Status: finito.

Fight the Force

I'm out of touch, I'm out of love. I'll pick you up when you get down.

The trip to Georgia was exhausting, the flight took longer than expected and Elijah hated being so cramped up in his crappy seat.

Lilly, however was quite content with the free peanuts and lemonade.

She reading her horoscope magazine contently, when the announcer said they would be landing and they should be prepared to land.

Elijah squeezed Lilly’s hand tightly – that was the moment Lilly realised Elijah’s fear of flying.

The cab journey was hell, it was too hot, sweaty and it cost a fucking fortune. Still, they arrived outside Sarah and Paul’s ranch, where the sun sizzled on them and the smell of horse manure was in the air.

“This fucking sucks, let’s go back.” Elijah said as soon as he got out the cab. Lilly rolled her eyes as she paid the cabbie, and began to get their luggage out.

Elijah stretched and looked back at her: “I’m serious, beans – I want to go back home.” He said, but Lilly continued to ignore him.

“Thanks!” she called as the cabbie drove away and Elijah’s gazing burned into her skin.

“I’ll call another cab then – ” he got his phone out, ready to dial when Lilly snatched it away.

“It’s going to be fine.” She said, and Elijah looked at her suspiciously.

“How’d you know?” he asked defiantly.

Lilly grinned: “Your sign is in your favour today.” She replied, Elijah glared harder.

“That isn’t comforting to me at all – in fact, I really want to go home now.” Elijah snapped.

Lilly ignored him, and pulled her luggage behind her as she started the long walk down the sandy driveway.

Elijah waited and waited, until Lilly was practically at the door – when he ran after her, his own bag trailing after him.

Lilly bounced on her feet, while Elijah pulled wafted his shirt, trying to get cool.

“What the fuck is with this sun? I’m melting.” Elijah hissed, and Lilly remained smiley as the door swung open.

“How can I help y’all?” A man, tall and burly, bald with a cowboy hat on and typical Southern-cowboy outfit on, blue jeans, a plaid shirt, done up most of the way, revealing a deep triangle of his greying hairy chest.

He had a friendly look about him: “Hi there! I’m Lilly Edwards, and this is Elijah Redding – I believe your Paul Young right? Sarah’s husband?” Lilly introduced, holding her small hand out.
Elijah wanted to swipe it back.

Paul shook it gently: “Well, bite me – you’re Sarah’s son? Jeez, we weren’t expecting y’all…” Paul drawled and Elijah was expecting it more and more irritating.

“Paul, who is it?” the voice made Elijah’s face visibly pale.

A average-height and weight woman, with bouncy brunette curls, a similar shape of Elijah’s and the same deepening brown eyes appeared. Without a doubt, this was Sarah.

“Mom?” Elijah echoed his thoughts in shock. She didn’t look like the woman he last saw five years ago. Elijah left home when he was 17, squatting with friends whenever he could – finally when he was eighteen, Sarah had moved and Elijah got his own place, and naturally they never spoken since.

“Elijah?” Sarah echoed in stun, and stepped closer, shading her eyes from the sun. Lilly looked between the two.

“Come on in, you must be sweatin’ out – we have lemonade in the fridge.” Paul tried to coax, and just as Lilly was about to step forward, Elijah’s hand gripped her wrist, yanking her back.

“We’re not stopping.” He said harshly, and Sarah’s face dropped, a flash of hurt across it.

“Elijah, just come in and we can talk…” Sarah said soothingly, and Elijah shook his head tightly.

“No, we’re not stopping.” He seethed, and yanked Lilly towards him, she almost stumbled over.

“Um…” she said awkwardly, and looked between everyone. Elijah let her go, and back to storm back down the drive way.

“Elijah!” Sarah and Lilly both called. Elijah let go of his case, letting it drop to the floor, and carried on pace-walking into the sandy roads where they had come, trees surrounding them. They were in the middle of nowhere – almost.

Lilly smiled apologetically at the family: “I’ll go talk to him.” She said, and suddenly left her things, and began to run after him.

“Elijah! Wait up!” she called, but Elijah ignored her.

Lilly began to sprint, and soon she grabbed Elijah’s arm, roughly forcing him to face her.

“What you doing? We drove all the way here – ” Lilly yelled, Elijah roughly yanked himself away from her and glared the most harshest look, Lilly had ever seen on him.

“You don’t get it! You’re mom died Lilly!” he screamed at her, throwing his arms up in the arm in frustration. He looked so angry, his brown eyes no longer musing and meaningful – they were full of rage and hate.

Lilly recoiled, hurt by his words: “What?” she cried, her voice cracking.

Elijah didn’t stop though, he should have, but he didn’t – “You’re Mom died – mine left me on purpose! She just left me, I was 17 and I walked out and she never came after me Lilly! She just let me go!” Elijah screamed, his voice cracking.

Lilly stared, dumbfounded.

