Orphic

Spring Ten 1/2 - Elliot

"Ready?" Willy called.

I gave him a thumbs up and quickly began to untie the boat.

He was leaving for the week, headed to god knows where in search of some supplies to help fix up Pierre's shop. We didn't have access to enough tools here in town.

Clint was with him, steering the boat terribly, it had already taken us a few tries to get this far but somehow Clint was the only person in Pelican town, other than Willy, that had his boating license.

Finally, they were moving in the right direction, I gave a quick wave and Emily tossed them the rope I had just untied.

Pierre's roof was briefly covered with a tarp that we'd have to keep an eye on until Willy and Clint returned. Pam's trailer had finally been flipped back over but it was still a mess and was taking lots of time to fix up, much to Pam's dismay.

"It's going to be weird not seeing them at the saloon every night." Emily muttered. I glanced over at her and gave a sad smile. Things were starting to feel very different and I wasn't sure how long it would last, I desperately wanted the old Pelican town back.

"Let's hope they get back soon. I'm sure Clint will miss you." I replied.

She nodded, "I'm not sure how he's going to survive without his daily beer."

Clueless Emily. She's the only person in the world that didn't notice when people were completely in love with her.

"Clint promised to call when they arrive, right? Let me know when you hear from him."

She promised I would be the first to know and then headed out to update Lewis on the situation.

I brushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear and waved one more time at the boat, although I wasn't sure they could see me.

~

Shane had finally made his first trip to the bathroom alone which meant Leah was willing to leave his side for fifteen minutes and go for a walk with me.

She was mostly silent, like always, giving quick and short responses to all of my questions.

"My cabin actually survived. Shocker huh? I always think it's going to fall apart in normal rainy weather but somehow it survived."

"That's good." I was about to ask her about how it was staying at the clinic when she suddenly spun around.

"Who's that?" I followed her gaze to see a girl walking into town, carrying a small purse and a bigger bag that looked like a suitcase.

It looked like she came from the bus stop and she also looked very, very lost. I would've been happy leaving her to find her own way around town, it had been so long since Leah and I had spent any time together. But of course, with Leah being Leah, she was gone before I could protest.

I followed suit quickly, immediately noticing the bright makeup that the brunette was wearing and how it looked like she was wearing nothing aside from an oversized hoodie with a logo that I didn't recognize.

"Hi! I'm Leah, you must be new in town. We don't get visitors too often." Leah introduced herself, immediately holding out a hand.

"I'm Bella."

They shook hands for what felt like ever, silently examining each other, further making me question how girls functioned. I could tell from Leah's face that she didn't quite approve of our visitor.

"So are you here visiting family, friends or just stopping in?"

Bella gave us a kind smile and adjusted the bag on her shoulder.

"Yes actually, I'm looking for your farmer, Cass Orman?"

Leah's face turned white and I couldn't help but laugh just a bit. I was sure she regretted offering her help.

"The farms just back that way, I can show you, if you'd like?" I offered, knowing that Leah wouldn't be moving any time soon.

My fifteen minute walk with Leah was long past over and I'd wanted to go see Cass anyways and make sure he was okay since everyone was so unbelievably worried about him for some reason.

If I was the one that upset him, I'd feel like shit.

"That would be nice actually, thank you -."

She paused, holding out her hand.

I took it, "Elliot. it's nice to meet you."

~

Bella seemed to be a genuinely relaxed person, her flashy makeup was completely different from her personality and her actions made me think she was some kind of overly sexual Disney princess.

She was, however, very easy to talk to.

"We lived together for a few years. He's a good room mate, maybe just a little all over the place." She explained as we made our way towards the farm. "Now it's difficult to even get him on the phone so I'm glad he called."

"He asked you to come?"

She nodded. "I'm not entirely sure why, I guess he's hurt but he's too stubborn." She bit her lip, an annoyed look crossed her face.

"I knew I'd upset him the other night. I'll make sure I apologize. I was just a little on edge with everything going on." I ran a hand through my hair and sighed.

Bella snorted.

"You think you upset Cass? No. He's fine. If anything, you've entertained him."

And now Bella was confusing me just as much as Cass had been. I wanted to ask what she meant when the sun suddenly disappeared.

I glanced up, my eyes meeting Cass' for a split second before he turned his attention to Bella.

"That's my sweater." He snapped. I flinched at the anger in his voice but Bella was completely still.

"And I have more clothes for you here." She motioned to the bag she was holding.

I noticed his hair was wet and his lips were slightly discolored, almost white.

"What did I say, Cass I can't help you if you don't listen to me." She sighed, holding a strand of his wet hair.

He ignored her and turned towards me. "Nice to see you again Angel, it's been a few days." His voice instantly became softer.

Bella flicked his forehead, "not the time. It's getting late and I want to finish this before dark."

He smirked and turned.

That's when I saw the red mark covering his lower back.

"Is that-."

Bella put her hand on my arm and shook her head. "You should go home."

"What? No. Is that from the tree? Harvey could've looked at it. you should've told me."

This had to be what Abby was talking about.

"Elliot, he won't want you there."

For some reason, that made me more angry.

"He'll live." I snapped before following Cass towards his cabin.

I caught up to him quickly, shoving my hands in my pockets and doing my best to avoid searching for any other injuries.

"Have you come to entertain me while Isabella stitches up my back?" He asked.

I looked over at him. He was pale and he looked like he hadn't slept but he was still moving around the same and his voice was laced with it's usual hint of sarcasm.

I didn't reply, I was too busy trying to piece together how this could've happened and trying to think of ways this couldn't be my fault.

I didn't know Cass had leaned in until he was speaking in my ear, "I want to show you something."