The Boy From Everywhere

Ch. 13: The Secrets

"Woah, that was scary... Good thing I had you here."

... What was that?

Eyes wide and blinking, I abruptly let go of his arm and moved back in the next second, feeling my heart pounding again but over different reasons this time.

I was... scared.

What did I say? What did I do? What prompted Eli to have that reaction? And most importantly...

I glanced towards him, just in time to see him chuckling nervously at me before turning his attention to checking for supplies, I'm guessing.

How was he back to normal so quickly?

"There should be a generator in the back. Will you be okay here by yourself while I go check on it?" Eli's question snapped me back to the present, and I looked at him while still half-dazed.

"Uhm... y-yeah..."

Cool. I'll go check, then!" And then he went out from behind the counter and towards the storage room at the back. I couldn't move from my spot the whole time. Sure, I watched him as he struggled to come out of the storage room with the large generator, fix its connections, and eventually get the whole place running again, but I stayed rooted where I was. I still felt lost. The loud sound of the generator running outside only seemed to make me fall deeper into my thoughts.

I only ever thought to speak, fortunately, when Eli got back behind the counter, energetic as always. "Eli... I'm sorry..."

"Hmm?" I felt his curious gaze fall on me again. He's really acting like I just imagined the whole thing, huh? "What for?"

"For," I clenched my hands into fists as I looked back at him, "intruding."

He blinked, but the clueless look in his eyes disappeared. There was definitely something wrong, but he really wanted to hide it, as he looked away from me as he smiled. "It's okay. I understand you were curious... I promise to tell you another time."

"Oh... sure..."

The rest of that night didn't go well. I left a bit earlier than usual in the end, but by the time I arrived home, I remembered something.

"Ack! I forgot to ask about my application!"

Ugh, never mind that. There's still a next time anyway. I can just ask him when I see him again... At least, if I can manage to talk to him normally when I see him again. Now that I think about it, I probably should have fixed everything before leaving instead of leaving it still awkward. Why did I do that?

Eventually, I heard my aunt's four-thirty alarm going off in the next room, and I sighed as I heard movement from her room, followed by the alarm being turned off and her door being opened. It's the next day already, huh? But I'm not even supposed to be awake yet for the next two hours...

I should just start getting ready for school in my room, at least.

~•~

I didn't see Eli on Friday. Maybe I was afraid. Maybe I didn't think I could face him yet after what I did. Still, pretty sure I'd never admit to any of those out loud. In fact, to try and forget the real reason I didn't go, I just told myself that I needed to catch up on sleep. That wasn't a lie either, to be fair, but still...

"Oh, I really need to practice being honest with myself more."

On the other hand, the weekend came with a surprise for me.

My aunt was going to be visiting relatives, and she wasn't going to be back home until the next day. Of course, as usual, I still wasn't allowed to cook, and I had to have food delivered instead. I would have sighed when she reminded me of that rule, but I kept my calm, otherwise, I'm not even sure if she might actually just leave me to starve. She left me money, just about enough for five meals, and then she left. I was alone in her house much faster than I expected, but now that left me a whole day with nothing much to do.

I have so much time, and yet I can't think of one good thing to do!

Should I do chores? Wait, no! I have free time. Why should I be doing what I usually do? And there are no chores that need to be done urgently anyway.

Should I go out? But even if I do, where exactly am I supposed to go. I feel like I should plan it more thoroughly before going out for just a day. But at the same time, would I even have enough money to do just that?

I went back into my room for the nth time today. My indecisiveness was getting worse again, and it was making me waste time before I could even do anything. Before I knew it, it was noon, and I found myself sighing deeply as I lied in bed. "All this time lost because I couldn't decide..." My brows rose when I heard my stomach grumbling, and I scoffed as I looked down on it. "Might as well order something to eat then."

I took my phone out, opened the app, scrolled for a bit, only to pause when I suddenly remembered something. My finger hovered over the screen right as I was about to pick what to order.

"Right... Eli works as a deliveryman, too..."

I sighed as I realized that. There really was no long-term escape for this, and it's not like I could ignore Eli for days. It would hurt him and my conscience.

I quickly sat up as I put down my order, and then headed towards the gate to wait.

As I stood outside with my back against the gate, however, I couldn't help but notice how pleasant the day looks. The sun shines pleasantly onto the neighborhood, saving me from its usual harsh rays. The wind blows, against the concrete structures and the several trees standing out in various properties around here. And the birds chirp their songs as usual, but being outside sure did give me a chance to hear them better.

Ah... maybe I really did just need to go out after all.

I closed my eyes as a soft hum came out of me, and the wind picked up. It sure has been a while since I felt this peaceful. Maybe one day, when I find a way out of all this, I can experience this more often.

Until then...

"Uhm, Hannah...?"

Eli's voice pulled me out of my trance, and I quickly turned to the source to see him looking at me, eyes wide and... a slight blush on his face?

Until then, maybe I can find my peace easier with him.