Underground

17

Estelle
"Who's here Auggie?" A feminine voice calls.
His eyes widen. "Nobody, just go back to bed Rebecca!" 
"Is that your sister?" I whisper. 
He just nods. 
I hear other footsteps coming down the stairs, followed by yawns and whispers. 
"Just stay here." August says, walking out of the entry way. 
I do as he says, gently tapping my foot as a wait for him to return. 
"August, you have lip gloss all over your face!" Someone yells.
I hear August sigh. "I'm guessing you want to meet her." 
The all cheer. 
"E, please come here." He calls. 
I follow his voice, walking into the room. 
Never in my life have I felt so small. 
I walk into the room as slow as humanly possible, looking at my feet.
I look up at August, taking in his curious look.
I give him a 'I don't like meeting new people look' and keep walking towards him, every step slower than the other.
He gives me a fake small smile, I walk a bit faster, not much though. I finally get next to August and I see three girls. They were all smiling.
One had long blonde hair and brown eyes. The other black hair, which was cut into a bob, and brown eyes. And the last one had long blonde hair and blue eyes. I'm guessing they're his sisters, but I'm not sure.
August grabs my hand and squeezes it a bit. "This is Estelle, Estelle this is Kathryn, Trisha, and Rebecca, but everyone calls her Becca." 
"Hello." I say with a soft smile. 
"Hello, if you weren't clear, I am Kathryn, the one with black hair and brown eyes is Trisha. And the other is Becca." She was the one with the long blonde hair and brown eyes.
"And if it wasn't clear, but I'm like ninety nine percent sure that it was, I'm Estelle." 
They laugh a bit, was I funny, or were they laughing at me?
I laugh with them, burying my face into August's bicep. 
August's phone starts ringing in his pocket, he scrambles to grab it, glancing at the number before mumbling. "I need to get this, it's important." 

August 
I walk quickly into the other room, answering the phone. Why the heck would Jackson be calling me? 
"Hello?" I ask into the phone. 
I could tell he was frowning. "Hi." 
"What's up?" I ask, now concerned. 
"We need to talk." He says. "It's really vital." 
"I'm listening." 
"So, my mom's a therapist, and I was just explaining to her how Estelle's back, and she said that there's a great big chance for PTSD." 
I went quiet. 
"Do you know what PTSD is?" Jackson asks softly. 
I nod, then realize he can't see me. "Yeah, it just brings back some bad memories." 
"So I guess you know it more than I do." He says. 
"I guess I do." I say. 
He sighs. "Well, I've gotta go, terribly busy, seeing as it's only 9 AM and we've have 5 visitors." 
"I'll talk to you later." I say, before pressing the red end call button. 
I walk back into the kitchen, a fake smile plastered on my face. 
The girls were talking about boys, or something of that sort. 
"What are you guys talking about?" I ask, taking my spot next to Estelle. 
Trisha shrugs. "Not a lot, if we're supposed to be honest." 
"Yeah, Estelle was just telling us about her trip across the country." Kathryn informs. 
"Oh, how was it?" I ask. 
She sighs. "Tedious, but I slept a lot." 
"That sounds about right, did you drive yourself?" I ask. 
"I drove with Luca and Felicity." She says, nodding. 
She looks up into my eyes finally, seeing my anxiety bubbling in them. 
I look away quickly, not wanting her to worry. 
All of a sudden, I felt her grab my hand and give it a small reassuring squeeze.  
It helped a little, it would've helped more if I didn't see my sisters fawning over us. 
"So E, what are you gonna do now that you're back?" Rebecca asks. 
She shrugs. "I'll probably have to move, then I dunno, look not suspicious?" 
This cracks them up, and they giggle until tears trickle out of their eyes. 
Estelle's face flushes. "Guys, It wasn't that funny." 
I wrap an arm around her shoulders. "That's how they always are." 
***
Estelle
So the drive back to my apartment wasn't as fortunate as I would've liked it to be. 
August walked me up, only for us to see three boxes at the door, along with a laminated eviction note on the door. 
"Well, that really sucks." Were the only words that seemed to fit it.
August nods. "Maybe we should call Nigel."  
I nod, getting out my phone and pressing on his contact. 
He answers instantly. "Hello?" 
"Nigel, I got evicted from my apartment." I blurt. 
He sighs. "Well, that's not any good." 
"Can't I just stay with you?" I ask. 
He pauses. "Jane and I are going on vacation and Logan's planning on staying at campus, I don't think It would be a good idea for you to stay at our place alone." 
"What should I do?" I ask.
 "FInd someone to stay with until we get back, then you can come stay with us when we return." Nigel says. 
I groan. "I have no one to ask." 
"Ask the person who's most likely standing next to you." He says. "I have to go, I'll talk to you later." 
Then the line goes dead. 
"Well, this really sucks." I say, burying my face in my free hand. 
August looks at me. "What sucks?" 
"I'm basically homeless." I say, looking up at him. 
"Well, you don't have to be homeless, you can stay with me." He says. 
I smile up at him. "I don't want to intrude." 
"You're not intruding, it's the least I can do." 
"Well, I guess it's settled then, I guess I'm staying with you." I smile. 
He smiles down at me, ruffling my hair. "Let's get these boxes to the car."