12. One too many

                                    

                                          
Maddie's POV
"Hi. I-uh- You must be Hailey?" Elias stutters when his eyes land on Hailey. He has a bottle of wine in his hands and is dressed to impress; a white shirt with rolled up sleeves that is tucked into a pair of well-fitting black pants. His face is clean shaven, and his blond hair isn't the mess it was the last time I saw him, but there are still dark circles under his eyes.
Hailey laughs and, much to Elias' surprise, hugs him. "That's me!"
They break apart with Elias looking a little startled and as Hailey gestures for him to come in, he hands her the bottle of wine.
"Here," he clears his throat. "I didn't know what else to bring,"
Hailey takes the bottle.  "Oh, you didn't have to."
"I insist," Elias says.
Hailey flashes him a smile in response and turns around. "Come on. You should meet the others."
Elias nods and gives the door a push before following Hailey; he walks backwards with his eyes still trained on the door to make sure it shuts properly.
"This is a very nice house you've got- Oh, no. I- I'm sorry." He spins around and blushes when he realizes he bumped into me. "Hey, Maddie," he says, scratching the back of his neck.
"Hey," I say as I pull him down for a gentle hug. For a second, Elias freezes, but then he hesitantly wraps his arms around me.
"How are you?" I ask after letting go. "How's April?"
"We're both fine," Elias answers and I'm sure I would've believed him without question had his right eye not twitched ever so slightly. It's the same thing he did when I asked him about his dad's company.
I don't get the chance to question him about it though because Hailey pokes her head around the corner, asking, "You two coming?"
"Yeah...we're coming," Elias says, his eyes lingering on me a second longer before we both go outside where Hailey introduces him to Ash and Ian.
They both seem to like him immediately and halfway through dinner Ash even offers him one of his beloved beers.
"Oh, thanks, but I'm not allowed to drink at the moment," Elias declines with a polite smile. He sets his fork down and wipes his mouth with a napkin.
"Why? You pregnant or something?" Ash jokes, patting Elias on the shoulder, making everyone laugh. Everyone except me.
I don't like this, seeing Elias with my friends. Not because of him or them, but because it reminds me of Jonas. Had it not been for him, Elias wouldn't be standing in my best friend's backyard now.
Elias chuckles. "No, but I'm on some pretty hardcore painkillers."
"Really?" Ian asks surprised.
Elias nods and stands up, untucking his shirt and lifting it just enough to reveal a bright pink scar on the side of his ribcage.
I suck in a breath and turn to look away. That's where the first responders inserted the chest tube.
My insides twist, making me feel nauseous and before Elias elaborates on how he got the scar, I excuse myself, saying I'll be getting some more wine.
I dash inside and steady myself by placing both my hands on the kitchen counter. This is all kinds of wrong. Hailey should have never texted Elias. He shouldn't have agreed to coming. I shouldn't have agreed to coming.
 I brush my hair out of my face, feeling pearls of sweat forming on my forehead and, without thinking, I open one of Hailey's cabinets where I know she stores some of her dad's favorite liquor.