little bird // r.keene

x. uncomfortable answers.

Wren arrived late on Monday. Missing first period wasn't appart of the plan but she had spent a good portion of that morning trying to apply some makeup to mask the dark bruise on her eye and her jaw.

She eventually gave up when she realized she couldn't cover the deep cut on her lower lip.

She slipped into her seat at the back of the classroom as usual just as the bell rang, a little breathless from her slight jog. Seconds later, Miguel and Eli walked in taking their seats in front of her.

She couldn't quite describe the looks on their faces when they turned around to ask her how her weekend was to see her face as bruised and battered as it was.

"What the hell happened?" Miguel asked, his eyes wider then he probably meant and his voice a little too loud for her liking.

"Who the fuck did this to you, Wren?" Eli asked her, leaning forward ever so slightly, scanning her face over and over again as if it would change the hard he looked. It was the most hostile thing that had come out of his mouth since she had known him.

"I didn't know them," She told the pair and Eli's jaw tensed, "I was on my way to yours and they were drunk is all, they just wanted a fight." She lied, not wanting to mention her father at all, he didn't deserve it, Miguel shifted in his seat.

"So they jumped you for no reason? That's messed up." He said and Eli remained silent, Wren shrugged and leaned back in her seat.

"It was my own fault for walking alone late at night. It was pointless, they just hit me a few times and left." She swallowed, Wren was a good liar, a natural even but she hated lying to them, especially Eli, "It's not a big deal so could we please drop it." Wren urged them and the two boys exchanged a look. One that implied they weren't happy with her request but they respected Wren enough to respect her decision.

The class continued and when Wren looked up Sam LaRusso was standing at the front of the class.

"Don't all volunteer at once." The teacher said and there was a beat of silence before Miguel put his hand up.

"We'll take her." He offered, Miguel's eyes didn't waver from her once as she gave him a slight smile.

As Sam grabbed her bag and walked over, Eli slid out of his chair from next to Miguel and moved to sit beside Wren. Sam slid into his seat and she and Miguel began to talk. Eli cleared his throat and Wren looked over at him with an element of hesitation, she could sense where this was going.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He asked and Wren suddenly didn't feel so tense, she wanted to smile at him, appreciate his concern and she did. But a small headache pounded at the back of her skull from where she had hit her head as a constant reminder of last night.

"I'm fine Eli- had worse, I promise I'm okay." She told him but he continued to stare at the dark patch of bruised skin under her eye and the thick scab over her lower lip.

Had worse she had said.

This didn't settle well with Eli. Wren had been hurt worse than the injuries he saw on her now, it made him a little sick. The thought- the idea that anyone had hurt her, just looking at her now made... It made him angry.

He cleared his throat and willed himself to calm down, Eli managed to keep his face straight.

"Is- is that why you didn't come over the other night?" He asked and Wren nodded. "We could have helped you know." He paused, "I mean- you still could have come over. We could have called the police or something. I- I mean- it was assault."

"Eli." She said his name so quickly that Miguel and Sam paused their conversation to turn around and look but Miguel saw the looks on their faces and continued to talk to the girl- knowing it wasn't a conversation for small talk with Sam.

"I didn't come over because I didn't feel like it- I'm sorry if that's not what you wanted. I just," She took a deep breath and chose her words carefully, "I didn't want to drag it out more than I had too." She lied. If they had called to police they would have needed her address and since she was a minor living alone she may have been forced to move. She may have even been forced back into the custody of her father. Mr James may have gotten in trouble and none of these things were risks she was willing to take.

Eli got the sense there was something Wren wasn't telling him, he trusted her and yet she carried around the aura of someone burdened by problems she couldn't or wouldn't talk about. No matter how much he wished he could carry some of the weight off of her shoulders, he had to accept there were some things she wasn't ready to tell him. But Eli was willing to wait. Wait until she was ready to talk, to confide in him, no matter how long that might be.

He continued to sit next to her. Occasionally throwing her a glance but Wren didn't look back- not once.