Breaking the Chains

Chapter Nine

Eli's gaze drifted towards Riley again, wondering what she was thinking about. She had been shifting between the conversations in the car and looking out the window. Eli hoped she would like his family.
He absently wondered if the building would still smell like cashews, or if he'd been away too long and it had faded away. Eli lightly squeezed Riley's hand which seemed to get her attention.

"What?" she mouthed as she looked toward him. The man driving the vehicle had started talking to his son about the football game, but Eli wasn't listening because he knew almost nothing about the sport.

"You okay?" He mouthed back as he looked at her eyes. She looked completely exhausted and for some reason, all he wanted to do was hold her until she felt better. But Eli knew that it would take a long time before she would be how she used to be. It was just how things were.

"Yeah," she mouthed back the reply and let out all the air from her lungs silently. "Are you?"

"Yup," Eli nearly whispered but shockingly stayed silent.

"Daddy look! McDonald's!" The little boy erupted in the front seat. Riley jumped just a bit as the boy went up and down in his seat, pointing his finger toward the food place. Riley scrunched her nose. The last time she ate there was when she was the boy's age, and even then, she hated it. She looked at Eli and closed her eyes slowly.

"I see that but there's another McDonald's a few miles away. We can go to that one." The man said, forcing a smile on his face. Riley watched him when she opened her eyes again but she couldn't focus properly. To be fair, she was exhausted and she didn't want to be in a car with loud mouths.

"But," the boy pouted, "I want McDonald's now!" Riley held her breath and slowly balled her free hand into a fist. Eli watched her and frowned, realizing just how loose her fist was. Riley licked her lips as she tried to squeeze her fist tighter but it was as tight as she could get it. She let out some air and gave up, letting it unravel. Eli squeezed her hand again gently, reminding her yet again that he was holding it.

"Fine." The man said before he quickly turned into the McDonald's drive-thru lane. "Do you guys want anything?"

"Maybe just two burgers?" Eli answered for Riley, but Riley had to bite down her jaw to keep herself from saying that she wasn't hungry. She knew even Eli had heard her stomach growl.

"That's it?" The man said with a chuckle. He shrugged and let out some air. "All right, suit yourselves."

The group was back on the trip without anymore stops, except for the occasional gas. Eli had been watching the buildings pass by from the window but every so often he'd look toward Riley just to make sure she was doing alright. It was getting rather late though and Eli could easily hear Riley's deepened breathes. She wasn't snoring though, which didn't really shock Eli.

"We're about an hour from your town," the man said in a thick voice, followed by a yawn. Eli could only nod as he kept his focus out to the world on the other side of the class. 

The little boy was already fast asleep, snoring in the quietest way ever.  Eli was getting tired too but he decided to keep himself awake so he could be sure they were headed the right way.

"You can pass out if you want.  Might make the time go by quicker." Eli let out a breath and looked away from the window to focus on the man seated in front of him.

"I'm not that tired," Eli admitted, though he had to hold back a yawn.

- An hour and fifteen minutes later -

"Riley," Eli said softly, shaking her shoulder ever so slightly to try waking her up, but when all she did was groan, he gently slithered his right arm under her knees and carefully placed his left arm on her back before picking her up. She groaned again but she curled into him and fell back asleep. "Thanks for the ride, sir," Eli said as he looked toward the man. The man gave a nod and leaned against his vehicle as he watched Eli take the girl toward his house.

The building didn't look different at all, which made Eli smile. He knocked carefully on the metal door with his foot, trying not to wake Riley who was as quiet as a sleeping mouse. No one answered for a whole until he heard the little pitter patter of steps on the other side of the door. Then, the locked metal barrier opened slowly, revealing his Nona.

"Eli," she breathed out and took a step toward him before realizing the very thin and beaten girl in his arms. "Oh my.."

"She's sleeping, Nona," Eli reassured but he bit his lower lip as he looked at Riley. "She needs to stay here for a while."

"That's fine. Just bring her in. Everyone is already sleeping except for Rina. No one's in your room though. They all went out. So just take her to your room and I'll make you both some soup." Eli's Nona took a step aside so he would have plenty of room to bring Riley inside.

"Thanks," he muttered and took a breath out before he walked down the wide hallway before slowly walking up the steps. "It's okay," he said softly into Riley's ear when she moved a bit. "Go back to sleep," he whispered again as he went up another flight of stairs. She kept her eyes closed but her fingers were beginning to tap on her thigh. 

Eli eventually got to his room with hardly anymore trouble and gently lowered Riley onto his bed. He had a room that wasn't too big. It was like a small box: 15 feet by 15 feet. His bed was tucked into the corner in the back and he lied her down on the side closest to the wall so if she rolled, she wouldn't fall on the ground. He frowned at the girl when he saw all of the cuts and bruises. He silently promised himself that he would clean her up in the morning as he sat down beside her, leaning his back against the wall by both of the pillows.

Riley was slowly waking up even though whenever she moved, Eli would tell her to go back to sleep. "Mm," she said tiredly as she tried to turn onto her side. Her eyes were slightly open and she knew she could easily fall back asleep, but she didn't let herself. "Where are we?" She asked tiredly.

"My house," he said quietly as he gently ran his fingers down her hair, trying to calm her down. "We're being brought some food."

"But I'm not-" Riley yawned before she could finish and pressed her head gently into Eli's hand. "I'm not hungry."

"I know but Nona will force us if we don't." Eli offered her a small smile as he continued to untangle her hair with his fingers. "I think you'll like her."

"Mm," Riley hummed as she tried to sit up, but she felt shocks of pain run through her body. She clenched her eyes shut and gave up after a few more seconds of trying.

"She did a number on you," Eli said sadly as he stroked her cheek lightly.

Riley gave a little chuckle before she replied. "I got used to it."

Eli frowned and kissed her forehead very gently. "You didn't deserve it."

"I did, though," she whispered, thinking of all the ways she did. "I once broke my brother's toy and I never told him." She frowned. "Oh, and I swore twice in front of my parents and they were really mad."

"You think you deserved all of this just because of that?" Eli asked, his brows lowering just like his lips.

"She told me I was the one who made her that way. She said that it would have been better if I was never born. She said I ruined her life." Riley closed her eyes tightly when she felt a bruise on her hip sting. "So I began to believe her."

"So you let her beat you?"

"There was nothing I could do to stop her," She said quietly before she was gently pulled toward him. She winced from the pain but she could deal with it. At least it was better than being locked up. 

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So many chapters uploaded in a day, huh? Well, I guess it's just to get some older ones on here. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!!

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Peace out Secrets and God bless you all!

-S