❝She planted roots so deeply in the people she loved,
that she was not whole without them.❞
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The red mark stared at her.
Eleanor sat on a stool by her kitchen, the mark on her wrist from last night glaring in her view. It was almost gone, since it wasn't a serious bruise or anything, but the shadows of it still lingered. Shadows of what happened still echoed.
She had never seen Travis so out of control before. He had always been hot-tempered, a quality that she learned to accept; and yes, her boyfriend did stupid stuff when he was drunk. But nothing like last night. Nothing like the way he held her and didn't let go.
And it couldn't have been the drinking that changed his behaviour. She recalled past memories of him and doing less damage. No, something had cracked within him.
Or maybe El was starting to see him with her eyes opened.
Her grandfather glanced at her. "Are you going to eat that banana, Ellie?"
She flushed, realising she was frozen holding the fruit. "Sorry."
Her grandfather raised his glasses above his head, waiting for her to say more. But the girl was already off on her own train of thoughts.
After she spent resting her forehead against Theo's in agonising silence, not only did guilt began to sink in, but worry. Worried for the boy who stormed out; the boy she had loved and shared precious years with. Wondering if maybe letting him leave was a bad idea, because he was drunk and brought a car with them.
El's heart had hammered then, because despite everything else that happened, she didn't want to lose him. In fact, the thought of it almost destroyed her; she'd spent years by his side.
What would she do without him?
The look in Theo's eyes was still ingrained in her head, playing over and over like a broken disk. The look in his eyes as she pulled away, heart heavy; the look in his eyes as she tried to explain why she needed to go. The look in his eyes as she went to go after the boy who'd hurt her, turning her back on the boy who'd only tried to protect her.
