It couldn't get worse, right? || The Pals Fanfic

Safe

Alex's POV

Denis was driving, Sub was in the passenger seat, Elijah and I were in the back. Sub told us that a man had been taking pictures of us. Elijah was freaking out. Every now and then he'd giggle or laugh then immediately hit himself in the head. I kept trying to stop him. He was crying and mumbling things to himself. I couldn't exactly hear what he was saying but it was somewhere along the lines of, 'Not again. No. Stop. I'm sorry'. He was completely curled up and Rosie was sitting on the seat with me. We were trying to get home as fast as possible.

"He's following us," Sub said looking in the car mirror. Denis suddenly took a turn.

"Where are you going? The house is that way." I pointed out.

"Well, we can't lead him there now can we?" Denis mumbled. "The police station is this way. We'll go there and report this asshole to the police." Sub turned to him and hit his shoulder. I saw Denis roll his eyes. We came up to a red light and stopped. The man was in his car right behind us.

Once we got to the police station, the man was gone. Denis and Sub went inside to report it while Elijah and I stayed behind.

They came back and got in the car.

"So?" I asked. Sub shook his head.

"They said to go home and if he follows us again we should immediately call the police," Denis explained.

"I don't trust them..." Elijah whispered. He wasn't loud enough for Denis and Sub to hear.

We finally got home. Before everyone went to bed, we all went around and locked all the windows and doors. Elijah asked that we did. Everyone went to their rooms and I went into Elijah's. He was on his bed petting Rosie trying to calm down. I went up to him and sat on the bed.

"You ok? I-in the car you were...acting strange," I asked. Elijah looked up at me.

"I-i just don't want this to happen again," Elijah stated. I nodded, said goodnight, and went up to my room.

In the morning, I grabbed the keys, my jacket, and headed to the front door to go get everyone's coffee.

"I'm heading out! Anyone need anything?" I called. I placed my hand on the doorknob.

"NO!" Elijah screamed from the kitchen. I jumped a little. He came running in, fully dressed. "I-i'm going w-with you." Elijah looked exhausted. I hesitantly nodded.

We got in the car, Rosie sat in the back. Elijah kept looking around. When we got to Dunkin Donuts, Elijah kept snapping his head around every second. He stayed close to me and gripped Rosie's leash tightly.

I went up, got everyone's coffee, and left. We got up to the car and Elijah pulled me back. He quickly checked under the car and rushed me into the car. Once we got in he sighed and asked to leave right away.

We got home and Elijah pulled me inside.

"W-we're back!" I yelled as Elijah locked the front door. Elijah took off Rosie's harness and went into his room. The others came out and took their drinks. I pushed them towards my room.

"Why did you bring us to your room?" Denis asked as he sat on my desk chair. Sub leaned against the wall and I sat on my bed.

"Elijah's not ok," I stated.

"What's new?" Sub mumbled while taking a sip of his coffee.

"Haha very funny. But I'm being serious! He won't let any of us go anywhere alone and he said that he didn't trust the police." I explained.

"To be fair, this is the exact way Ethan was kidnapped. He and Elijah were being followed by a man who was taking pictures of them. Ethan went out by himself and was kidnapped! Elijah's just trying to keep us safe. As for the police, I can understand why he doesn't trust them. While he was in the mental hospital he was treated terribly by people he was told would help him. He only had one meal a day, barely was allowed to leave a white padded room, and was being watched 24/7. He's paranoid." Sub said. Denis and I sat in silence. We never visited Elijah nor asked him what happened while he was there. Denis looked down in shame.

Elijah's POV

The others are talking about me. I know it. They're all in Alex's room. I was in my room on my phone. I pulled up google docs and logged into Ethan's account. I pulled up the doc with all his notes. The conversation I and Micheal had was still there. I sighed and looked at the notes. It was all happening again. I was losing it. I dropped the phone on the bed and went into the bathroom. I splashed some water on my face and looked in the mirror. I quickly looked away. I couldn't even look at myself without getting anxious.

I hesitantly looked up at myself. I looked horrible. My hair was a mess, I had bags under my eyes, and I looked smaller.

I looked at my body. The clothes I had on were loose. I need to eat more. No, then the others would have to go shopping. I'll try to eat a little as possible, then they won't need to go shopping as fast.

I looked at my arms. The scars made me tear up a little. I then lifted my shirt. I had stitches and scars on my back and waist. I lowered my shirt and sighed. Something brushed against my legs.

I looked down at Rosie and smiled. She made me happy. She reminded me of Ethan. Protective and fun-loving. I bent down and scratched her ear. She leaned into my hand and stuck her tongue out.

I giggled and went out into the kitchen. I took out a dog treat and gave it to her. She ate the treat and wagged her tail. I sat down on the floor and she came up to me to lick my face. I scratched her back and she flopped onto my legs. I scratched her belly and her tail swung quicker.

We both stayed on the floor for a few minutes before Alex's door opened and Rosie shot up. I hugged her and went into the living room. Denis and Sub both came down the stairs and looked at me. They were talking about me. I knew it. Denis came over and sat on the couch while Sub went into the kitchen. Sub came back a few minutes later with a bowl of fruits. He came over to me and placed the bowl in front of me. I looked up at him in confusion.

"Eat," Sub demanded and sat down next to me.

"I'm not hungry." I sighed and placed the bowl on the table. Sub picked it up and put it in front of me again.

"Elijah, please. You don't eat much," Sub whined. I gave in and popped a grape into my mouth.

"Happy?" I mumbled.

"Not until that bowl is empty," Sub said and grabbed the remote. I groaned and ate another grape. Sub smiled and turned on the TV. Looks like my 'don't eat anything so no one has to leave the house' plan it's going to work.

I finished the fruits and placed the bowl into the sink. Alex came in and went over to our list for groceries. He sighed and picked it up.

"I have to go shopping! Do you guys need anything?!" He yelled. My eyes widened.

"You just went out. I'll go shopping." I said and snatched the list out of his hand. He reached out to stop me but I was already putting Rosie's harness on.

"Wait! I don't want you going alone!" Alex called.

"I'll be fine. I have Rosie." I left the house, got in the car, and left. I need to keep them safe. 

1332 words

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