dinner. That way we’d get it all over and done with at once. We’d also have allies there in the form of Lewis, Finn, and Jules, but not Jason, as he was back in London for work.

“Still,” Eli had said, “that’s five of us against Richard, so that’s pretty good odds.”

I wanted to ask him if he was expecting a punch up, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the answer. Telling my family hadn’t been nearly so dramatic. Alexis had just given me an enormous hug and asked to meet Eli as soon as she returned from her trip to London where she was doing a consultation for a footballer and his partner. My parents had had the same reaction as usual—a vaguely disinterested “That’s nice darling”—but I had taken great delight in pointedly telling my father that Eli was a drag queen instead of the usual banker or lawyer I usually brought home. I sadly hadn’t been able to see his face, but his silence and strained voice had been enough. I knew they’d be polite to Eli if they ever met him because they were just those sort of people, but I doubted I’d see them any more than I already did.

It wasn’t like they were falling over themselves to spend time with me anyway.

“Well,” said Eli, making the sign of the cross. “If there was ever a time to pray, it’s now.”

I laughed. “It won’t be that bad. Richard isn’t that much of an asshole.” At least, I prayed he wasn’t. We’d been friends for long enough that I hoped he’d be happy for me. “And if all else fails, we can appeal to Ruby. She’s very sweet.”

“Which really does beg the question of why she’s with my brother, but I suppose we’ll have to chalk that up to being one of the great mysteries of life.” Eli unbuckled his seatbelt and reached for the door. “Come on. Let’s go and introduce you. If it goes horribly, we can go back to mine and drown our sorrows in tequila.”

“Don’t be so overdramatic,” I said, climbing out of the car and straightening my jumper. I’d gone for my nicest knitted one, which was also one of the only jumpers I had that wasn’t covered in dog hair, and a pair of dark jeans. I’d known Eli’s parents for years, but I still wanted to make a good impression. I wanted them to know this was serious. Even Eli had pulled out a nice pair of jeans and wore a dark t-shirt under an old shearling aviator jacket he’d found at a vintage store. “It’ll be fine.”

I reached for his hand and laced our fingers together, squeezing gently.

We began to walk towards the front door, which swung open before we reached it. Richard appeared with a confused expression on his face. Maybe he’d seen my car and wondered what I was doing there. Then he caught sight of our hands linked together, and his face dropped.

“Hey,” I called, trying to sound relaxed, but I couldn’t stop myself from gripping Eli’s hand a little tighter.

“What the hell? What’s going on?”

“Didn’t anyone tell you I was bringing my boyfriend?” Eli asked.

“Your boyfriend?” Richard stared at us. Behind him I saw a few of his family members congregating.

“Surprise.” I smiled and lifted our hands slightly. There was a pause—a split second where everything seemed to slow down, and I thought maybe that would be it. Then Richard, stupid, hot-headed twit that he was, barged out the front door towards us.

“Eli! This is low even for you,” he snarled. “Why do you have to ruin everything?”

“Hey! This has nothing to do with you,” Eli said. He let go of my hand, despite my attempts to hold it tight.

“Eli, please,” I said. “Richard, calm down.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Richard said. “Do you hate me so much you decided to fuck with my best friend just to get back at me?”

“I’m not an object,” I said, but they both ignored me. The situation was escalating rapidly, and I could only see it getting worse.

“Rich.” Ruby appeared behind Richard and put a hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged her off. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not fucking okay. Once again, everything has to be all about Eli!”

“Fuck you, you pretentious asshole,” Eli snapped. “Not everything is about you. Boo fucking hoo. I’m dating your best friend. Do you really think I’m that much of a twat that I’d fuck Tristan just to get back at you? What kind of small-minded, conniving—”

Eli’s sentence was cut off as Richard punched him in the face.

Everyone stared.

Eli staggered.

I opened my mouth, putting my hand out to pull him away, but Eli just grinned, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.

“Is that all you’ve got, Dick?”

When I looked back at the moment, I’d never be able to give an accurate representation of what happened next. Eli leapt at Richard with the unrepentant fury of a honey badger while Richard lashed out with wounded anger. The resulting brawl had ended up with the pair of them on the front lawn, trying to beat the shit out of each other like two teenage boys in the middle of the schoolyard.

Ruby was watching and screaming at Richard, her moment of calm forgotten. Lewis and Jules, who’d appeared behind them, were chuckling darkly and filming with their phones like they’d been expecting this to happen. Finn didn’t seem to know what to do with himself. And I was just staring… wondering how on earth it had come to this. I wanted to be angry at both of them, and I was, but I was also astounded they’d stoop to this level and hurt they were so wrapped up in their hatred for each other they couldn’t look past that for one minute.

It felt like this had been a long time coming though. The final explosion of years of repressed emotions.

A piercing whistle split the air. The bystanders all turned. Lewis hurriedly put his phone away. Standing in the doorway was Miranda, crackling with fury. Her soft, ethereal demeanour was gone, and her pastel-tinted hair seemed to stand out like a halo. I’d never seen her look so angry. I didn’t think it was possible. Miranda was the gentle hippie with bangles, bracelets, and tie-dyed skirts. But every parent had a breaking point, and it appeared she’d finally reached hers.

“That’s enough!” she said, marching straight up to the heap on the floor that was now Richard and Eli. “Get up.”

“But—” Richard tried to protest. He was already sporting the start of a black eye.

“Be quiet. I am not interested in your excuses. You are two grown adults, and neither of you should be acting like this.”

“Sorry, Mum,” Eli muttered as he climbed to his feet. His lip was split, and there was a thin line of blood trickling down his chin.

“Sorry.”

