Against the Odds

Chapter 9

Noah

I walked up to the corner where Ellie was sitting, all lonely, clutching my chest. She was all hunched over, her face concealed and clearly one who had been crying. This was impressive contrast to the usual fiery fighting person that I was used to seeing with her. The fact that she was sitting now like this—so open and vulnerable—only further underlined how seriously out of hand things had gotten between the two of us.

I walked toward her slowly; each of my footsteps in the empty hallway seemed to echo every single feeling of hesitation. My gut screamed at me to turn right around, to avoid her. We had never really been friends, and our last interaction wasn't exactly pleasant. Yet, much as I wanted to just walk away and ignore the situation, I knew that wasn't an option. She was in pain, and not all of it was my fault, but most of it was. I felt that at least I needed to try and make things right again, or not worse.

"Ellie," I said softly, trying to keep my tone really neutral but gentle. "Are you okay?

She didn't lift her head. The words barely came above a whisper. "I'm just... tired. Everything's just so overwhelming right now.".

She clearly did not want to talk, but I just couldn't walk away. I knew by thinking about what had happened earlier between us that this argument was not helping her situation, and I felt like a total asshole for having added on to her stress. I wasn't really known for my diplomacy, but this just seemed like one of those times I needed to be.

"I get that," I said, my voice carrying a rare note of sincerity. "Trust me, I do. I got my own stuff going on, too. And I know that's no excuse, but maybe that's why I have been so hard on you."

Her head was down, and she didn't say a word; it all went without saying with her body language. She wasn't used to seeing me like this—honest and vulnerable. I could tell that she had been taken aback, and honestly, I was surprised at myself. Admitting that I was wrong wasn't one of the top things that I did, but seeing her like this made me realize how bad it had gone off the rails.

"It's not just about us," she said softly, almost to herself. "Things at home. .. they're really rough right now."

Her words were harder than I had expected. It was obvious that she had been carrying a lot more than our conflicts alone, and this hit another surge of guilt through my body. I felt the urge to reach out and help her but wasn't sure if it was my place. The last thing I wanted was to push her further away.

"I'm so sorry to hear that," I replied, instantly feeling compassion in my heart. "If there is anything I could do—"

She cut me off, shaking her head a bit. "It's not your responsibility. I just need to figure things out on my own."

That space, though hard to respect, I did respect. Yet more than this, I wanted her to know that I was here if anything was needed, but I wasn't going to force myself into her life. Really, pretty obviously, she wasn't ready for that kind of support from me.

"Fair enough," I said softly. "But should you ever come to your senses, I'm around. We might not get along, but I'm not a monster."

Barely did Ellie acknowledge my words. She nodded a bit but didn't raise her face up to mine. Obviously, warded off, she still stood, and the chasm between us seemed as wide as ever. I felt frustration and concern welling up in me. We might have still been enemies, and she wasn't ready to bridge her half of the gulf, but at least, I had hoped this moment of honesty had made a dent in her armor.

"So," I said, trying to shift the focus back on to something a bit more positive, "we've got the tournament coming up. It's a big opportunity, and it's important we both stay focused."