CONTROL ➳ D. HALE [2]

11 ; not your mother

11 ➳ NOT YOUR MOTHER

Elise looked up with a warm smile as Jennifer Blake stepped up to the counter, her eyes skimming the menu. It had been awfully difficult to explain to Joe why she had disappeared in the middle of her shift a few days prior, the storage room a mess. She'd managed, though, likely because Joe was the father of one of the boys on Scott's lacrosse team and she had some sway.

"What'll it be?" Elise asked.

When the woman realized who was behind the counter, her eyes brightened. "Elise, hello!" She chimed with a smile on her face. However, her grin faltered when she caught sight of Elise's wrist- now wrapped in a bandage, seeing as she didn't like needing to look at the hideous bruise all day. "Oh, God, what happened?"

Elise's eyes widened slightly, a pang of grief hitting her in the chest when she was reminded of what the Alphas had done. She took a deep breath, considering what she could tell the teacher. "I got mugged," she lied.

"Mugged?" Jennifer repeated with wide eyes. "Are you okay?"

Elise nodded nonchalantly. "Yeah, other than a bit of bruised pride... and I guess this," Elise said, lifting her bandaged wrist. In all honesty, she was the farthest from okay she'd ever been. She knew that she shouldn't feel responsible- after all, who would expect a human to be able to fight off three Alphas? Still, she couldn't help feeling like if she'd only been able to hold the Alphas off for a little while, Boyd would still be alive. "Anyway," she said, forcing a smile back onto her features. "What can I get for you?"

Jennifer recited her order and Elise typed it into the machine. "You know," Jennifer said, handing Elise the appropriate amount of money to pay for her drink. "I put together this recital tonight, to honor the losses at the school. I'd love to have you there."

"Me?" Elise questioned. She regretted voicing her surprise when Jennifer's cheeks flushed red in embarrassment.

"Well, you're sort of the only friend I've made here so far," Jennifer replied. "Wow, now that I say it, it sounds pretty pathetic."

Elise shook her head, smiling warmly. "No, it doesn't. What time should I be there?"

➳

"Are you okay?" Elise asked, wandering into the girl's locker room to find Cora sitting on a bench, blood slowly dripping from a cut on the side of her forehead as she tried fruitlessly to clean it. Scott had called her to let her know that Cora had started a fight with Aiden, which had only resulted in the girl getting hurt. Elise had agreed to come pick her up, seeing as the rest of them still needed to finish the school day.

"I'll heal," Cora stated simply as she dropped the rag she was using to dab at her wound.

"Give me that," Elise sighed, grabbing the rag from Cora's hand. She used her free hand to tilt the girl's head back- much to Cora's displeasure- as she lightly dabbed at the wound, managing to clean away some of the blood.

"You don't have to do that," the younger girl frowned, pulling her head away.

"Actually, I kind of do," Elise said, mirroring Cora's displeased expression. "Becuase I would feel bad for yelling at you while you have blood all over your face. Do you have any idea how suicidally crazy that was? Aiden's an Alpha, he could've killed you!"

"I did it for Boyd," Cora snapped. "None of you were doing anything!"

"Cora, we're trying," Elise sighed. "We just-"

"Well, you're doing a pretty shit job. All you guys can do is show up late. You don't save people, you just find the bodies." The younger girl turned to leave, prompting Elise to follow behind her. Elise sucked in a breath, tugging her bottom lip between her teeth as they exited the school.