burning bridges.

Three

Elijah waltzed to the cafeteria, the scents of different foods slapping him in the face as he entered the area. He didn't bother to take anything from the aisle. He forgot to bring money, and wasn't even that hungry.

He took his reserved spot across Louis, still his only friend. The younger boy looked up as he felt someone sitting next to him. He sent a short "Hey!" his way before he went back to eating his sandwich. Elijah replied with nothing more than a simple hum.

"Wow, bad day?" Louis said as his eyebrows raised, suddenly taking interest in his companion's exceptionally gloomy mood. Elijah sighed, stealing some of Louis' little tomatoes, even though he said to himself that he wasn't hungry. "Bad week more like it." he mumbled with a tomato in his cheek, showing a small bump.

He grabbed his bag, feeling the need to show the reason why he was so down. He pulled out a paper and handed it to Louis. The boy took it and unfolded it.

"A b minus for mathematics?" He read after a few seconds due to the incredibly bad handwriting of the teacher. Elijah nodded as he took the little note back and stuffed it in his bag. "My dad is going to kill me when he hears." Louis stood up and walked to the nearest trashcan. He threw his plastic wrap in it before going back to his spot and saying, "He'll blame you for a b minus? Man, I'd be happy if I even got a d for math." as he sat back down he saw Elijah shrugging, so he decided to let it go, instead starting a convo about something more exciting.

"Come to the winter formal next week. It'll cheer you up." Elijah's head shot up to glance at his friend with a look that said 'Oh god please no'. Louis grinned. "Come on, it'll be fun! Please?" he squealed with puppy eyes, hands clapped together. Elijah sighed. "How big are my chances of getting out of this?" he eventually asked, on the edge of just giving up. Louis pretended to think as he hummed, "Slim to none. come on!"

-

Elijah took a deep breath before opening his front door, knowing his dad was going to ask where he'd been first-hand. He threw his keys on the counter and prepared him for the questions his dad was going to shoot when he entered the living room, where the man was situated, watching tv. The younger took his time in unnecessarily sorting out his books, hoping to postpone the dreaded conversation. He could feel the daggers of his father's eyes sharp on his back, making him shiver.

Before elijah could even predict what he was going to say, his dad beat him.

"Where were you?" he asked, voice as low and raspy as always. he was seated on the couch, legs crossed and his arm resting on the headboard. the boy sighed and hesitantly sat down on one of the chairs next to the occupied couch. "i was visiting lauren." he shortly answered. the male darted his eyes to his son, his famous angry frown worsening his already bold features. "why?" he asked.

elijah thought carefully about his next words. his sister was thrown out for a reason. she didn't want to live her life doing something she was forced into. their father loathed her for going down the same road as their mother had, so he cut her off. zip, life savings, college funds, gone. elijah detested his father for what he did, but lauren assured him she could handle herself. and you know what? she did. she raised funds for her own appartement by working multiple jobs for 2 years, and takes online classes for college while pursuing her dream, becoming a culinary chef.

the man was still in his suit, his case neatly placed beside him. on the table stood nothing more than a glass of water and the remote, pointing towards the screen that played the local news. just like every other night.

"it's her birthday today." elijah replied, wanting to finish this conversation as soon as possible. as soon as he noticed the man was in a bad mood, he decided not to tell him about his grade today.

he let out a sigh, rubbing his temples as if his snobby life was distressing. "just, go upstairs and study or something." he simply said, dismissing his son as he pointed to the staircase.

elijah let his eyebrows sink, standing up and leaving. he saw his father grabbing his phone to make a call as he disappeared behind the hall. he admitted was surprised by how easily he got off, but didn't think anything of it.