Like Fridge Magnets

Chapter Ten

CHAPTER TEN

ADAM

       Elayna looked at me, her eyes glazing over as my question hung in the air between us. I didn’t understand this girl I didn’t understand what she was doing to me or why I even cared about why she did what she did. All I knew was that I needed to know.

“I’m sorry,” she mumbled still not meeting my eyes.

“I don’t want an apology, Puffin. I want you to tell me what happened earlier.”

She looked at me squirming under my gaze seeming to want to be anywhere but here. I took a deep breath before I said something that I'd regret and waited for her to fill me in on what goes on inside that head of hers. Finally deciding to mirror my position she leaned against the railings of the stair’s banisters and turned the upper half of her body to face me.

“You want the truth?” She asked me, but continued on before I even had the chance to answer her, “I don’t know why I just stomped off like that after saying what I said. I guess," she took a deep breathe adding, "Look Adam I’m having a pretty crappy time at the moment...” I studied her face as dozens of different emotions played across it, from confusion to anger to defeat; I was so engrossed in watching her that I almost failed to notice that she had stopped trying to explain what was wrong to me.

It was at that moment that my mom and her weird little philosophical outburst came into my head. If there was one thing that my mom had instilled in me, it was that I should never give up on helping someone, especially if they needed it but didn’t realise it themselves. To me, Elayna seemed to fit into that category. Despite her I-don't-need-anyone attitude. 

My eyes left her face and were drawn to her hands. She was wringing them around each other, a clear sign of nervousness. Taking her hand in my one of my and using the other to hold her chin so as to keep her from looking away I said to her, “Talk to me, please. I might be able to help.”

“That’s just it though. A lot of people can help me but I need to figure this out on my own. I shouldn’t be bringing other people into my shitty problems,” she explained.

“What problems?” I asked her, she seemed to be debating whether or not to tell me in her head so I continued, “Puffin, at least tell me what’s wrong. Or don’t you trust me?” That seemed to have caught her attention as her eyes widened and she began to vigorously shake her head.

“No, that’s definitely not it. I let you box with me, didn’t I? I know that might not be a big thing for any other person, but for me it is. I mean my own brother has never even boxed with me before.”

“So why won’t you tell me what’s wrong then?” I asked her, I had moved so close to her I could feel the heat radiating off of her and the smell her skin. She smelt just like sweet strawberries, somehow that seemed fitting for her. I inwardly frowned as I looked at her more closely, being this nearto her let me see the bags under eyes that I couldn’t have seen before as they were concealed by make-up.

“I’m going to be looking for a place to stay after tomorrow,” she blurted out.

“Is that why you haven’t been able to sleep?” I asked her.

“What?”

“You seem tired,” I replied, “Is that keeping you up at night?”

“No, but I haven’t been getting much sleep,” she told me, “I’ve been putting in overtime at work.”

“Why?”

“Why what?” She asked me looking completely confused.

“Two things,” I said to her holding up two fingers, “Why are you looking for a place to stay since you’ve already got a dorm and two,” I added wiggling my second finger, “Why are you putting in overtime at work already, the semester hasn’t even started?”