Breaking the Chains

Chapter Twenty Four

There was a light knock on the door about twenty five minutes later. Eli gently unwrapped himself from Riley and got up from the bed, causing her to mumble things. He looked at her for a moment before he walked over the people to get to the door. In front of him was the owner who had his cellphone placed on his ear. Eli smiled when he was handed the phone. 

"Nona?" He asked and let out a breath when he heard her voice. 

"I'm five minutes away," she said in a soft voice. "You have some explaining to do when I get there." Eli nodded and took in a breath, readying himself to respond before she spoke again. "Are you alone?"

"No. Riley's with me and so are seventeen other people." Eli took a breathe and closed his eyes when he realized he said Riley's name.

"Whose Riley?" There was a pause before Nona spoke again. "Never mind. You can tell me on the ride home. I can only fit three people in here besides you and me." She took a breath.

"I think just Riley and I will be in the car. The others are going to be staying at the motel for a while." He looked around the room to see everyone still sleeping. Eli didn't know people could sleep this long.

"Okay good. I'm on Macenzie right now so go outside so I can pick you up."

"Okay," Eli said before Nona hung up. He took in a breath and handed the phone back to the owner. "Thank you so much," Eli said before turning away from the man to wake Riley. "It's time to go." Riley shook her head gently as she buried her head into her pillow. "Riley," he said gently and carefully climbed onto the bed to be beside her. "My Nona's outside," he said quietly as he nuzzled his nose on her cold shoulder. She shivered a bit and moved slowly to look at him.

"Already?" She asked tiredly. Eli nodded and smiled. Riley frowned and closed her eyes again. "I want to sleep, though."

"You can in the car," Eli said softly as he kissed the top of her head. "Come. You'll really like her. You're going to stay with us for a while until we can find your family." Riley just shrugged tiredly as she kept her eyes shut. "I'll carry you there if I have to," he whispered in her ear. She rose her shoulders and gave a little shiver before she replied. 

"I can walk," she breathed out as she slowly sat up. Eli smiled softly and helped her out of bed before wrapping an arm around her waist as they walking carefully out of the filled room. The owner was back at the front desk and when Eli and Riley passed him, he smiled and waved and didn't stop until the couple was out the door where the wind blew gently on the bare parts of their skin. Riley had rested her head on his shoulder, and even though the pressure hurt, Eli smiled and felt warm as he held her as gently as he could against her.

They stayed in that position for a moment before Nona pulled over and unlocked the doors. Immediately she jumped out of the drivers side and ran toward Eli, bringing him into the biggest hug ever. Eli tried his best to hold in the pain until he grunted, making Nona immediately jump away. "You're all bruised," she said sadly as she placed and hand carefully on his face. "Who did that to you?"

Eli shook his head gently and wrapped his arms around her for a moment before letting go. "Nona, this is Riley." Nona looked toward her and immediately put on a sympathetic smile. Riley clenched her jaw tightly as she put on a forced grin. Eli quickly grabbed the hand that was closest to him and gently squeezed.

"Oh my," Nona said quietly before gently touching Riley's layered bruised cheek. Riley kept her jaw clenched but she closed her eyes. "What happened?" She asked worriedly as she looked up to Riley's face. The girl opened her eyes slowly and shrugged in the slightest.

"Nona," Eli said quietly. The woman turned her attention to him and almost seemed to understand what he meant.

"Right," she said softly before turning around after a moment. Eli offered a small smile as the woman sat herself in the driver's seat. "Come on in, you two," Nona smiled before Eli lead Riley to the back with him. She was incredibly thin and didn't take up much space in the back. Eli was thinner too but the muscles in his arms and body made him a little thicker.