Back In Boston

Chapter 21

Ellie didn't know what to expect from her school day. Halfway through first period the police had come to question her. Joel said this would happen, and that they weren't really questioning her because they suspected her of anything, but rather because she needed to be updated on the fact that her case was closed now. She believed Joel. She didn't know why, but she did.

Ellie also didn't have the heart, or the voice, to tell Joel about Riley moving. She didn't have the heart or voice for anything anymore, as much as she liked to pretend. She roamed through the halls of the school, skipping the classes she knew she wouldn't be able to tolerate, like math. However, the classes she did show to, she spent dissociating in her chair. Her hands and skin felt foreign to her. The room was a big blur, like she was looking at it with watery eyes. Her head was made of bricks, but somehow she kept it up all day.

When the final bell rang, Ellie walked out the door at a normal pace. She saw Joel's truck waiting, registered that it was there, and ignored it. She walked to the field, and kept walking until she was far away. Elie wasn't paying attention to the sounds around her, or where her feet were taking her. She just let herself be led by her instincts.

Riley had called Ellie at lunch a few times. Ellie, naturally, ignored her. But as usual, her heart was thinking louder than her brain, because Ellie found herself yet again at the barn. She climbed to the top and lay on the couch, her eyes open. She debated calling Riley- and then didn't. She thought about going home- and then she stopped. She didn't care much for anything right now. Everything was just. There.

"Ellie?" A voice called from below. Ellie wasn't sure about how much time had gone past. She had lied on the couch, her eyes wide open and her body motionless for what felt like hours now.

"El?" The voice was getting louder, and a creak sounded. Someone climbing up.

"You are up here!" Riley finally exclaimed, standing infront of Ellie. She was wearing a big coat. Ellie had forgotten hers at school, but she barely had noticed how cold it was until she saw the older girls rosey cheeks.

"You alive? Your arms are so red! You're going to get hypothermia if you dont warm up." Riley shrugged off her coat, sat Ellie up and dressed her in the clothing, Ellie simply letting her.

"I heard about David. Ellie. You were out last night. You were going to leave, but something changed, didn't it? What made you decide to go back?" Riley sat down beside her on the couch, her hand placed on Ellie's thigh. Ellie moved her head finally, facing the girl that she loved so much. Could she even tell her? Could she get those words out again? She knew that if she did, her life would be over. Riley would look at her with disgust, call her mom, and then Ellie would be arrested. And Joel would probably get in trouble too.

"I sat down and thought about it rationally, and realized I should just walk home and talk to Joel about it. I convinced him to let me stay here." She lied. Her voice was shaking, she hadn't spoken in so long she forgot what it felt like.

"Ellie... You're lying to me. Why?" Ellie felt her expression change. She could see it in Riley's eyes; the gears turning in her head.

"Ellie... Please tell me you didn't set fire to David's house while he was sleeping in it." Her voice was equal to someone's footsteps. Stepping quietly through their house as they tried to get away from the murderer.

"Do you really think I'm capable of something like that, Ri?" Ellie questioned, finding the strength in her voice again. She stared straight into Riley's eyes, and she could feel the shift. She wasn't sure what was about to happen, but she knew her eyes were screaming, I did it!

"I don't know. Did you do it?" Riley whispered, staring back at her. Ellie thought. She considered it. She could feel her gears turning in her head too. For the first time ever, Ellie was thinking stragetically. She wasn't sure if that made her a sane human being, or more of a scheming murderer. Probably the latter option.

Oh well.

"No." She lied. It burnt on her tongue, much like the flames that had consumed all the evidence of what she did.

"Okay."