Taking Shots (Assassins) (40 page)

Well, okay then.

“
Okay, well let’s just wait until you get home okay?”

“
Fine,” He sounded mad, but he just went on saying, “So what do you want to do for your birthday?”

She laughed, laying her phone down and picking the curling iron back up, “I don’t know, I haven’t done anything for my birthday in a long time.”

“
Well let’s do something this time.”

“
I mean whatever is fine, Shea. Dinner and movie. Whatever. I don’t care. It’s just another day.”

“
I don’t like that, it’s your special day, so it should be special.”

She laughed as she pulled her hair up on one side, “I guess.”

“
Well think a little and we’ll discuss it when I get home.”

“
What time should you be in?”

“
Probably around five, I think Grace is making dinner for seven, so I’ll have enough time to get ready.”

“
Alright, I’ll have to shop for something nice to wear.”

“
Not nice babe, hot.” She laughed uncontrollably.

“
Like I would meet you parents in something hot, please.”

“
Oh god, please do. Oh by the way, you have that purple number right?”

She didn’t, it was with Harper but it was easy to get, or maybe she would get something hotter today, so she said “Yeah, I do.”

“
Oh thank God, good. Please wear that under whatever you buy, I can’t wait to have you naked, baby.”

“
Gosh, you’re so horny,” she teased as she giggled, trying to apply her makeup.

“
Only for you, baby. I’ll let you go, call me later. It’s my off day.”

“
I will, I miss you!”

“
I miss you more.”

Elli smiled as she hung up the phone, and finished doing her makeup. She cleaned up and then went into the bedroom picking up all her outfits to hang them up. Afterwards, she took Adler outside. After standing in the cold for fifteen minutes waiting on him, they finally made it back in just in time to catch her phone ringing. It was Grace, canceling, because Amelia was running a fever. Elli wished Amelia well, and asked if they needed anything. Grace informed her that there were plenty of hands to help, and thanked her anyways, before hanging up, promising to reschedule another day.

Since Elli was already dressed and ready to go, she left. She drove around town running the errands she needed to run before heading out of town to go to her house. After parking the truck in her driveway and walking up the walkway, Elli found that she had missed her little house, but then she went in, and felt completely alone. So after making sure the house was in one piece and grabbing some more outfits and shoes, she left, packing up the truck. She checked around the house, and then made sure everything was locked before getting in the truck and driving off.

As she drove, she started thinking about living with Shea. She loved her home, she did, and even though he said they would stay there when they could, it wouldn’t be the same as her going home every night like she had done for the past five years. She would be going to Shea’s condo every night. Not that she hadn’t been doing that for the past couple weeks, but still, she would be officially living with Shea. Could she do it? Was she ready for that?

Elli found herself parking in front of the studio, and getting out to go see how things were going. When she opened the door and stepped inside, Harper stood up from behind the desk with a huge smile on her face.

“
Welcome to Time-” she stopped, and shook her head, “I mean really, Elli, can’t stay away for one damn day?”

“
Oh, hush, I was bored,” she grumbled as she walked towards the desk, and sat in one of the chairs behind it. “Anyone coming in?”

“
Not for an hour.”

“
Good, I got a bone to pick with you!”

Harper started laughing, “He loved it! And I know for a fact he did!”

“
That’s not the point, Harper Allen! You sent it without my consent!”

“
Oh well, you’ll live.”

“
I can’t believe you.”

“
I am helping you out, so hush.”

“
Uh! You make me sick!”

“
I do not.”

“
Whatever,” Elli said with a huff, “So, on another note,”

That made Harper laugh, they both knew Elli couldn’t stay mad at her.

“
Yes?” Harper asked, as she picked up a packet of pictures and started sorting through them.

“
Shea asked me to move in with him,” Harper stopped what she was doing and looked over at her, surprise all over her face.

“
You’re kiddin’.”

“
No, I am not.”

“
Wow, what did you say?”

“
I said I don’t know, that we’d talk about it when he got home.”

“
That’s crazy, what are you thinking?”

“
I don’t know, I mean I stay there five days out of the week anyways, but that was when we were crazy busy, now we ain’t, so I wouldn’t need to stay there like I did, but every time I go home, I get lonely.”

“
Okay, well why do you have to say you moved in? Why can’t y’all just go the way you’ve been going?”

“
I think he wants it to be official.”

“
Oh, well I don’t know babe.”

Elli let out a frustrated breathe, and dropped her face into her hands.

“
I mean, Elli, do you even love him?”

“
Huh?” she asked lifting her head to look at Harper’s profile, since she was looking down at an order form.

“
You heard me, do you love him?”

“
Why?”

“
Because I thought you did, but now I don’t know because if Jakob asked me to move in. I would because I want to be with him all the time.”

“
You would move in with Jakob?”

“
In a New York minute, that man drives me nuts. In a good way, of course.”

Elli kept staring at Harper in total astonishment, “Who the hell are you? And where is my best friend?”

Harper giggled, still not looking at Elli as she packaged up some pictures. “He said he would change me, I guess he was right. It takes the right person to change you.”

“
I’m speechless.”

“
You’ll be alright,” Harper said standing up, and walking around the desk to put the picture packages in piles. “But really, Elli, do you love him?”

Elli thought for a moment, before shrugging her shoulders, “I don’t know, how do did you know?”

