SMILE

Stranger Danger

Eli came back. Riley sighed. Thank God. His friend seems a lot more unstable than him. And that says a lot. Riley frowned. I hope Alice is okay. "My love. I'm back." No shit. Riley nodded. Eli smiled at her. She missed me. I'm sure she did.

"You can leave." Eli dismissed Jason. Jason hummed; he hadn't taken his eyes off Riley. I swear she looks so familiar. Did we...? "Did we go to school together?" Jason asked Riley. His eyes narrowed. Riley frowned. She shook her head. "I-I" Eli walked up to Jason. He patted him on the chest, saying, "Go. You have a mess to clean up." Jason opened his mouth. He was grinning. I figured it out. His eyes were glued on Riley as he walked out the room.

Eli gritted his teeth. Alice. This is all her fault. Jason is trying to take her away from me. Eli wiped his hands on his pants before sitting beside Riley. Riley didn't know what to do. The tension was suffocating her. Jason was a creep. Eli was like a fly that wouldn't leave you alone. He was always there.

"Uhh, let me show you your room. Come." He stood up and offered you, his hand. Riley bit the inside of her cheek. This is all for the sake of not dying. She took his hand. He blushed, staring at their hands. Her hands are so soft. Riley took one glance at him. He had a look of awe. What the fuck is he amazed about? It's just my hand. She cleaned her throat. His head snapped up and looked at you. He shyly gestured to move along with him.

You both exited the room. You realized he was taking you back to where you had breakfast. You both stopped at the door. He furrowed his eyebrows. I need to unlock the door, but I don't want to let go of her hand. "Riley." He shyly mumbled, he reluctantly let go of your left hand and gestured to take his left hand. You held back from rolling your eyes and immediately walked around him to grasp his hand. "Thank you." He said, interlocking his fingers with yours. You hummed in response. He unlocked the door. "We're back." He cheerfully announced to Rosie.

You could hear Rosie mumble a response back along with some shuffling. "Good girl." Eli replied in response to Rosie obeying him. One of his rules was to listen to him. Unconditional Loyalty. Eli was always right. Sicko.

"Come. Let's go see your room. After all, you must be tired." Eli walked you over to the other side. He opened the door for you. You looked around. It's blue. Blue blankets. Purple pillows. Green lamp. My favorite colors. He couldn't know that. Maybe it's a coincidence. Yeah, just a weird coincidence. "Do you like it? I tried to get royal blue, but they didn't have that. So, I decided to get the softest pillow and fresh blanket since you tend to get warm at night. Ohh, I also got everything in your favorite colors." Eli rambled, as if everything he said was normal. You couldn't believe it. Your mind was trying to catch up with him. I'm afraid to ask how he found that out. He glanced back at you. He scratched the back of his neck. He has had the nerve to look sheepish. "I...umm. I read your introduction discussion post from your psych class." You looked at him with wide eyes. Of course you did. It would be strange if you didn't. "But I did it for the sake of making you happy. I'm not a creep. I swear. I'm just a man in love." Eli said, trying to justify his actions.

"Right." Riley replied, nodding her head. She was nodding her head because she understood that he was far deadlier and more disturbing than she imagined. Okay, keep calm. Riley, you can do this. Just play along.

"Thank you. It looks great. I like the colors. That was very thoughtful of you." You said, giving him a dimpled smile. Eli smiled back. "Really. That's great. I'm so glad." She's perfect. She's not like the rest. I knew it. She's so pretty. All mine. His eyes darkened. She's all mine.