― 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒅.
❝ you never knew the stars had
a flavor until you first kissed him.
it turns out they taste like ambition
and ancient fire, desperation, and
dark matter, and the mind-numbing
fear of bei...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
STARCROSSED (book one). °• CHAPTER EIGHTEEN •°
" YOU'RE OKAY. YOU'RE OKAY. "
▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅▅
ELIJAH WOLFHART UNDERSTOOD HIS SISTER BETTER NOW. It was suddenly on a level he never thought was possible. He would give anything to take away the pain flooding his veins. It was becoming unbearable. It would pump so quickly and bring such an ache that he feared the only relief from the tension beneath would be slicing the surface containing the ticking time bomb. Or swallowing the pills just like his sister did until his brain adjusted to the need for more. Elijah felt sick at the thoughts running in his head but he couldn't help it. It felt like a curse sometimes. They were always there, even if they weren't present, they were lingering because the pain was always underneath, waiting to break free. It was always waiting for another moment or opportunity. It seemed like it found it.
And the thing is, Elijah would give anything to take away the pain surging her system, too. He would sacrifice himself as Eleven once had if it was necessary. Nevaeh had stopped crying by the time they pulled up to the Byers' house although he saw the way they were still pooled in her brown eyes, threatening to spill over. Elijah waited until she was ready to hoarsely spill the horrible truth and he swore his heart split in two.
"It happened so fast," Nevaeh had whispered. "It tore him open... And..." She sobbed, her breath hitching, "All that blood..."
It's a struggle to get Nevaeh in the house after that. Her legs and hands badly tremble as her brother guided her inside with the rest of the crew after everyone is parked. It doesn't take a genius to know what Nevaeh wanted so badly and Elijah knew right away. But he doesn't pester her to talk about it yet. What happened in that Lab had broken something inside of her and all she could do was sit at the Byers' kitchen table, and stare at the wall with sad, blank eyes. She doesn't acknowledge the kids sitting around her. Elijah already had an idea of the storm raging in her head.
And then there was Will Byers, the accomplice to their monster, unconscious on the living room couch. He's surrounded by crumpled pictures with dark drawings scribbled on them with crayons that are connected together in some kind of weird map. After the alphabet and Christmas lights fiasco, Elijah stopped questioning how Joyce Byers decided to decorate her house when shit went down in Hawkins.
Jonathan had crouched beside his sleeping brother and gently stroked his hair. Elijah had parked himself on his side. "I'm sorry, bud," he heard Jonathan whisper to his brother. "Sorry I wasn't there. I should've been here." Nancy placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. He leaned into the touch before his sad, brown eyes met Elijah's. "I'm sorry, Eli," he apologized again quietly. "We didn't want to leave you behind. We thought - "