“
I don’t know? This is new to me! All I know is that Jakob is the only man I want, so, hell, that must be love,” Harper giggled as the most beautiful smile went over her face. It had to be love, because Elli had never seen Harper smile like that. “He’s the first thing I think of when I wake up and the first thing before I go to sleep. I want him, always, and the thought of being with anyone else actually hurts my heart.”

Elli felt the exact same way about Shea, so did that mean she loved him? Wasn’t it too early for that? Of course, she cared for him deeply, but did she love him? She must not if moving in with him scared the living shit out of her, but that didn’t feel right, because sometime she felt the words right on her tongue, ready to say them to him, he made her feel so good, so special. So she had too, but then why did moving in with him scare her so bad?

Because she was crazy, that was the only logical answer.

Elli was in her living room, eating her favorite hockey food: nachos, when it happened.

The day had gone easy; she had talked to Shea that morning when he had arrived in St Louis. She even went and bought a beautiful black sweater dress to go with the studded black
Christian Louboutin heels she had bought the day before for the dinner with Shea’s parent’s that following day. Harper had declined coming over to watch the game since she was cramping and wanted to watch the game back in her bed.

Elli didn’t think anyone saw it coming, but with hockey, no one ever does, but she was out the door and in the truck driving to Harper’s because she knew Harper was gonna need her. She just wished she had put on some pants first, because it was colder than the North Pole out with only her little plaid shorts on.

When Elli pulled into Harper’s apartment complex, she saw Harper in the window on the phone. Shit, she had forgotten her phone at home. She ran up the stairs after locking the truck, and pounded on Harper’s door. Harper threw the door open, tears streaking her face, snot running down from her nose.

“
I can’t get a hold of anyone!” she cried as she threw herself in Elli’s arm. Elli held her close, even though she was freezing, and moved her hands up and down Harper’s back.

“
I’ll call Papa, let’s go in,” Elli said soothingly as she moved Harper inside.

“
It looked bad Elli, so stinkin’ bad.”

“
I know,” Elli said with a shake of her head, as she locked the door, and sat Harper on the couch before taking her phone from her.

The hit that Jakob took was honestly the worst Elli had ever seen. Elli wasn’t even sure who the guy was that took Jakob out. All she knew was that Jakob had done a full flip before hitting the ice, face first.

And Jakob doesn’t wear a face guard.

“
Did they get him off the ice?”

“
Yeah, about ten minutes ago. Shea isn’t in the game anymore, either.”

“
He isn’t?” Elli asked looking at the screen to see if she could catch Shea’s number as she dialed her Papa’s number. Bryan answered on the third ring.

“
Eleanor, I can’t talk right now.”

“
Is he okay?”

“
We don’t know, they are taking him to the ER now.”

“
Is Shea with him?”

“
I think so.”

“
Okay, I’ll call him.”

“
Okay.” Elli hung up, dialing Shea’s number, but he didn’t answer. She looked over at Harper to see her still crying her heart out, which who could blame her? Elli would be a wreck, too, if her boyfriend was the one that had gotten hit. She went over to the computer, looking up the number for the hospital by the arena. After talking to four nurses and waiting for over ten minutes, Elli hung up the phone in complete frustration. No one would tell her anything.

“
Anything?” Harper asked as she hiccupped before wiping her face with her shirt.

“
No, babe, but someone will-” The phone rang, and it was Shea. “Shea, is he okay?”

“
No, not right now, but he will be. He took a bad hit to the knee, and broke his nose. They are running x-rays right now, we’ll know more in a few, but I wanted to call and tell you guys that he’s going to be okay.”

“
Okay.” Harper had come over and stood beside Elli, she relayed what Shea had just said, and Harper nodded her head, trying to keep the tears at bay.

“
Should I go down there?” Harper asked as she took deep breaths.

“
Should she?” Elli asked.

“
She could, I’m not sure how long he’ll be here, it might be just overnight.”

“
Okay, when will you know more?”

“
Soon, I’ll call you at this number.”

“
Alright.” Elli hung up, and gathered Harper in her arms. “It's okay, Harper. Knee injuries can be fixed, he’ll be okay,” Elli said as Harper sobbed in her arms.

“
I’ve never been so scared in my life. I just want to see him, hold him.”

“
I know Harp, I know.” Harper pulled back, looking up at Elli.

“
Can you manage tomorrow? Maybe we can call Alice? She can come in to assist.”

“
Sure, go pack, I’ll look for a flight.”

Harper ended up leaving an hour later which was for the best because Jakob had a complete tear of the MCL in his knee and wouldn’t be able to leave the hospital for a couple of days. Elli had called Alice when she was driving back to Shea’s from the airport and she was more than willing to come in a help the next morning. When Elli had arrived at the condo, she walked Adler before going back inside to go to bed. She crawled into bed just as her phone rang. It was Shea.

“
Hey.”

“
Hey, you, Harper get off alright?”

“
Yeah, she should be there at 10:15.”

“
Okay, I’m gonna head to the airport in a few, then bring her back here.”

“
Thanks, she’s a mess, so beware.” He chuckled, and Elli’s heart swelled. She missed him so much, and was so excited to see him tomorrow, but all she kept imagining after dropping off Harper was Shea getting hurt, and her being the one in a ball of tears.

What in God’s name possessed her to date a hockey player?

“
Its fine, it was a scary hit, we are lucky it’s only what it is, it could have been worst.”

“
Yeah.”

Nothing was said for a moment, and then Shea said “Hey, you’re okay, right?”

“
Yeah, it was just scary, Harper’s a mess.”

“
I know baby, but getting hurt can happen, we all know that when we lace up our skates before each game.”