“I wanted her to follow me. She’s my Mom, how could she just let me go, she finds the nearest guy to hitch up with, runs away to this fucking desert, has another kid because I wasn’t ever enough! I was the failure child that she wanted to get rid of!” Elijah voice got louder and louder, and Lilly winced at his tone and words.

“Elijah…” she tried to say, but he drowned her out again.

“You don’t fucking understand how much it hurts….” He yelled, and Lilly winced.

“I don’t know?” she echoed in disbelief.

“I lost my Mom too Elijah, yeah it’s different but I still lost her! You can’t say I don’t understand – I hurt too and you’re blaming me and hurting my feelings for something I couldn’t control. You push people away, because you’re scared of them leaving well guess what, you asshole, I ran after you –
I followed you and you still push me away. Think about that.” Lilly spat, sick of being shouted at and pushed around.

Elijah’s face didn’t soften like it usually would and he just let Lilly walk away, back up to the house,
most likely to have that lemonade.
--

“He’ll come round, Eli always had a bad temper.” Sarah coaxed, as Lilly sat stoic in the kitchen. Paul and Sophia, who Lilly met when she came inside were out shopping, and looking Elijah.

It was almost 7pm, and despite still being furious with him – Lilly was still beginning to worry.

“No offence, Mrs.-” she faltered, unsure what to call her.

“Call me Sarah…” the older woman finished, and Lilly smiled gratefully.

“Sarah, your son can be a real a-hole.” Lilly mumbled, and Sarah chuckled softly, and nodded.

“Oh don’t I know…he’s just like his Dad sometimes.” Sarah sighed sadly, and Lilly smiled weakly at her.

“What was Elijah’s Dad like?” Lilly wanted to know.

“He was charming yet had a major temper – we fell out all the time, but we loved each other. I was 19 when I got pregnant with Elijah, and Frankie just freaked – he was only 20 and he was a punk-rocker type of guy that wanted to travel the world with me. By the time Elijah was born, Frankie said he was popping out to get cigarettes, and he never came back.” Sarah sighed. She sounded sad and lonely.

“I’m sorry.” Lilly murmured comfortingly, and Sarah shrugged – reminding Lilly so much of Elijah.

“No need to be, things happen. I raised him alone, I made loads of mistakes and didn’t handle my relationships well. I drank too much and we ended up fighting all the time because Elijah was bitter over not having a father…when he was seventeen, two days after his birthday he just walked out, said he wasn’t coming back and I didn’t stop him. It was the worst decision of my life.” Sarah explained.

Lilly didn’t know what to say.

Sarah wiped her cheek quickly, and busied herself with dinner and Lilly offered to him.

After dinner, Lilly helped wash up, and excused herself outside. The air was cooler yet still warm and she sat in the garden, under a wooden gazebo, admiring the beautiful fields surrounding fields. She felt relaxed and content and her feelings of anger were washing away.

“I’m sorry.” A voice, all too familiar to her said. Lilly jumped and looked to the source. He was walking towards her, hands in his pockets, looking guilty and ashamed.

Lilly didn’t say a word, and stayed put.

He continued walking towards her, and took a seat beside her.

“I didn’t mean what I said. I was being such an asshole.” Elijah told her, regretfully.
Lilly didn’t even look at him, as she gazed at the fields, knees brought up to her chest.

“Lilly? Beans…please…” Elijah coaxed, unable to stand her silence. Lilly was rarely silent and he hated her because he knew then, she was hurt, and he had done that.

“I came here to support you and you end up bitching me out – how is that fair?” Lilly grumbled bitterly. Elijah sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping.

“It’s not.” He replied, unable to excuse it.

“Y’know, sometimes Elijah you really piss me off.” She snapped softly, and Elijah took her words in.

“I know.” He said finally, his words lingering in the air.

“I talked to my Mom. She said she was sorry, but I can’t forgive her.”

“So why should I forgive you?”

“Because it’s different.” Elijah argued.

Lilly just shrugged: “No it’s not. If you can’t forgive, why be forgiven?” Lilly said simply.

It pissed Elijah off, but he didn’t call it up: “Lilly, I’m sorry – just…please? I can’t deal with this and you hating me for the rest of our trip.” Elijah blurted out crabbily.

Lilly raised her eyes at him: “Hating you? Jeez, Elijah – do you not know me?” she scoffed.

Elijah just stared at her, unsure what to say.

“I can’t hate you. I’m in freakin’ love with you, you moron.” Lilly rolled her eyes as she said the words distastefully. It made Elijah smile.

“Will you forgive me eventually?” Elijah asked hopefully.

“Depends if you go talk to your Mom again and try to work things out?” Lilly told him.

“That’s not fair –” he began to argue, but she looked at him sharply.

“Stop pushing me away or I really will accept it eventually.” She snapped. The words struck him, and Elijah silenced.

He took her fisted hand, relaxing and holding it gently – eventually she held his hand back and for the remainder of the sunset, they were silent.

“You won’t leave me, will you?” Elijah asked sadly. Lilly scoffed.

He knew the answer.
♠ ♠ ♠
another weekend over, another week beginning....feel exhausted.