Anna

45 - Stubbornness Abounds

Ellie had fantasized about what she was going to say in that prison. She was going to get justice for Anna and show Him the person she'd grown into since he tried to kill her.

"My name is Ellie, and I know you killed Anna," she was supposed to say. She did not expect it to be easy, because nothing in her life was. She expected him to push back, and she was ready for it... or so she thought.

In the end, it was all for nothing. She failed painfully and embarrassingly.

She wished she had been stronger. If she didn't have Joe and Tessa's voices in the back of her head telling her it was a bad idea, maybe she wouldn't have panicked. She could have looked Him right in the eye and finally be the hero in someone else's story.

"El, dinner's ready."

Ellie rolled her eyes at the sound of Joe's voice calling for her. She kept her eyes on her book and ignored the summons from downstairs. Shifting her back against the bed's headboard, she sank lower into the mattress to find the ideal reading angle. Her stomach growled in protest, but she told herself she would get leftovers later that night.

As she tried to concentrate on the words on the page, footsteps clamored to the top of the stairs. She suddenly regretted not closing her door sooner when Joe stood in the open frame.

"El, dinner."

"I'm not hungry," she said, refusing to look up from her book.

"Don't be ridiculous. You haven't eaten today. Of course you're hungry."

"You don't know that," she retorted, even though what he said was true. But she certainly wasn't going to admit it.

Joe let out a deep sigh before heading back downstairs, knowing that pushing back wouldn't do any good. Ellie stared at the words in front of her until they turned into a jumbled mess of letters. She wanted to be happy about her triumph, but she wasn't.

One week after she left the prison against her will, Ellie had no desire to be around the person who carried her away. Joe showed no remorse over making her look weak and helpless. She wasn't weak and helpless; she just needed more time. That was what she told herself, anyway.

If Joe hadn't forced her away, she could have gone back in and gotten the confession she wanted. Instead, the awkwardly silent two-hour drive home allowed too much fear to creep in. It didn't help that nobody thought the prison visit was a good idea in the first place. She couldn't remember exactly what happened in those last few minutes; all she heard was a chorus of voices telling her she couldn't do it until they overwhelmed her. The next thing she knew, Joe was picking her up off the prison floor.

She'd imagined every scenario possible going in, but none of them involved her being dragged outside against her wishes. Sure, she thought there was a possibility of Him breaking out of his restraints and bashing her head against the wall, but that was a risk she was willing to take.

Not wanting to face either Joe or Tessa—but especially the former—Ellie waited to forage for food until well after sunset. With the pitch-black view outside her window, she finally set her book down and ventured downstairs. She peered around the staircase's banister to check that the coast was clear, but as she rounded off the last step towards the kitchen, Joe seemed to appear in front of her out of nowhere.

"El, you need to eat something."

"I am." She scowled and pushed past him, not leaving any room for him to object again. His command made her want to turn around and go back to her room, but her stomach finally protested enough to send her straight to the fridge for the container of leftover pasta.