“It’s not me you should be apologising to. Get in the house now. One upstairs, one down. You’re in time out until you calm down,” Miranda said, glaring at them and pointing at the front door. “If you’re going to act like children, I’m going to treat you like children. You can both sit and think about what you’ve done. And you will both give me your phones. That is not a request.”

Eli fished his phone out of his jacket pocket, checking it wasn’t cracked before handing it over. Richard pulled his out of his jeans. Miranda raised an eyebrow, and they both headed wordlessly for the house. I stared. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jules and Lewis trying to stifle their giggles. Ruby just looked exasperated.

Miranda turned to me, her demeanour softening again. She beamed at me. “Hello, Tristan darling. I’m so sorry for the kerfuffle.” She walked over to me and pulled me into a hug that smelt like a summer meadow. “You look very well. It’s so nice that you’re joining us,” she said. “You’ll have to tell us all about you and Eli. Why don’t you come inside and get a drink while they calm down?”

“Er, that would be lovely. Thank you.”

“Come on then,” she said, steering me gently towards the house. “Ruby, sweetheart, would you like a drink?”

“I think I need one,” Ruby said. She gave me a weary smile. “I’m sorry, Tristan.”

“Don’t apologise,” I said. “It’s fine.”

“It’s not. Rich’s being a twat.”

I laughed. “Well, yeah.”

“Just leave them to cool off,” Miranda said with a sigh. “Men. So ridiculous.” Ruby laughed, and we all traipsed into the house. “By the way,” Miranda said, turning to Lewis as we entered the kitchen. “If I see that footage anywhere but your phone, there will be consequences.”

“Mum! I’m twenty-seven,” Lewis said.

“And you’re still my baby. Now delete that video and go and see if either of our prize fighters need an ice pack.”

“What on earth is going on?” asked Mimbles, appearing from the dining room. “Why is Eli in my dining room with a split lip?”

“You see, Mum,” Lewis said, gleefully pulling out his phone. “This is where videos are useful.”

After we’d had a drink, I’d decided I needed to talk to Richard. I needed to talk to Eli too, but Richard was the more difficult of the pair, and I wanted to try to talk some sense into him.

I found him upstairs, sitting on a chair in the room he’d once shared with Eli. He was holding a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel against his eye.

“Is this where I start singing the Rocky theme?” I asked, leaning against the door and folding my arms.

“Maybe,” he said, wincing as he tried to smile. “But I don’t think Rocky was as much of a prize twat.”

“Oh, undoubtedly not.”

“If I said I’m sorry, would that be a good start?” he asked, lowering the peas for a second. He was going to have a lovely black eye at school tomorrow. The kids would love it.

“It would,” I said. “But I’m not really the one you should be apologising to.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Jesus Christ, Richard. What the fuck were you thinking? Do you genuinely think Eli is dating me to get back at you? Do you think I’m so stupid that I have zero agency in this? Because right now, you’re treating me like a fucking object. I’m not some prize for you two to compete over.” I glared at him. Richard winced again.

“That makes it sound even worse.”

“Good,” I said. “I love you, Richard, but you’re being an asshole.”

“I know. And I’m sorry.” He sighed. “Ruby has made it abundantly clear I’m in the wrong here. God, I hope she forgives me.”

“You better hope so because you’re fucked if she breaks up with you.”

“Christ.” He rubbed the unbruised side of his face. “I’ve been such a twat.”

“At least you know it.” I moved from the door frame to perch on the end of one of the twin beds, resting my elbows on my knees. We sat in silence for a moment.

“I’m sorry,” Richard said, sounding genuine this time. “I let my frustration with Eli boil over, and I saw red. It’s not an excuse, and I need to be better about not letting him get to me. But you’re my best friend, and I just… I don’t ever want to see you get hurt, and I was scared for a moment that Eli was just using you for fun and would break your heart. I’m still not completely convinced he won’t, but that shouldn’t stop me from supporting you. If you’re happy with him, then I’m happy for you. Because you deserve to be happy.”

“Thanks.” I reached out and patted his knee. “You’re my best friend too, but Eli… There’s just something about him that makes me feel alive. We balance each other, I think. He’s funny and outgoing and so fucking talented. Seriously, Richard, you’re missing out. Your brother is amazing, and I know he’s been a dick to you too, but maybe… maybe you could try to meet each other halfway.”

“Maybe.” He didn’t sound sure, but it was better than an outright no. “Where did you two even meet?”

“At work. He’s temping at Green & Wodehouse for a year. He’s far too good for it, but Eli doesn’t care about that. I don’t think he wants a high-powered career. He just wants to get by so he can perform, and having seen him, I understand why.”

“Seriously? He’s been working with you the whole time.” Richard stared at me, and I saw the hurt on his face. “Why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t he?”

“Well, firstly, it wasn’t my place,” I said. “That’s Eli’s choice. And secondly, I don’t think he told you because he knew you’d spend the whole time either telling him he was too good for the job or that it was good to see him finally getting his act together. He’s not like you, Rich, and you can’t keep treating him like a disappointment.” I stared at him. “Eli has different dreams than you, and that’s not a bad thing. Stop punishing him because you want him to be different. Eli is always going to be Eli, and if you push him, he’s going to push back. As you now have proof.”

Richard grimaced and nodded. “Okay… I can’t promise I’ll always understand him, but I can try.”

“It’s not me you need to tell,” I said. “It’s him.”

“Yeah, I know. Just give me ten minutes, and I’ll come down.”

“Good plan.” I gave him a wry smile. “You know, you’re going to need a good excuse for tomorrow. Or some great make-up.”

Richard groaned and then laughed. “God, the kids are going to rip the shit out of me for months.”

I patted his knee. “Let’s face it, you probably deserve it.”